LISTEN: Home affairs begins migration to electronic services
The Department of Home Affairs will begin phase one of its migration from manual to electronic capturing of births, marriages and deaths (BMD) on Friday.
South Africans applying for BMD certificates will no longer have to complete paper forms.
The process will include printing details of parents and guardians on children's passports.
Minister Malusi Gigaba and Director-General of the department Mkhuseli Apleni briefed the media at in Pretoria on Wednesday.
"The end product will be the automation of the way Home Affairs offices capture birth registration and issue certificates for births, marriages, and deaths. Documents will now be saved electronically and be easily retrieved upon request, as opposed to the old paper-based system," said Gigaba.
Parents will no longer have to carry an unabridged birth certificate when traveling with children unless it's a requirement in the country they will be traveling to.
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Gigaba says upgrade services for smart ID cards and passports will not be available at the 184 Home Affairs offices nationally with the exception of large offices.
"Large offices would have been attended to on Sunday 15 July, with no impact on services. Work in Gauteng province will also be carried out over the weekend of 14-15 July, which means no office in Gauteng will experience disruption," he said.
The migration is expected to be completed in 2019 and services will then begin to be rolled out.