Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber reiterated this goal during the department’s 2025/26 budget vote speech on Tuesday, 8 July 2025.
Schreiber stressed the urgent need to fully replace the green ID book with the smart ID card, as the former was “500% more vulnerable” to fraud.
The minister acknowledged that one of the most significant issues with the transition was that 101 out of the 348 existing Home Affairs offices still did not have the capability to issue smart IDs.
“As we speak, these offices are still issuing the green ID book that is at the heart of the scourge of identity theft and fraud our country is facing,” he said.
However, the minister said if the department had to wait for the funding to be made available to modernise all of its own offices, it would be waiting “forever”.
To bury the ID book for good, Home Affairs will scale up its existing pilot collaboration with banks to rapidly accelerate access to smart IDs by the end of this year.
It is unclear whether Schreiber was referring to the 2025 calendar year or financial year, which would put the planned discontinuation date in either December 2025 or March 2026, respectively.
However, the minister previously also announced his department’s intention to abolish the green ID book by the end of 2025.
It should be emphasised that the end of green ID book production will not mean the document will be immediately invalidated as an official proof of identity.
While an invalidation date must still be announced, the department’s revised strategic plan for 2025 to 2030 shows it only aims to have universal access to smart ID cards by 2029.
Home Affairs expanding bank branch access
Schreiber again repeated the department’s plan to expand its bank-based Home Affairs facilities by at least 100 more branches by the end of the financial year.
In the past few years, the number of branches supporting the service has stagnated at around 30 as the public-private partnership agreements between the DHA and banks have stalled.
The 100 bank branches could technically compensate for all the outstanding Home Affairs offices without smart ID issuing capability.
However, the deployment would need to be strategically sound to ensure coverage across the country, especially considering the participating banks can only offer the service to their own customers.
Schreiber added that integrating the Home Affairs IT platform into banks’ networks would enable South Africans to order their smart ID cards and passports through their banking app.
“We will introduce the option of home delivery for smart IDs and passports, using advanced facial recognition technology to secure the process,” Schreiber said.
Improvements for South Africans overseas and a digital ID
The banking partnership forms part of a broader Home Affairs digitalisation strategy, including introducing a digital ID system.
Once all citizens and permanent residents have access to smart IDs, the department will shift its focus to delivering digital versions of enabling documents that can be accessed online and on smart devices.
Schreiber said the digital ID will allow users to authenticate themselves remotely and lay the foundation for a “digital revolution” for government and private sector services like banking, finance and insurance.
Home Affairs plans to “shortly” submit a Digital ID policy to Cabinet for approval. Thereafter, the policy will be open for public comment.
Schreiber also acknowledged pleas from South Africans living abroad who often waited more than a year for a new smart ID card or passport.
“I am pleased to announce that, by the end of this month, we will launch new facilities abroad to assist South Africans living and working overseas,” he said.
The minister said the facilities would ensure a five-week turnaround time for IDs and passports. They will be rolled out first to South Africans in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates.
Thereafter, South Africans in France, Germany, and the Netherlands will get access, followed by those in North America.
