In a bold move to modernise public services, Minister of Home Affairs Dr. Leon Schreiber unveiled a five-year strategic plan today, aiming to transform Home Affairs into a digital-first department over the 2024-2029 term, Cape {town} Etc reports.
According to The South African Government, the Home Affairs @ Home initiative envisions a future where in-person visits to Home Affairs are no longer necessary.
Over the next five years, all services will be fully automated, digitised, and available online, allowing citizens to access them from home.
This strategy under the Government of National Unity aims to bring Home Affairs directly to the public.
Civic services:
Clients can apply for routine services like IDs, passports, and certificates online through a secure, biometrics-linked platform, similar to systems used by banks and SARS.
Applications will be processed by an automated risk engine, with human intervention only for anomalies.
Once approved, documents will be shipped directly to clients locally and abroad and eventually available digitally through a secure profile or phone wallet app.
Immigration services:
Travellers to South Africa will apply for Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) via a secure online platform, submitting biometrics for instant adjudication.
Again, human intervention will only occur for anomalies.
Over time, digital codes linked to passports will replace paper visas.
At entry points, travellers will scan their ETA code and submit biometrics for verification.
Extensions or status modifications can also be processed through the same platform.
Security:
Home Affairs @ Home will enhance South Africa’s national security by using biometric technology to prevent identity fraud and detect fraudulent or reused documents.
The automated risk engine will cross-reference visa applications with domestic and international criminal databases.
Integrated with the movement control system, it will notify immigration officials in real time when a traveller overstays, ensuring they can’t evade detection and enabling instant verification of foreigners’ statuses.
Minister Leon Schreiber said: ‘Through the implementation of this vision over the next five years, we aim to enable everyone with an internet connection to access Home Affairs services online – and it will transform every library or community centre equipped with an internet-connection into a virtual Home Affairs office.’
‘While we undertake the process of digital transformation, these reforms will also be supplemented by the rapid advancement of existing partnerships with accredited banks and retailers, to expand the footprint of Home Affairs across the length and breadth of the country without incurring the costs and delays of investing in new brick-and-mortar buildings.’
Schreiber adds that Home Affairs operates with only 40% of the necessary staff, making the current model unsustainable.
Minister Schreiber concluded: ‘In rolling out this ambitious vision for a re-imagined and digitally transformed department over the next five years, we will be guided by one central aim: to provide the best possible experience to the end users of our services.’
‘At Home Affairs, each and every one of the 62 million people of South Africa, as well as millions more international visitors, are our clients.’
‘It is with them and their interests at the forefront, that we will work during the 2024-2029 term of office to deliver dignity to all through our vision of Home Affairs @ home.’
First published on Cape Town ETC
