Bad news for people trying to get a Smart ID in South Africa

The Department of Home Affairs has acknowledged persistent issues for permanent residents and naturalised citizens in South Africa regarding getting a Smart ID, saying that technical constraints are delaying the process.

Responding to a written parliamentary question from the ACDP’s Wayne Thring, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said the department was “acutely aware” of the issue and the distress it was causing some applicants.

While the DHA has expanded the rollout of its Smart ID and passport systems to various branches and satellite offices at banks and shopping malls, the cards are still only easily issued to South African citizens.

Naturalised citizens and permanent residents are still struggling to gain access, with several frustrated BusinessTech readers complaining about being turned away at branches.

The department has sent notices to some of these residents, inviting them to apply for Smart IDs, but Schreiber said that IT constraints have become a serious obstacle.

“Since assuming office, I have directed that work be sped up to enable all qualifying persons to obtain the more secure Smart ID Cards,” he said.

“However, severe IT constraints have emerged as a major obstacle in this regard, and urgent work is ongoing to resolve the challenges.”

Schreiber said that the failures of the current IT service provider have emerged as a serious obstacle to the DHA’s ability to deliver the required changes to enable naturalised citizens and permanent residents to obtain cards.

However, he stressed that is “being addressed with the necessary urgency”.

He said that while work is being done to expand access to all through IT system changes, the DHA is assisting naturalised citizens with the Smart IDs, but this is a manual process done through invitations to prospective applicants.

He said the process entails a manual verification that limits access, but he repeated that this is a “top priority” for the department to resolve.

Turned away

Several BusinessTech readers, including permanent resident pensioners and naturalised citizens, have reported being turned away from DHA branches despite invitations and notices to apply for Smart IDs.

This comes even as Schreiber and the DHA promote the Smart ID to replace Green ID books, with lofty ambitions of stopping the issuing of the books this year.

The minister has set a target of making Smart IDs available to all qualifying South Africans by the end of the 2025 calendar year.

Speaking at the State of the National debate in February, Schreiber said that the department wants to expand access to Smart ID services to “hundreds or even a thousand bank branches” to enhance access.

He also stated that the department is working to ensure that every person who is legally entitled to a Smart ID is able to get one.

This forms part of Schrieber’s broader strategy to make the DHA a digital-first department, called ‘Home Affairs @ home’.

Between 1 October and 31 December 2024, the department issued 970,543 Smart IDs, overperforming the quarterly target of 575,000 by 69%.

However, the stated “IT blockages” appear to still be keeping these successes out of the hands of permanent residents and naturalised citizens.