PRETORIA - Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber is pressing ahead with plans to phase out the country’s green ID books in favour of smart ID cards and digital visas.
The move aims to strengthen security, combat fraud and eliminate corruption in identity and immigration systems.
Speaking at the launch of the Border and Immigration Anti-Corruption Forum in Pretoria on Tuesday, Schreiber said paper-based documents and paper-based processes create loopholes for fraud and corruption.
Home Affairs is therefore planning to replace them with secure digital documents, smart IDs, digital IDs and electronic travel authorisation featuring artificial intelligence and machine learning-based adjudication.
Home Affairs plans to upgrade South Africa’s border control systems. The department will automate entry and exit procedures at all ports of entry as part of its medium-term development plan.
Scheiber says these reforms will revolutionise the country’s border management and immigration.
“No more papers that can go missing or be manipulated. No more photo-swapping on green ID books. No more bribing an immigration officer to alter an outcome or to gain illegal entry to our country,”