Home Affairs explains premium service

The Department of Home Affairs’ proposed “premium” service would not be about fast-tracking document applications, but about offering delivery options, home affairs minister Leon Schreiber’s spokesperson has said.

Schreiber’s spokesperson, Duwayne Esau, was responding to a MyBroadband report based on statements made by a home affairs official in parliament last week.

The deputy director-general for civic services, Thomas Sigama, told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs about the idea.

“We are looking at the possibility of a so-called ‘premium service’ wherein… you will get your documents in a very short space of time,” Sigama said.

“Of course, that will have to go with cost. We’ll look into that and also come back and present those initiatives to the committee. Everything is in full swing.”

However, Schreiber, through his spokesperson, has clarified that the concept was about delivering documents to people and was still being fully developed.

“The Department will communicate when more details are available,” he said.

“What we can indicate, however, is that doorstep delivery of Home Affairs documents is one important element of our five-year vision to deliver Home Affairs @ home.”

Sigama made his comments following a presentation on the department’s efforts to combat corruption and fraud affecting South Africa’s identity documents, including passports and visas.

This anti-corruption endeavour is linked to Schreiber’s “Home Affairs @ home” vision.

Schreiber previously said Home Affairs’ long-term goal to eliminate fraud and corruption was to digitally transform the institution and minimise opportunities for human intervention in document applications.

He said their future end-to-end digital platform will handle all applications, adjudications, and communications between South Africans and the department.

After an online application for an ID, passport, certificate, or visa is submitted, a machine-learning-based risk engine will verify the completeness of the application.

The system will authenticate users, check for fraudulent documents, conduct facial recognition checks, cross-reference databases, process cashless transactions, and communicate the outcome to the applicant — all within seconds.

“No more standing in queues, no more waiting months or years for an outcome, no more being kept in the dark about the status of an application,” Schreiber said.

“And no more space for officials or syndicates to solicit bribes for a transaction to be processed.”

Once the system is in place, Schreiber said Home Affairs could deliver services to South Africans anywhere in the world.

“There is also no logical reason why we cannot offer a service where IDs and passports are delivered to the door of the applicant anywhere in the world — again, exactly like we already do in the banking sector with debit and credit cards,” he said.

The platform will allow citizens to access Home Affairs services online through a secure portal, comparable to widely used online banking platforms.

Schreiber said they could create secure profiles of every citizen and visitor to South Africa using existing facial and fingerprint recognition technology, such as the Face ID and fingerprint features found on smartphones.

He said if the department gets this right, the need to visit Home Affairs for routine transactions will be eliminated.

This shift would also enhance the work environment for department staff, allowing them to focus on more exciting and productive tasks.

“This would include devoting our staff to serving those who truly need it most,” said Schreiber.

“Including the poorest members of our society, people in rural areas, the 10% of South Africans who don’t yet use smart devices, and those exceptional or complicated cases that require more resources to resolve.”