Naturalized South African Citizens and Permanent Residents Now Eligible to Apply for Smart ID Cards
Johannesburg – Over 1.4 million naturalised South African citizens and lawful permanent residents are now eligible to apply for SA Smart Card IDs.
On Sunday, May 11, 2025, Home Affairs Minister Dr. Leon Schreiber declared: “For the first time in South Africa’s history, naturalised citizens and lawful permanent residents will have the opportunity to apply for Smart Card IDs when Home Affairs offices reopen on Monday, May 12, 2025, including via the eHomeAffairs platform.”
Minister Schreiber indicated that after months of thorough IT reforms, “this milestone signifies the most notable accomplishment yet in Home Affairs’ continuous digital transformation, with much more to come.”
Previously, IT shortcomings forced South Africans born abroad and permanent residents to depend on the outdated green bar-coded ID book, preventing them from acquiring the more secure Smart ID.
“This situation also limited their ability to utilize the eHomeAffairs platform for bookings,” Minister Schreiber highlighted.
“In rare cases, a few naturalised citizens could obtain Smart IDs only after securing ministerial approval and navigating a complex manual process.”
The minister stressed that the department’s digital transformation initiative has now resolved this issue, benefiting over 1.4 million eligible South Africans and lawful residents.
For the first time, they can access eHomeAffairs to obtain Smart IDs just like all other qualified individuals.
Minister Schreiber affirmed: “This breakthrough in our digital transformation efforts restores dignity to over 1.4 million individuals, including hundreds of thousands of South African citizens, who have endured years of unequal treatment.”
“For years, these South Africans were regarded as second-class citizens, barred from accessing the Smart ID and eHomeAffairs, forcing them to rely solely on the green bar-coded ID despite the government’s intention to phase out this document due to fraud concerns.”
“Thanks to the dedicated efforts of our team, guided by our focus on digital transformation, we have achieved this significant reform in just a few months.”
Minister Schreiber added: “The benefits of rectifying this inequality extend beyond these 1.4 million beneficiaries. This is also a win for enhanced national security.”
“Naturalised citizens and permanent residents were the last groups eligible for South African ID documents without access to Smart IDs.”
“With the resolution of this enduring injustice, every eligible person in South Africa can now obtain a Smart ID for the very first time.”
“This propels our objective of fully embracing the Smart ID and phasing out the green bar-coded ID book, thereby eliminating fraud linked to this document.”
Minister Schreiber noted that all citizens and lawful permanent residents can now obtain the Smart ID, with the next step being to expand its geographic availability.
“The department is already working towards this by significantly increasing the number of bank branches that accept Smart ID and passport applications,” he stated.
“It is clear that we are swiftly advancing in leveraging digital transformation to enhance Home Affairs services.”
To further assist naturalised citizens and permanent residents in securing their Smart IDs and manage the expected surge in applications, the department will extend office hours on the following weekends:
- Saturday, May 17, 2025: 08:00 – 13:00
- Saturday, May 24, 2025: 08:00 – 13:00
- Saturday, May 31, 2025: 08:00 – 13:00