Good news for people applying for a new passport or smart ID in South Africa

 ·21 Jan 2025

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said the government is ramping up its “Home Affairs @ home” initiative to make getting a new passport or smart ID easier.

The Department of Home Affairs is also on a drive to phase out green ID books and wants to stop issuing them in 2025.

“It is an internal target we are working towards to ensure that our department is fully invested in issuing smart IDs,” Schreiber said.

However, phasing out green ID books means the department must improve its operations and ensure smart ID cards can be issued across South Africa.

Schreiber said they want to make applying for a new smart ID card or passport easy and pleasant, which is currently not the case.

Most South Africans dread visiting a Department of Home Affairs branch because it is associated with long queues, poor service levels, and offline systems.

Under Schreiber’s leadership, the department wants to make dealing with the department a pleasure and make getting a new document easier and faster.

This first step was to use mobile Department of Home Affairs units to reach areas where the service was unavailable.

It has also invested in new office space, especially in shopping malls, to bring its services closer to citizens.

The next phase is to invest more aggressively in partnerships to expand its footprint, which includes adding more bank branches to its network.

The Department of Home Affairs is currently present in 30 bank branches across South Africa, which will increase significantly.

“We want to dramatically expand our presence and cooperation with these banks. We are looking to rapidly grow this network,” he said.

“I am determined to expand Home Affairs services to hundreds of bank branches across the length and breadth of South Africa”.

The plan includes covering all nine provinces through Home Affairs offices in bank branches, making it much easier for citizens to interact with the state.

Schreiber told Daily Investor that the department’s biggest priority this year is to deliver “Home Affairs @ home.”

“We will be rolling out additional channels for clients to obtain smart ID and passport services without requiring them to visit our offices,” he said.

Apart from partnering with banks, it will introduce digital channels similar to online banking, enabling clients to have IDs and passports delivered to their doorsteps.

“All of these reforms are part of incrementally bringing Home Affairs closer to home for all South Africans,” he said.

He said ‘Home Affairs @ home’ has the potential to redefine how the government works in South Africa.

Schreiber wants to turn Home Affairs into a digital-first department which is truly fit for the digital age.

“We want to revolutionise government similar to the way in which banking was revolutionised by the advent of online banking,” he said.

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