• An online instant visa for visitors to SA that captures biometrics and cross-checks applications with the security features of national passports will be rolled out in September.
• The visa system will also allow immigration officials to know in real-time if a visitor overstays.
• The digital document can be downloaded and stored in the wallet of a mobile phone.
SA’s fully digital visa system will go live in September, enabling visitors to apply online and store their QR-coded visas on their mobile phones.
All applications will be done online and involve scanning a passport and other necessary documents, a declaration, uploading a selfie, and making a payment. An AI engine will verify the authenticity of the applicant’s passport using dozens of different parameters based on their country’s passport.
The AI tool also has the capability to check domestic and international security databases and will match the face on the selfie to the biometrics on the passport to verify the applicant’s identity.
Successful applicants will get their visa on the spot as a digital document with a secure QR code that can be stored in a smartphone wallet. When the traveller arrives at an airport, they will look into a camera to verify that they match the selfie and the passport biometrics provided at the time of application.
Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber says the electronic travel authorisation will revolutionise the security and efficiency of South Africa’s immigration system.
“No more fraud, no more queues, just a seamless, secure, tech-driven and world-class experience where an application can be submitted without travelling anywhere or waiting months for a paper outcome that can be manipulated,” he says.
In the past, tourists and business travellers had to apply in person at an SA consulate, embassy, or a VFS Global service point. However, not all countries have VFS offices. This posed enormous difficulties, particularly for large countries like China and India.
Schreiber says that the common Home Affairs refrain, “our systems are down, please try again later”, will not apply to visa applications as “the system will run on its own modern infrastructure to ensure it is always up, with its own dedicated portal”.
Schreiber demonstrated the system to President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has strongly backed the digitisation, earlier this week.
The first rollout phase will be complete by the end of September, before the G20 leaders’ meeting in November. It will focus on tourist visas that are valid for less than 90 days for travellers who fly into the country. The list of countries and exact policy details are still being finalised, including transitional arrangements for travellers who obtained paper visas before the new system’s launch.
Over time, the system will be expanded to become the only immigration channel into the country, fully digitalising every visa category and every port of entry — air, sea and land borders — and ensuring that no one enters our country without providing biometrics and the basic information required to better manage immigration.
Schreiber, who took office a year ago, wants to transform the Department of Home Affairs into a “digital first” department over the next five years. The digitisation project will also include:
• Online applications for ID, passport, and certificates on a secure platform linked to biometrics. Human intervention will be required only where anomalies are detected. Over time, all documents will be available in a digital format on the client’s online platform and in a digital wallet on their mobile phone.
• The integration of biometric information will be able to identify and prevent attempts at identity fraud and will detect fraudulent documents that have been reused in multiple applications.
• By integrating local and global databases with biometric information and travel information, a risk engine will notify immigration officials in real-time whenever a traveller has failed to exit the country on time. Biometric information will also enable instant verification of the status of all foreigners in the country