Home Affairs plans to introduce biometric or “e-passports” in its Medium-Term Development Plan.
South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs wants to upgrade the country’s passport to be more secure and better aligned with other nations by adding digital biometrics.about how South Africa’s passport has climbed the Henley Passport Index ranks, Minister Leon Schreiber said Home Affairs must do more to secure the document further.
He explained that European passports, for example, have “something that looks like a little camera” at the bottom on the front of the document. “Then you can confirm that the person who’s travelling is actually the owner of the passport. We need to catch up and we need to add that new passport functionality.”, the Minister highlighted the department’s plan to introduce biometric or “e-passports” featuring a similar microprocessor chip to authenticate South African travellers.
Schreiber said newer technologies would play a critical role in this regard, as Home Affairs must ensure that people who apply for a passport will only get it if their biometric information matches the department’s records. “By fully digitalising and closing off to fraud and manipulation the process to obtain enabling documents — including passports — we will significantly enhance the integrity of our documents.”Since he was appointed Minister of Home Affairs, Schreiber has prioritised digitally transforming the department. He believes that removing human intervention from its processes will eliminate opportunities to commit fraud.
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