Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber says the next phase of the Smart ID rollout will allow naturalised citizens to apply for the card, followed by permanent residence permit holders.

Both these categories of residents in South Africa have previously been unable to apply for Smart IDs, creating a major stumbling block in the DHA’s plans to modernise the ID system in the country.

Until earlier this year, the Smart ID was only available to born citizens.

As a result, naturalised citizens or permanent residents who had lost, stolen, or damaged green ID books could visit only a handful of offices that still support the issuing of the older document.

In addition, naturalised citizens and permanent residents could not use the Home Affairs online booking system, eHomeAffairs, to apply for passports.

In August, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) started allowing naturalised citizens to apply for smart ID cards, following a pilot programme running since December 2023.

Schreiber announced that the system was gradually being phased in for naturalised citizens, with close to 700 applications being processed at the time.

Responding to a parliamentary Q&A this past week, the minister said that opening the system to naturalised citizens is part of the second phase of the Smart ID rollout and that permanent residents would soon also be able to apply for the cards.

However, he did not give specific timelines for the rollout of this phase.

“The Department used a phased approach (for the Smart IDs) which focused primarily on persons who are citizens by birth. The second phase will focus on other categories of citizens, e.g., naturalized citizens, followed by permanent residence permit holders,” he said.

“Permanent Residents will be eligible to apply for Smart ID Cards after the Naturalised Citizens have been included in the process flow of issuance of Cards—this would have proven system stability and capability to verify such applications.”

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) introduced smart ID cards in July 2013 with the intention of phasing out green ID booklets from 2018 to 2022.

However, only 21 million Smart IDs had been issued by the end of 2023.

This means that 42 million people in South Africa would still need to be processed. This would require around 14 million Smart IDs to be issued each year over three years to meet the lofty target (not factoring in various variables like migration, births, deaths, etc).

According to the DHA, it issued 2.6 million smart ID cards against a target of 2.2 million in the 2022/23 financial year.

The new administration delivered the latest budget vote for the department in July. It said it was aiming for 2.5 million smart ID cards to be issued during the 2024/25 financial year.

The Department of Home Affairs took a decision to modernise most of its enabling documents by introducing the Live Capture System in 2013. The intention was to replace the Green Barcoded ID book with the more secure Smart ID Card.

Schreiber has committed to a broader digital-first strategy for the DHA, moving to modernise its systems to be more in-line with tech-forward institutions like SARS.

As South Africa’s economy becomes increasingly integrated with global markets, businesses are seeking foreign talent to fill critical roles. Hiring a foreigner in South Africa is not as straightforward as recruiting a local candidate, however. South African labour law imposes strict requirements that employers and foreign employees must meet to ensure compliance. Employers who fail to adhere to these regulations risk facing penalties, reputational damage or legal action . While the South African business landscape thrives on diversity, under the Immigration Act employers are prohibited from hiring a foreigner unless they possess a valid work visa. Additionally, the Employment Services Act mandates that employers must first ensure that no suitable South African citizen or permanent resident is available to fill the position before considering a foreign worker. These laws aim to balance South Africa’s need for skilled labour with the protection of local workers. When hiring a foreigner, employers should be diligent in gathering these crucial documents: Work Visa: A valid work visa is non-negotiable. The visa must correspond to the type of work the foreigner will be performing (for example general work visa, critical skills visa, intra-company transfer visa). Proof of Qualifications: Employers should verify that the foreign worker possesses the qualifications and skills claimed. In some cases, qualifications obtained abroad may need to be verified through the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). Passport: A valid passport with at least 30 days` validity after the intended departure date from South Africa. Proof of Residence: Foreign employees must provide evidence of legal residence in South Africa. This could be a residential lease or proof of accommodation. Employment Contract: A written employment contract outlining the terms and conditions of employment is essential. This contract must align with South Africa’s labour laws and regulations. Skills Transfer Plan: For certain positions, employers must prepare a skills transfer plan to ensure that skills are being transferred to South African employees. Tax Documentation: Employers must ensure the foreigner is registered with Sars and has the appropriate tax clearances in place. Employers who hire foreign nationals without valid work visas may face hefty fines or even imprisonment. Non-compliance with these regulations can result in severe penalties, including fines of up to R100,000. The department of home affairs conducts regular audits to ensure compliance, and businesses found in violation of immigration or labour laws could also be banned from employing foreigners in future. It is therefore crucial for employers to adhere strictly to these legal requirements to avoid legal repercussions and ensure a smooth hiring process. By understanding and complying with these legal requirements, South African businesses can successfully integrate foreign talent into their workforce, driving innovation and growth while staying within the bounds of the law. • Advocate Tertius Wessels is legal director at Strata-g Labour Solutions.

Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber stated that 11 000 highly educated individuals could boost the economy by 1.8%.
Home Affairs aims to attract highly skilled workers to South Africa.
Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber believes importing more tertiary educated workers will boost South Africa’s economy.
Schreiber gave a speech at the Rand Merchant Bank Morgan Stanley Investor Conference on Monday, where he spoke about his department’s role in economic growth.
As well as administrative functions, he envisioned a Department of Home Affairs (DHA) that was a driver of investment, tourism and opportunity.
Skills needed for economic boost
Schreiber said National Treasury had earmarked the attraction of highly skilled individuals to South African shores as the second highest need on the list of economic growth factors.  
The number one stumbling block to economic growth – load shedding – is a fading memory, priming the DHA for a pivotal role.
“Bringing just 11 000 more highly skilled and experienced individuals to South Africa would triple the annual growth rate from the 0.6% the country experienced last year,” Schrieber told the conference, citing International Food Poverty Research Institute analysis.
Opening the door to such high-value individuals would be achieved through a new remote work visa that only forces a working visitor to register with Sars if they spend more than half the year in the country.
The economic upside, as per Schreiber, is that these working tourists spend their earnings in South African shops, restaurants and entertainment venues.
Only 16% of South Africans with tertiary qualifications
South African consumers are under pressure, with many having little disposable income. Even high-income earners can have up to 45% of their income taken by the South African Revenue Service (Sars).
Anyone earning more than R1 million is subject to a R250 000 flat tax fee plus 41% of their taxable income.
Additonally, a study released by the Department of Higher Education and Training in March showed 16.6% of the population had a tertiary qualification – that number dropping to 7.3% for bachelor’s degrees.
Figures for nations in Asia, Europe, and the Americas were significantly higher, with Singapore, Denmark, Australia, and the United States all recording bachelor’s degrees for more than 30% of their populations.
Across G20 nations, a combined 41.5% of the populations between the ages of 25 and 35 had obtained tertiary qualifications, as opposed to 13.1% of South Africans in that age bracket.
How to quality for a Digital Nomad visa
As of June, international remote workers only needed to meet three simple criteria to qualify for Digital Nomad visa according to Nomads Den.
Applicants need:
•    a valid passport
•    contracts or verified proof of remote work
•    an annual income of R1 million
The visas are valid for 12 months and come with a 36 month renewal option.

• The White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection proposes a raft of legislative reforms. • One is that the period a foreign national resides in the country won`t be the main considering factor for granting permanent residency. • The Department of Home Affairs is looking to introduce a points-based system for foreign nationals to apply for residency. As part of major policy reforms to overhaul the country`s immigration system, the number of years a foreign national resides in the country will no longer be a main determining factor for granting permanent residency. Periodic invitations for qualifying foreigners to apply for permanent residence will be introduced, together with a points-based system. These are among several reforms as part of the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection, as approved by Cabinet in April, as a policy to guide the drafting of new legislation and implementation of a new immigration and citizenship system. On Tuesday, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber, his deputy, Njabulo Nzuza, and department officials presented the reforms to address challenges in immigration to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs. Mavuso said the policy framework affirmed the use of the critical skills list to attract international migrants with skills and qualifications that were in demand. `The number of years that a foreigner has resided in the country will no longer be a main determining factor for granting permanent residency. Periodic invitations for qualifying foreigners to apply for permanent residence will be introduced, together with the points-based system. `Introduction of limited-duration permanent residence permits linked to minimum investment. The policy framework must provide for the establishment of the Immigration Advisory Board that will advise the minister on policy and legislative matters. The policy framework and legislative intervention are required to establish the Immigration Division, whose members are duly qualified to deal with the granting of various visas,` Mavuso said. He said policy framework and legislative intervention were required to establish Immigration Courts. On the other hand, the Border Management Authority Act was expected to be reviewed to align it with Immigration and Citizenship`s new policy framework. In July, Schreiber decided to extend the temporary concession for foreign nationals currently awaiting the outcome of visa, waiver and appeal applications. According to Schreiber, the extension safeguards applicants - including those who are contributing to South Africa`s economy through their scarce skills - from suffering adverse consequences or being erroneously declared undesirable while they await the outcome of applications submitted to the department. The committee was not happy with that decision - and several MPs raised concerns about capacity to ensure that undocumented individuals were deported. Regarding the protection of refugees, the new legislation must enable the department to refuse admission of persons for whom there were reasonable grounds for regarding them as a danger to the security of the country. This also includes the introduction of the `First Safe Country` principle as a precondition for admitting asylum seekers who have transited through safe countries. Mavuso said refugees and asylum seekers travel through safe countries, but still chose to come to South Africa. `Are we dealing with genuine asylum seekers? Or just economic migrants. Asylum seekers must show good cause for their unlawful entry or presence in the country. Refugee reception offices must be located at ports of entry in line with international practice,` he said. Furthermore, Mavuso said the department was currently developing a supplementary policy paper, which would be submitted to the minister for approval by 31 March 2025. The supplementary paper will take into consideration the legal opinion which has since been commissioned by the department. The MK Party`s Sihle Ngubane said the department`s presentation appeared good, but the situation in reality was worse. `Here we go again, we are good on paper, but we are bad at implementation. The situation on the ground is not the way it is being presented here. We are used to that now in South Africa. We have porous borders, people are walking over the border like going from the bathroom to the dining room,` he said. The Patriotic Alliance`s Stacey-Lee Gaby Khojane spoke on the issue of scarce skills. `Before you bring in foreign skills, you need to go and consult with the Department of Higher Education. We have students with skills that are not finding employment. How will someone from the outside be a better choice than someone on the inside,` she said. The DA`s Adrian Roos said the legislation would bring synergy between various legislation regarding immigration and citizenship.

 Joel Sihle Ngubane of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party and a member of the portfolio committee on Home Affairs have called on the department to prioritise local skills before issuing critical skills visas to foreigners. The committee met on Tuesday and was briefed by Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber on the implementation of the Vulindlela recommendations related to the department. The recommendations aim to review the regulatory framework and processes that govern the issuing of critical skills, general work, business and intracompany transfer visas at the department. This includes the point-based system that is used to determine visa eligibility. The point-based system considers at least six criteria, including age, qualifications, language skills, work experience, offer of employment and the income being offered to the applicant. Visa system implementation While Ngubane praised the department’s presentation on the recommendations, he expressed concerns about implementation. “Here we are as Home Affairs trying to look good on paper, but bad in practice. This is a good presentation. This is where the country needs to be, but we’re not there at all when it comes to practice,” said Ngubane. “We’re used to these things in South Africa where we come here with excellent presentations and paperwork and policies, but when we go to implementation, it’s zero.” Point-based system for visas Ngubane further urged the department to exhaust all local options before seeking skills abroad. The department has approved 4,913 critical skills visas since 2020. “Before we embark on the points-based system, does it kick in after we have locked at local skills first? Before we move in, we need to look at the local skills, so that when we go out there, we know we failed to find local skills,” he said. ALSO READ: Home Affairs investigates sale of South African passports and visas in Dubai “I was shocked when they said they refreshed the skills list in 2014, but the higher education publishes their list every year. All these years, where were they sleeping and not looking at lists? “Let’s involve the Higher Education department too in this, not only the Labour department. The Higher Education is sitting with an influx of skills that are not hired by Home Affairs. There are a lot of kids that are unemployed and have qualifications, but we speak of looking elsewhere for skills.” ‘Is construction critical skill?’ “If you go to Midrand where the Chinese are constructing houses, there are Chinese who are just doing construction work and you ask yourself: is that a critical skill? There is a problem there.” The member of Parliament also called for a review of some labour laws that allow people to get away with too much in the workplace. He emphasised that he wasn’t advocating for the mistreatment of workers, but rather for tightening laws to ensure South Africans are seen as reliable employees. “Sometimes as Home Affairs we look at the wrong things and fail to fix the right things. We need to look at our labour laws too. They [foreigners] bring their own labourers because our labour laws are weak, and theirs are tight,” he said. “Zimbabweans are occupying all our restaurants and business owners have seen the loopholes, that these guys can’t strike, they have not joined any labour unions. These things must be fixed. I’m not saying we must change our labour laws to treat our people inhumanely. I’m saying, how do we prevent people looking at Zimbabwean foreigners to employ than South Africans.” ‘People come in like they’re going to the bathroom’ Ngubane also highlighted the need to secure the country’s borders. “We need to look at capacitating the BMA (Border Management Authority). We talk nicely at the visa regime but we have porous borders,” he said. “People come in like they’re going to the bathroom and go back as if they’re going to the bedroom. Borders are porous, we need to go back and look at the basics before we look at what is being presented here.”