Schreiber to launch passport doorstep deliveries
The Department of Home Affairs will, for the first time, offer doorstep deliveries of passports starting next month, reports News24.
The service will go live for certain South Africans living abroad, ahead of a future local launch.
The initiative will mean that passport applicants do not need to travel to Home Affairs offices to collect their documents if they opt for home delivery.
The department said delivery would take between 24 and 72 hours and will cost $30 to $60 (roughly R500 to R1 000).
The service will begin on 1 November 2025.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber made the announcement in an address at the launch of a dedicated service centre in The Hague, in the Netherlands, yesterday.
Doorstep delivery will be available for passport applications submitted at Home Affairs service centres. These include Melbourne, Perth, Dubai, London, New York, Ottawa, Beijing, and Berlin.
The plan is to increase the number of service centres. The department said one of the goals of launching doorstep delivery was to trial the offering before launching a similar service locally.
Asked why it would first roll the service out to South Africans living abroad and then only to people living locally, Schreiber said the expected volume of applications would be easier to manage this way.
Since taking office, one of the key goals identified by Schreiber has been its massive partnership with local banks for ID and passport applications.
Eventually, Home Affairs aims to expand this partnership with the banks to include in-app applications and home delivery.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
