The end of the green ID book in South Africa

The Department of Home Affairs is working overtime to get South Africans to transition away from the green ID book towards smart IDs. 

This transition is increasingly seen as a vital part of a long-term solution to the country’s immigration crisis, which risks bubbling over into social unrest. 

The green ID book is one of the most manipulated and laundered on the African continent, enabling thousands of people to illegally enter South Africa each year. 

This has made it the centre of the government’s efforts to find a sustainable solution to the country’s immigration challenges. 

The citizen-led movement ‘March and March’ has brought the immigration issue back to the forefront of South African politics by organising protests against illegal immigration. 

The movement has called for stricter enforcement of South Africa’s immigration laws and mass deportations of illegal foreigners. 

It has issued a public ultimatum for all undocumented foreigners in South Africa to leave the country by 30 June, otherwise it will attempt to shut the country down. 

The government has pushed back, saying that it is doing all it can and engaging with its counterparts in Africa to repatriate illegal immigrants. 

Justice and Constitutional Development Deputy Minister Andries Nel said the government is addressing the issue through all legal and constitutional channels. 

Nel explained that a vital part of tackling illegal immigration is stopping it at the source, with stronger enforcement at the country’s borders. 

“There have been problems. There have been issues with a lack of capacity and, sadly, widespread instances of corruption within the system,” Nel told Newzroom Afrika. 

“This includes immigration officers taking bribes, issuing false documents. In this past week, 2,000 fraudulent study permits were revoked.” 

That indicates the scale of the challenge regarding corruption within the Department of Home Affairs, which is working to minimise human involvement to eliminate fraudulent documentation. 

This hinges on the transition away from green ID books towards smart IDs, with physical photographs making the books relatively easy to manipulate. 

“The Department of Home Affairs is working overtime to do away with the green barcoded ID and replace it with smart IDs,” Nel said. 

“Home Affairs is also looking to use other technologies, such as drones and bodycams, among others, to tackle illegal immigration.” 

Say goodbye to green ID books

Around 16 million South Africans still use the green ID book as their primary form of identification, making it difficult to do away with. 

Home Affairs has tried to make it easier for individuals to transition to smart IDs through partnering with banks to roll out services at their branches. 

Currently, South Africans can visit 175 branches across the country’s major banks to replace their green ID book or reissue their smart ID.

The smart ID is much more difficult for criminals to manipulate and fraudulently issue, largely because it does not use physical photographs. 

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has repeatedly urged South Africans to transition away from the green ID book, as it is outdated. 

“This initiative is also, however, about protecting the identity of South Africans and of South Africa,” Schreiber said. 

“Today, around 16 million South Africans still rely on the green ID book, a document which is widely recognised as one of the most laundered on the African continent.” 

“And so, it is a no-brainer that we have a common interest in this project to eradicate the scourge of identity theft, which is in many ways linked to the green ID book.”

“Accelerating the transition to the smart ID to strengthen our national identity system is one of the core aims of this project, and we encourage South Africans to seize the opportunity and secure their identity by transitioning away from the green ID book.” 

Home Affairs appears to have made strong progress on this front, issuing a record 4 million ID cards in 2025. 

This stands in stark contrast to Home Affairs’ performance in the years gone by, with previous ministers warning about the green ID book’s vulnerabilities but unable to expand access to smart IDs. 

“In fact, when I assumed office, I found that nearly a third of existing Home Affairs offices do not even have the capability to handle smart ID applications, with the result that new green IDs are still being produced despite the risks,” Schreiber said. 

Home Affairs has an ambitious target of equipping 1,000 bank branches with smart ID services over the medium term, with future plans to include passport services. 

While this is about expanding access, Schreiber explained that it is also about reducing the scope for manipulation and, thus, fraud. 

“It is all ultimately about manipulation, about the ability to change an outcome. That is only possible when you have a manual system. It is only possible when you have someone with the discretion to accept a bribe and change an outcome,” Schreiber said. 

“Seeing these beautiful machines, you will see in practice what it means when you remove those kinds of avenues for manipulation.”