Renewing your smart ID or passport at a bank branch in South Africa

Since 2015, South Africans have been able to apply for or renew a smart ID card or passport at select bank branches across the country, eliminating the need for applicants to queue at Department of Home Affairs (DHA) branches.

Booking slots at supported bank branches can be done online through the eHomeAffairs platform. The DHA notes that no walk-ins will be accepted for Home Affairs services at bank branches.

“You can only visit a bank branch once you have made an online application and booked your visit,” it says.

Moreover, the applicant must be a customer of the bank that owns the branch where they book their appointment.

The process is pretty seamless. South African citizens must first visit the eHomeAffairs website and register a profile, which requires personal details such as their full name, ID number, date of birth, email, and cellphone number.

The latter two pieces of information are only required for verification purposes.

Once registered, users can sign into the system, which is done through a two-factor authentication system that first requires your login credentials and password and then sends a one-time PIN to your phone number or email address for verification.

The eHomeAffairs home page then appears. To start the application process, click the “Create New Application” button at the top left-hand side of the screen.

The system then presents users with an application form, in which many fields are pre-populated with your details.

However, users must provide details like their country of citizenship, birth town, residential and postal address, and the location where they wish to capture their biometrics and collect the new documents.

Upon completing the form, hitting the “Submit” button will take you to the next step: document submission. Users must submit a copy of their ID before continuing to make payment.

The payment system requires applicants to load their banking details on the eHomeAffairs portal and then complete the transaction through Internet or mobile banking.

It’s important to note that once you’ve loaded your banking details on the eHomeAffairs payment portal, you can immediately book a slot at your preferred bank branch. You do not need to complete payment before doing so.

Supported bank branches

The DHA currently supports 30 bank branches across South Africa, and residents in Gauteng are the most spoiled for choice, with 17 of them located in the province.

In comparison, the Western Cape has five DHA-supported bank branches, KwaZulu-Natal has three, and the Eastern Cape has two. Mpumalanga, Limpopo, and the Northern Cape each have one.

There are currently no DHA-supported bank branches in the Free State or North West province.

However, while many of the country’s banks are ready to expand the services to more branches, the DHA has delayed the process.

This is according to several reliable sources close to the discussions between Home Affairs and South African banks.

All participating banks — Absa, Discovery Bank, FNB, Nedbank, and Standard Bank — have repeatedly told MyBroadband that they want to expand DHA services to more branches. Together, their initial expansion plans include 34 new branches.

This would more than double the current DHA-supported bank branch footprint.

However, while many expected the department to announce further public-private partnerships with banks by the end of November 2024, no such announcement came.

Participating banks say the ball is now fully in the DHA’s court.

The table below lists all the DHA-supported bank branches in South Africa, divided by province.