Latest news with #eHomeAffairs
The Citizen
5 days ago
- The Citizen
Home Affairs launches international service centres
The new Home Affairs international service centres provide a range of services previously unavailable to South Africans abroad. Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber announced on Friday the launch of new service centres abroad that will drastically reduce waiting times for South Africans living overseas. The new centres cut passport processing times from up to 18 months to just five weeks. 'The rollout of these service centres is yet another step on our journey towards delivering Home Affairs @ home,' Schreiber said. 'Home Affairs is now closer than ever before for South Africans living abroad.' First centres open in Australia and New Zealand Schreiber launched the first two service centres in Australia this week, opening facilities in Sydney and Melbourne. A third Australian centre is scheduled to open in Perth by the end of September. Two additional centres began operations this week in Auckland and Wellington, New Zealand, according to the Department of Home Affairs. These join the existing operational service centre in London, UK. ALSO READ: If you are in South Africa illegally, self-deport now, warns Home Affairs Expansion plans across multiple continents The Department of Home Affairs will also open additional service centres in the United Arab Emirates and China over the coming months. France, Germany and the Netherlands will follow later this year, with North America targeted for the new year. The department said further announcements will follow when these service centres open their doors. Comprehensive services offered The new international service centres provide a range of critical services previously unavailable to South Africans abroad. They handle application intake and processing for both adult and minor passports, covering new applications and renewals. This eliminates the need for South Africans to travel or wait indefinitely for consular appointments. Birth registration applications will also be processed at these centres. A new online appointment booking system brings predictability and transparency to the process while still accommodating walk-in clients. Email support and SMS-based application tracking keep clients informed throughout the process. The centres operate Monday to Friday from 9am to 12pm and 1pm to 5pm. Most significantly, services now have a five-week turnaround time compared to the current processing period of 12 to 18 months. ALSO READ: 'My life is stuck': Home Affairs' three-year ID delay leaves man unable to marry Digital upgrades in development The department said it was working to upgrade the eHomeAffairs live capture platform. This upgrade will enable the centres to offer Smart ID services, eliminating paper forms entirely. 'While the Department's ultimate aim is to deliver Home Affairs @ home by making our services available online all around the world, the opening of service centres around the world brings immediate relief to South African citizens living in other countries,' the department stated. An announcement will be made once the platform upgrade is complete. ALSO READ: Need an ID? Home Affairs extends office hours Delivering dignity to South Africans abroad Schreiber emphasised that the improvements extend beyond mere service delivery. 'These improvements are not just about better service, they are about delivering dignity to South Africans – wherever they live in the world,' he said. The minister highlighted the rapid progress. 'Home Affairs is now delivering for South Africans – including those living abroad – like never before,' Schreiber added. 'In just twelve months under the government of national unity, Home Affairs is making rapid and sustained progress to resolve long-standing challenges that affect South Africans everywhere.' READ NEXT: Businesses tap Home Affairs' visa reforms to recruit foreign talent and boost tourism
The Herald
18-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald
Online bookings and 5-week pledge: South Africans abroad get home affairs upgrade
South African citizens needing to register child births and renew passports while abroad can benefit from service centres being rolled out in several countries. The promise is to cut turnaround times to five weeks. Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber said some people had waited between 12 to 18 months to obtain a new passport. He launched the first two service centres in Australia this week, in Sydney and Melbourne, with another due to open in Perth by the end of September. Two centres went live this week in Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand. This is in addition to the service centre in London, which is operational. Over the coming months, the department of home affairs will open service centres in the United Arab Emirates and China, followed by France, Germany and the Netherlands later this year and North America in the new year. The service centres abroad will offer: application intake and processing for adult and minor passports, for new passports and renewals, ending the need to travel or wait indefinitely for consular appointments; birth registration applications; a new online appointment booking system that brings predictability, structure and transparency to planning, while also accommodating walk-ins; and e-mail support and SMS-based application tracking so clients are kept informed every step of the way. Opening hours are from Monday to Friday from 9am to noon and 1pm to 5pm. The department is also working to upgrade the eHomeAffairs live capture platform which will enable the centres to offer smart ID services and eliminate the use of paper forms. An announcement will be made when the project is completed. TimesLIVE
TimesLIVE
18-07-2025
- Business
- TimesLIVE
Online bookings and 5-week pledge: South Africans abroad get home affairs upgrade
South African citizens needing to register child births and renew passports while abroad can benefit from service centres being rolled out in several countries. The promise is to cut turnaround times to five weeks. Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber said some people had waited between 12 to 18 months to obtain a new passport. He launched the first two service centres in Australia this week, in Sydney and Melbourne, with another due to open in Perth by the end of September. Two centres went live this week in Auckland and Wellington in New Zealand. This is in addition to the service centre in London, which is operational. Over the coming months, the department of home affairs will open service centres in the United Arab Emirates and China, followed by France, Germany and the Netherlands later this year and North America in the new year. The service centres abroad will offer: application intake and processing for adult and minor passports, for new passports and renewals, ending the need to travel or wait indefinitely for consular appointments; birth registration applications; a new online appointment booking system that brings predictability, structure and transparency to planning, while also accommodating walk-ins; and e-mail support and SMS-based application tracking so clients are kept informed every step of the way. Opening hours are from Monday to Friday from 9am to noon and 1pm to 5pm. The department is also working to upgrade the eHomeAffairs live capture platform which will enable the centres to offer smart ID services and eliminate the use of paper forms. An announcement will be made when the project is completed.
IOL News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Naturalised citizens and permanent residents in South Africa can now apply for Smart ID cards
Naturalised citizens and lawful permanent residents will be able to apply for Smart ID cards for the first time in person at Home Affairs offices or via the eHomeAffairs online platform. Image: Ayanda Ndamane Independent Newspapers In a landmark move hailed as a breakthrough for equality and national security, Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber has announced that, for the first time in South Africa's history, naturalised citizens and lawful permanent residents will be able to apply for Smart ID cards. The applications can be made in person and through the eHomeAffairs online platform. The Home Affairs department said the change is a result of months of information technology reforms and is expected to benefit over 1.4 million people. Naturalised citizens are individuals who were not born in South Africa but have legally acquired citizenship after meeting residency and other legal requirements. They are distinct from citizens by birth, and until now, they faced administrative barriers that limited their access to certain official services, including the ability to apply for a Smart ID. 'For years, these South Africans were treated as second-class citizens by being excluded from access to the Smart ID and from eHomeAffairs, which effectively forced them to use only the green bar-coded ID book despite the government's stated intent to eliminate this document due to fraud concerns,' said Schreiber. Until now, those who became South African citizens by naturalisation, as well as permanent residents, could only obtain the outdated green bar-coded ID book and were locked out of the more secure Smart ID Card system. In rare cases, a Smart ID could be issued, but only through a slow manual process with direct ministerial approval. The Department's recent digital transformation initiative has now removed these barriers. 'This breakthrough for our digital transformation reforms directly delivers dignity to over 1.4 million people including hundreds of thousands of South African citizens, who had their dignity infringed for years by being treated unequally,' Schreiber said. He added that the reform also strengthens national security. 'Naturalised citizens and permanent residents were the last remaining groups of people eligible for South African ID documents, who were excluded from obtaining Smart IDs. Thanks to our redress of this long-standing injustice, every eligible person in South Africa is now able to obtain a Smart ID for the first time,' said Schreiber. To accommodate the anticipated influx of applications, Home Affairs offices will operate extended hours on select Saturdays: 17 May, 24 May, and 31 May from 08:00 to 13:00. Schreiber concluded: 'Now that all citizens and lawful permanent residents are eligible for the Smart ID, what remains is to geographically expand access to all… It is clear that we are making ever more rapid progress in using digital transformation to deliver Home Affairs @ home.' THE MERCURY
Eyewitness News
12-05-2025
- Business
- Eyewitness News
Naturalised and permanent SA residents now able to obtain smart IDs
CAPE TOWN - From Monday, about 1.4 million naturalised South African citizens and permanent residents will be able to obtain smart identity documents (IDs). For years, information technology (IT) failures forced South Africans born abroad, as well as permanent residents, to continue using only the green bar-coded ID book. It also prevented them from using the eHomeAffairs platform to make bookings. In rare cases, a small number of naturalised citizens were able to obtain smart IDs only after being granted permission by the minister and following a tedious manual process. Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said for the first time on Monday, the department had made it possible for over one million eligible South Africans and lawful permanent residents to apply for smart IDs. "Following months of diligent information technology reforms, this step marks the single most significant milestone yet on Home Affairs' exciting journey of digital transformation, with much more still to come. This is the fruits of our focus on digital transformation."
