Good news for South Africans applying for a new passport or Smart ID

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber unveiled a new five-year strategic vision to transform Home Affairs into a digital-first department.

Schreiber has been Home Affairs Minister since 3 July 2024 and has achieved a significant amount since he took office.

The Department of Home Affairs has cleared the backlog of Identity Documents (IDs) that started to accumulate in November 2023 following a change in IT service providers.

The changeover created a bottleneck in the production value chain, causing nearly a quarter of a million applications to become “stuck” in a growing backlog.

On 21 August 2024, Home Affairs consolidated all the stuck IDs into a single database to clear the backlog. A month later, the backlog was completely eradicated.

Today, Schreiber announced a five-year strategic vision to make his department a digital-first organization during the 2024 to 2029 term of office.

The “Home Affairs @ home” strategy aims to create a system where it will be unnecessary to visit a Home Affairs office in-person.

“Over the next five years, all of the department’s services must become fully automated, digitized, and offered online,” he said.

This is good news for all South Africans looking to renew a passport or apply for a new Smart ID.

Those looking for civic services, like obtaining or replacing an ID, passport, or certificate, will be able to apply online through a secure platform linked to their biometrics.

Schreiber said this will be done in the same way that banks and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) already verify transactions.

“The application will then be processed through an automated risk engine that only requires human intervention in cases where anomalies are detected,” he said.

He added that all other cases will be processed automatically, digitally, and securely.

“Once an application is complete, the resultant ID, passport, or other enabling document must be shipped directly to the door of the client,” he said.

This will happen regardless of whether they live in South Africa or abroad – as is already done in the case of bank cards and vehicle licences.

“Over time, these vital documents will also be made available in digital format on the client’s secure online profile – and in the wallet app on their phone,” he said.