People who applied for passports earlier this year are yet to receive them due to a glitch in the upgrading of the department?s system.

Home Affairs is shifting its IT system to a new, improved one which would handle the increased number of passports being applied for.

The department?s Siobhan McCarthy says applying for temporary passports is a quicker procedure.

"Once they do apply for a temporary passport all we then need to do is confirm their identity and their fingerprints. If the fingerprints are available on the electronic database, then its a much shorter process," she says.

However, McCarthy says many counties do not allow entry with a temporary passport.

"Before somebody applies for a temporary passport, they should just check with the country that they are visiting that it will be accepted."