Key Takeaways
• Starting May 12, 2025, naturalised citizens and permanent residents can apply for Smart ID cards in South Africa.
• Around 1.4 million people gain access to secure Smart IDs, ending years of exclusion from modern ID documents.
• Smart ID cards will be available via eHomeAffairs platform, Home Affairs offices, and soon at up to 1,000 bank branches.
South Africa 🇿🇦 has taken a major step forward by allowing naturalised citizens and permanent residents to apply for Smart ID cards, starting from May 12, 2025. This decision by the Department of Home Affairs ends a long period during which these groups were kept out of the newest and most secure identification system in the country. The announcement, made by Home Affairs Minister Dr. Leon Schreiber, now means that about 1.4 million naturalised citizens and lawful permanent residents can join local-born citizens in obtaining the Smart ID. This change is being hailed as a move toward greater social inclusion and a vital part of South Africa 🇿🇦’s plan to modernize how people prove who they are.
Years of Exclusion for Naturalised Citizens and Permanent Residents
Before this decision, naturalised citizens—those who were not born in South Africa 🇿🇦 but later became citizens—and permanent residents faced big problems getting the most up-to-date ID cards. Unlike local-born South African citizens, they had no choice but to use the old green bar-coded ID book. This document was not as secure and exposed its users to greater risks, including fraud.
Some naturalised citizens could get a Smart ID card before now, but this happened only in rare cases and required a slow manual process that needed direct approval from the Minister himself. Most people in these groups were not even allowed to access the eHomeAffairs website, the government’s main online platform for identity documents. This setup meant long wait times and lots of frustration, while also treating these residents and citizens as “second-class,” in Minister Schreiber’s words.
How the New Smart ID Application Process Works
As of May 12, 2025, all naturalised citizens and lawful permanent residents can apply for Smart ID cards, just like any other eligible South African citizen. The Department of Home Affairs has made the process much easier and more open for everyone by:
– Allowing applications on the eHomeAffairs online platform
– Making in-person applications possible at any Home Affairs office in the country
– Giving all eligible groups equal access to the same services as local-born citizens
To help people take advantage of this change, Home Affairs offices will be open for longer on special Saturdays in May—specifically on May 17, May 24, and May 31. On these days, offices will stay open from 08:00 to 13:00. This extra time is meant to handle the large number of new applicants expected, and to make it easier for working people to apply without missing work.
Why Smart ID Cards Matter
These new Smart ID cards are not only more modern—they are also much safer and harder to fake than the old green bar-coded ID book. According to the Department of Home Affairs, the government has been trying to get rid of the old ID book for some time, mainly because of its links to fraud.
By moving everyone over to Smart ID cards, South Africa 🇿🇦 is:
- Improving the safety of identity documents across the board
- Making government services more secure for people to use
- Reducing the risk of crime that can happen when less secure IDs are used
As VisaVerge.com points out, this policy change is an important part of digital transformation. The government hopes this shift will lead to quicker, more efficient public service and help to give more people access to what they need.
The Push for Digital Government Services
This reform is a clear sign that South Africa 🇿🇦’s government is pressing ahead with its digital plans. The use of online platforms like eHomeAffairs is helping the Department of Home Affairs become more modern and accessible.
Minister Schreiber spoke about this, saying that the department is “making ever more rapid progress in using digital transformation to deliver Home Affairs @ home.” He explained that the aim is to make Home Affairs services available to more people—no matter where they live or how they became citizens. The expanded use of Smart ID cards and online tools is at the center of this plan.
Extending Inclusion to Everyone
The move to allow naturalised citizens and permanent residents to get Smart ID cards is being seen as a win for fair treatment and social inclusion. In the past, not only were people barred from the most modern ID system, but they also often felt left out, as if they were not “real” South African citizens or residents despite meeting all the legal rules.
This reform means:
- All lawful residents and naturalised citizens can show their legal status with a secure Smart ID card
- These groups are fully included in digital government efforts, just like everyone else
- 1.4 million people, who were once left out, can now be treated the same as their neighbors
Local organizations and human rights groups have welcomed the move, seeing it as an end to what they call an old unfair practice.
Looking Back: How the Old System Worked
For many years, the only choice for naturalised citizens and lawful permanent residents was the green bar-coded ID book. This book went out of date as the government started rolling out Smart ID cards for native-born citizens a decade ago. The aim was always to replace the old book with cards that could be used easier across different services and were harder to abuse for fraud.
But even as the government talked about getting rid of the old system, hundreds of thousands of residents were stuck using it. In rare cases, naturalised citizens who pushed for a Smart ID could get one—but only if a minister gave special approval. For most, this was out of reach.
Not being able to use online government tools, such as the eHomeAffairs portal, made matters worse, creating busy lines at offices and slowing down any requests for essential services.
The Shift to a New System
In recent years, South Africa 🇿🇦 has tried to modernize its ID system. The Department of Home Affairs rolled out Smart ID cards with the goal of eventually ending the use of the green bar-coded book. The plan was to have everyone using Smart IDs by 2029 and to stop issuing the old book by around 2027.
Opening access to Smart ID cards for all legal residents and citizens is a big part of reaching these targets. It also helps cut down on fraud, which has been a major worry with the old book.
The Smart ID Card: What Is It?
The Smart ID card is a small, bank-card-sized document that carries a person’s details, photo, and digital security features. Unlike the old paper book, it is quick to check, easy to carry, and protects against copying and changes. It is now the standard ID document issued in South Africa 🇿🇦, with the goal that everyone will use it by the end of the decade.
Some of the main reasons the government is pushing for Smart IDs are:
- To control public fraud more easily
- To give banks, government offices, and businesses a more secure way to check who someone is
- To make travel, job searches, and official requests more straightforward
Naturalised citizens and lawful permanent residents can now also experience these benefits for the first time.
Making Smart ID Cards More Accessible
With so many new people eligible, the Department of Home Affairs is also planning ways to make it easier for everyone to get their Smart ID cards. Part of this involves working with the country’s banks. The Department wants to open Smart ID services at up to 1,000 bank branches over the next five years. At least 100 new branches are expected to offer these services before the end of 2025.
The Banking Association of South Africa 🇿🇦 is in talks with the government to work out agreements so that banks can start helping with Smart ID applications. This should make it easier for people across the country to apply without always needing to go to Home Affairs offices, especially in busy cities and small towns.
By spreading access to Smart IDs through banks, the government hopes to make it much easier for all South Africans and residents—including those who live far from Home Affairs offices—to get the documents they need.
Why Is This Policy Change Important?
This recent change reflects bigger shifts in policy and thinking in South Africa 🇿🇦. By finally allowing naturalised citizens and permanent residents to get Smart ID cards, the country is:
- Treating everyone fairly, no matter where they were born
- Taking a strong step toward ending ID fraud
- Updating government processes to keep up with the times
Minister Schreiber was clear about the importance of this reform. He said that keeping people locked out created an unfair “second-class status.” With this change, everyone who meets the rules for living or being a citizen in South Africa 🇿🇦 can now enjoy the same fast, secure, and easy-to-use identification system as everyone else.
What Do People Need to Do Next?
Eligible naturalised citizens and lawful permanent residents should now:
- Gather the documents needed for Smart ID card applications (such as proof of permanent residence or citizenship)
- Visit a Home Affairs office or use the eHomeAffairs website to start the process
- Make use of the extended Saturday hours in May if weekdays are difficult
- Ask about future options to apply at approved bank branches, as this system grows
The eHomeAffairs platform is the fastest and simplest way to start an application for a Smart ID card. You can find full details about the requirements and how to apply on the Department of Home Affairs’ official Smart ID page.
The Road Ahead
The Department of Home Affairs has clear targets for the future:
- End all use of the green bar-coded ID book by 2027
- Get everyone, including newly eligible groups, enrolled in the Smart ID system by 2029
- Give people more places and ways to apply for their Smart ID cards, especially through bank branches by 2030
For naturalised citizens and permanent residents, this means a brighter future with more equal access to key documents. No longer will these groups have to explain why they use an outdated document or face extra hurdles because of old rules.
A More Welcoming South Africa 🇿🇦 for All
In summary, South Africa 🇿🇦’s decision to open up the Smart ID card system to naturalised citizens and lawful permanent residents is an essential step toward making the country’s identification system safer, more modern, and fairer. This action marks an end to years of exclusion and signals a new era in which government services are made for everyone who calls South Africa 🇿🇦 home.
As more people join the Smart ID card system, the hope is that daily life—from opening a bank account to enrolling for school or applying for a job—will be simpler, safer, and free of unfair delays. The Department of Home Affairs’ ongoing digital transformation will make it even easier in the years ahead.
For those who have waited years to be fully included, today is finally the day to take that first important step. Now, everyone who is part of South Africa 🇿🇦, no matter where they were born, can carry proof of their place in this dynamic, diverse country with pride and security.
Learn Today
Smart ID card → A highly secure, bank-card-sized identity document with digital features, replacing the older green bar-coded ID book in South Africa.
Naturalised citizen → An individual who has acquired South African citizenship after birth through the legal naturalization process rather than by birth.
Permanent resident → A person lawfully allowed to reside in South Africa indefinitely but who is not a citizen by birth or naturalization.
eHomeAffairs → The official South African government online platform for applying for identity documents and managing related services.
Green bar-coded ID book → The old, paper-based identification document previously used in South Africa, known for being less secure and easier to forge.
This Article in a Nutshell
South Africa opens Smart ID card applications to naturalised citizens and permanent residents from May 2025, ending years of exclusion. This major policy shift modernizes identity verification, enhances security, and promotes equality. The new process uses digital tools, bank partnerships, and extended office hours to ensure broad, inclusive access nationwide.
— By VisaVerge.com
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