Good news for passports, visas, and Smart IDs in South Africa
The Department of Home Affairs is undergoing a massive shift, with the Department looking to improve its key service offerings.
For many South Africans, most of their interactions with the government happen at Home Affairs. Birth certificates, ID documents, passports and visas are crucial for citizenship and economic participation.
Home Affairs is often cited as the prime source of government inefficiency, with customers often waiting hours for service, if any.
The Department has been pushing for change with increased modern practices taking over, and is currently a prime example of the work that the Government of National Unity (GNU) can do.
The Department has been led by Minister Leon Schreiber from the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Deputy Minister Njabulo Nzuza from the ANC.
While opposing ideological views, the two are working together to ensure that all issues at the Department are addressed.
Since taking office last year, Schriber has regularly spoken about the progress made at the Department following years of inefficiency.
Speaking at the latest PSG Think Big webinar, Scheiber again outlined the reform agenda that is taking place at Home Affairs, which hopes to lay the foundation of a capable state.
This includes progress made in accessing Smart ID and passport services at banks, easier visa access for foreigners and improved digitisation.
Smart IDs and Passports
Schriber noted that the Department has broken its Smart ID issuance target this year, as it issued 3.5 million smart IDs in the past year, 1 million more than planned.
“We have to understand the role that the green barcoded ID book plays in the identity fraud and illegal immigration space,” said Schriber.
“There are still 18 million people who carry that book, and we know that it is, according to research, the most defrauded document on the African continent.”
In response, Home Affairs is expanding its partnership with banks to offer passport and Smart ID services at over 1,000 branches.
While a pilot project offers the service, it has only seen 30 branches over ten years.
A key issue is that Home Affairs staff are seconded to bank branches, and banks can not offer the service. This is set to change.
Standard Bank, FNB, Absa, Nedbank, Capitec, African Bank and Discovery Bank have so far signed on to expand the public-private partnership.
“Very soon, South Africans will be able to go to bank branches – even in the most rural parts of the country – to interact with a camera and order a smart ID or a passport.”
“And soon after that, they’ll be able to open the same banking app that they use to manage their finances, to also manage their identity services, and order a smart ID or a passport there.”
Visas
Schreiber also noted that the Department has cleared a 10-year visa backlog of 306,000 applications over the last year.
In addition, the Department welcomed 27,000 Indian and Chinese tourists in just five months through the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS).
The TTOS was launched to help improve visa efficiencies for tourists from China and India, who often were forced to travel long distances to make an application.
Under the TTOS, tour operators take on the liability of the tourists that come to South Africa, which reduces red tape and encourages economic growth.
He added that the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) for foreigners entering the country will roll out within the next few weeks, automating the visa process.
“I’m very excited that the combination of all of these different reforms, led by the ETA, is going to really position South Africa much better as an international travel destination,” said the minister.
He added that the ETA will address the self-financing issue at Home Affairs, with visa fees creating a source of revenue.
Digitisation
A major focus of the department has been digitalisation, which the Minister believes will be a critical tool in driving the necessary change.
“Automation and digital transformation are a key part of closing off that space for human bias, for human discretion, for human interference.”
“And I think that is really starting to yield fruits – improving security and anti-corruption measures, but also efficiency.”
“We are fundamentally re-engineering the entire process of how the state operates in this domain. And we’re able to do that because technology creates the opportunity for us to look afresh at how government services can be delivered.”
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