The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has teamed up with the Border Management Authority (BMA), Government Printing Works (GPW) and the South African Revenue Service (Sars) to integrate Home Affairs services with banking platforms to expand Smart ID and passport services to hundreds of bank branches as well as to banking apps.

The agreement will also see the upgrading of the Movement Control System at all ports of entry, and the introduction of Smart IDs for naturalised citizens and permanent residents.

The agreement was jointly signed on Friday by Sars Commissioner Edward Kieswetter, Home Affairs director-general Tommy Makhode, BMA Commissioner Michael Masiapato, and GPW CEO Alinah Fosi.

Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber said the agreement marked a new era that would fundamentally reform and improve the way that the South African government works.

Under the agreement, Home Affairs, the BMA and GPW will leverage the technology capacity within Sars to modernise all civics and immigration services.

Schreiber pointed to the launch of a new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system to digitalise and automate immigration procedures to eliminate inefficiency and fraud.

The option to opt in for the secure courier delivery of documents will eliminate the need for document collection at Home Affairs offices.

The DHA will announce its activation on an ongoing basis.

“…this list of reforms also represents only the most immediate priorities for the next 12 months, with many more to follow over the term of the seventh administration in pursuit of our vision to deliver ‘Home Affairs@home’,” Schreiber said.

He said it is difficult to overstate the significance of what the department and these organisations have achieved jointly.

“The beauty of this shared approach is that delivering on our vision to digitally transform Home Affairs services will yield major benefits to both us and Sars. For example, the creation of a biometrically secured digital identity platform will enhance the ability to crack down on fraud and collect outstanding revenues, while the digitalisation and automation of immigration processes through the ETA will improve customs collection. It is our privilege to contribute in this way to fulfilling Sars’s revenue targets,” Schreiber stated.