Schreiber announces plans to digitise all Home Affairs services
Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber has announced plans to digitise all its services over the next five years.
Schreiber announced his plans to digitise home affairs services on Monday as he marked his 100th day in office.
This new approach is called Home Affairs @ home.
"Our vision directs that, over the next five years, all of the department’s services must become fully automated, digitised and offered online at the fingertips of our clients from the comfort of their own homes,” Schreiber said.
"Rather than going to Home Affairs, our vision under the government of national unity is to bring Home Affairs to you.”
He said these services would also be made available to foreign nationals who want to visit South Africa.
"Instead of endless paperwork and manual processes, travellers who want to visit sunny South Africa will also be required to register a profile on the secure online platform in order to submit an application for Electronic Travel Authorisation.
"The application must be adjudicated instantly, only requiring human intervention if an anomaly is detected by the machine. As part of the ETA application process, travellers will be required to provide their biometrics to Home Affairs.”
Schreiber added that documents such as passports and IDs will also be available in digital format on the clients' secure online profiles.
In August, the minister warned that the department’s outdated, paper-based systems leave it vulnerable to fraud, corruption, and identity theft.
"Using the latest machine learning technology, the risk engine will instantly detect fraudulent documents or documents that have been re-used in multiple applications.”
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