I got my smart ID at an E-Home Affairs bank branch — slow but functional

The Department of Home Affairs’ smart ID card application system works well, provided you don’t need the card urgently.

Home Affairs launched its E-Home Affairs system in partnership with four of South Africa’s major banks to speed up its smart ID rollout and help reduce strain on its branches.

The system lets you make bookings at selected Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and bank branches.

As my passport had recently expired and I had never applied for a smart ID card, I decided to give the system a go.

After submitting a combined application for a new smart ID card and passport renewal on 31 March 2022, my passport was ready for collection only a week later.

However, the smart ID card was not ready until 21 April 2022. It took 36 days (26 working days) to arrive from the date of payment.

Interestingly, the card shows the date of issue as 12 April — nine days before the DHA confirmed that it was ready for collection.

The application is similar for passports and smart ID cards. I was prompted to select my application type and could choose to renew my passport, smart ID card, or both.

I selected both application types, and there are several options for each, such as applying for a first issue or a renewal.

The form then auto-fills much of the required information but requires you to provide the following:

• Country of citizenship
• Birth town
• Residential and postal address
• The location at which you wish to have your biometrics captured and from which to collect your documents

I selected the Standard Bank Centurion branch as the location. The branch is at the Centurion Lifestyle centre.

Once the form is filled out, you can hit the “Submit” button at the top of the pages to progress to the next step — document submission.

I was then required to upload a copy of my ID and make payment. I was able to pay the fees by capturing my banking details on the E-Home Affairs portal and then finalising the transaction on internet banking.

Once your banking details have been captured, you can book a slot at the selected branch. You do not have to complete payment before booking.

I captured my details and completed the payment on 16 March 2022. The first available slot to capture my biometric data was only on 31 March 2022 at 13:00, which I reserved.

The process for biometrics capture was pleasant and efficient.

There were two Home Affairs staff working at the Standard Bank branch — one capturing biometrics and the other assisting with collections.

I was in and out in less than ten minutes.

However, when it comes to collecting your documents, it can be a bit more tricky. I would recommend arriving to receive your documents on the hour or just before.

I arrived to collect my ID card in the middle of a booking slot and had to wait a while for the people before me to have their biometrics captured before collecting my document.

The table below gives a timeline of the sequence of events during my smart ID and passport E-Home Affairs experience.

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