Major upgrades for South African passports and IDs

 ·28 Jan 2025

South Africa is set to introduce significant technological upgrades to its ID cards and passports, with the Department of Home Affairs working to make these documents safer and harder to fake.

Speaking to eNCA, Minister Leon Schreiber said the department is looking into the adoption of cutting-edge biometric technology to modernise the issuance process and eliminate vulnerabilities tied to human discretion.

A key aspect of the reform is the integration of facial recognition and fingerprint authentication for all identification processes.

This innovation aims to prevent the manipulation of documents and processes when handling ID and passport applications.

Minister Schreiber highlighted the importance of removing human discretion, stating, “Why is it possible for a person to be able to modify or manipulate the documents and the process? This vulnerability is due to human discretion, and we need to use technology to remove it, improving the integrity and confidence in your passports and IDs.”

Drawing parallels with the banking industry, Schreiber noted that digital banking requires robust biometric verification for new cards, account openings, or accessing apps.

“By implementing these technological updates, you close the gaps that criminals are exploiting,” he added.

These advancements are also expected to align with global trends in digital transformation.

South Africa’s passport has seen a significant improvement in its international standing, climbing 10% between 2024 and 2025, according to the latest Henley Passport Index.

Now ranked 48th out of 106 passports, South Africa has entered the top 50 for the first time in a decade.

Schreiber described this milestone as the start of a broader reform process anchored in the digital transformation of Home Affairs.

He added that the only way to strengthen the country’s passport–locally known as the green mamba—is to improve its reliability and international confidence in its authenticity.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber

Home Affairs’ plans include the introduction of biometric or “e-passports,” equipped with embedded microprocessor chips to authenticate the biometric information of South African travellers.

These e-passports will bolster document security, making them harder to forge and more reliable for international travel.

They will also work with systems at border checkpoints to stop people from overstaying their visas.

The system will use biometric data to instantly check if someone’s visa has expired or confirm the identity of foreigners in the country.

The need for these updates is clear when looking at fraud statistics. Home Affairs has dealt with thousands of cases where people used fake IDs or passports, often with help from corrupt officials.

These problems show how important it is to have secure systems that rely on technology instead of people.

Schreiber added that the reforms extend beyond enhancing passport security.

“The latest Henley Passport Index also emphasises the global shift towards digitalising visa processes, a critical component of our reforms,” he said.

These reforms are integral to the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP), guiding the current administration’s work.

By doing this, South Africa hopes to make its passport even stronger and improve how visas are handled for foreigners.

Adding biometric checks to South Africa’s ID and travel systems is a major step toward protecting these important documents. It will help stop fraud and make South African passports and IDs more respected around the world.

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