Good news for anyone applying for a Smart ID or Passport in South Africa
Home Affairs will expand its services at bank branches, with the broader partnership set to soon offer passport applications and document home delivery.
This is according to Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber, who gave the latest updates at his department’s budget vote for 2026/27 at the National Council of Provinces.
The department recently expanded its partnership with banks. While the initial pilot began a decade ago, the older system, which saw Home Affairs staff seconded to banks, was limited to around 30 branches.
The new system gives banks greater control and eliminates the need for Home Affairs staff. Capitec, FNB and Standard Bank have expanded the service to over 150 branches since its launch.
The Minister said that the new system is part of the Home Affairs @ Home initiative, which aims to bring Home Affairs’ services closer to where people stay.
“Instead of making people take a whole day off work to get a new ID, we have cut application times to as little as five minutes through our new digital partnership model,” he said.
“By digitalising our long-standing partnership with the banking sector, we have already expanded access to Smart ID replacement services by an incredible 47% within just two months of launching the new system.”
During the first eight weeks since the new system went live, 127,364 South Africans have already used the service, the Minister said.
The Minister added that the project’s success has led Home Affairs to raise its ambitions.
It now hopes to activate Smart ID replacement services at 750 bank branches by the end of 2026, with a specific focus on rural and underserved communities.
For context, the department previously aimed to reach 1,000 branches by the end of the medium term (2028/29).
He added that over the coming months, Home Affairs will add first-time ID applications, passport applications, and doorstep delivery to this new system.
He said that the new system will allow South Africans to arrange for their enabling documents to be delivered to their homes, without having to go to a physical location to collect them.
On top of the new service offerings, Home Affairs has rolled out an upgraded online booking system.
The Minister said that neglect and underinvestment meant that the old booking site was abused by unscrupulous individuals, who would book slots and then sell them to those who needed them.
The new booking site has secured the system against such abuses, the Minister said. However, he warned that the system will take a week or two to stabilise fully.
New digital ID in the works
The Minister added that the department is working on a Digital ID, which will enable citizens to participate in the modern digital economy.
The department recently published draft regulations under the Identification Act to establish an appropriate framework for the Digital ID system.
Schreiber has invited stakeholders to participate in the public comment period, which concludes on 6 June.
He said that the Digital ID will allow South Africans to securely access critical documents and Home Affairs services digitally through their smartphones.
However, the department’s immediate focus will be on moving South African citizens from Green ID books to Smart IDs.
“The Green ID book is often cited as the most defrauded document on the African continent. It sits at the heart of identity theft and illegal immigration,” he added.
In the previous year, the department issued a record of 4 million Smart IDs, with the new digital partnership set to ramp up Smart ID issuance.
He added that scaling up access to the Smart ID will eventually allow the department to stop recognising the Green ID as a valid form of identification.
“This will eliminate fraud and identity theft linked to the Green ID, striking a major blow in favour of the rule of law.”
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