Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber ultimately wants to dispense with the need for visits to Home Affairs offices and have all routine services conducted online.

This is the thrust of his five-year strategic vision announced yesterday to mark a week in which the GNU has been in office for 100 days, says a Business Day report.

While doing away with in-person visits to Home Affairs offices will require less personnel to staff them, Schreiber noted in a statement that after years of budget cuts, ‘Home Affairs now only has 40% of the staff required to provide adequate services under the current model that requires every client to physically visit offices for even the most routine transactions. The existing business model is not financially sustainable nor future-proof and needs to be replaced by a new model that enables clients to access our services wherever they are. This new approach envisions an ambitious new future where no-one has to visit a Home Affairs office in-person again to access routine services. Instead, 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.

In terms of the long-term vision, online applications would take place through a secure platform linked to the applicant’s unique biometrics, in the same way that banks and SARS already verify transactions, says the Business Day report.

‘The application will then be processed through an automated risk engine that only requires human intervention in cases where anomalies are detected. All other cases will be processed automatically, digitally and securely. Once an application is complete, the resultant ID, passport or other enabling document must be shipped directly to the door of the client, regardless of whether they live in SA or abroad, as is already done in the case of bank cards and vehicle licences,’ the statement said.

Schreiber said over time these vital documents will also be made available in digital format on the client’s secure online profile and in the wallet app on their phone.

Travellers to SA will also be required to register a profile on the secure online platform to submit an application for an electronic travel authorisation.

Schreiber noted that the proposed system would enhance SA's national security as the automated risk engine would be able to identify and prevent attempts at identity fraud by using the same biometric technology that already secures smartphones, online banking and other platforms.

Full Business Day report