Good news about South African smart ID cards

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has shared an update on the progress in rolling out smart ID cards to South African citizens, with nearly 2.7 million people replacing their green ID with the newer document between the first and third quarters of 2024.
The Minister shared the data in a chart on Twitter/X, revealing that his department exceeded its targets in the year’s first three quarters.
“A picture worth a thousand words,” Schreiber said in the caption.
Home Affairs issued 970,543 smart ID cards between 1 October and 31 December 2024, against a target of 575,000 cards.
“This represents overperformance of 69%,” Schreiber said in a statement.
Earlier in the year, between 1 July and 30 September 2024, the department issued 892,125 smart IDs against a target of 625,000 — an overperformance of 43%.
He also highlighted when Home Affairs announced its reforms during his tenure in the chart, which is embedded below.
Former Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor launched South Africa’s smart ID card project in 2013 with the aim of replacing the green ID booklet within a few years.
Specifically, in a notice dated 28 June 2013, Pandor said South Africa would start phasing out the green ID document “at least within three years from the effective date of this notice, or soon after.”
The goal was for all South Africans to hold smart ID cards within six to eight years after 2013, with the initial tentative deadline between 2019 and 2021.
However, South Africa’s progress in rolling out smart ID cards has been slow. When the system launched, 38 million green ID books were in issue.
Moreover, the Department of Home Affairs has also issued more green ID books since the smart ID launched, meaning this total is likely substantially higher than 38 million.
By March 2024, Home Affairs had issued 26 million smart ID cards, including the cards of first-time ID holders.
Former Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi, who served between May 2019 and June 2024, caused panic last year when he told E-tv News that the green ID booklet would soon be declared invalid.
However, current Deputy Minister Njabula Nzuza has since clarified that Home Affairs must reach 38 million smart ID cards before it can begin invalidating the old document.
To have reached this total within six to eight years of the smart ID card launch, South Africa would have had to issue 4.75 million smart ID cards annually — a target it has fallen far short of each year.
For reference, Home Affairs produced 2.6 million cards in the 2022/23 financial year and 2.8 million in 2023/24. It planned to issue 2.5 million ID cards in 2024/25.
However, Schreiber’s latest update shows that his department has picked up the pace significantly.
“Home Affairs is likely to exceed this annual target by over one million, as the Department is now on track to issue a record-breaking 3.6 million Smart IDs during 2024/2025,” he said.
The chart below shows South Africa’s uptake of smart ID cards compared to the Department of Home Affairs’ targets from Q1 2023/24 to Q3 2024/25.

Major smart ID problem in South Africa
While citizens born in the country have been able to apply for smart ID cards since 2016, it has been challenging or impossible for naturalised citizens and permanent residents.
In early January 2025, Schreiber said his department would “work flat-out” to enable “all South Africans” to apply for smart ID cards this year.
He said the department hopes to halt issuing green ID books by the end of the year.
“It is an internal target we are working towards to ensure that our department is fully invested in issuing smart IDs,” said Schreiber.
“Home Affairs will work flat-out this year to ensure that all South Africans are able to obtain Smart IDs as part of our vision to deliver Home Affairs @ Home.”
Schreiber’s Home Affairs @ Home strategy aims to expand the department’s collaboration with major banks to offer its services at their branches, offer home deliveries for Home Affairs services, and launch new online channels.
Schreiber’s emphasis on making smart ID cards available to “all South Africans” suggests that the DHA plans to allow naturalised citizens to apply for the document more widely.
In August 2024, Schreiber said 280 smart ID cards had been issued to naturalised citizens and that his department had a further 697 in the works.
“Once the system has been adjusted to verify compliant applications, all naturalised citizens will be able to visit any Home Affairs office equipped with live-capture facilities to apply for their smart ID cards,” he said.