UPDATE on Smart IDs for naturalised citizens

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For the longest time, Smart IDs for naturalised citizens were simply not available. Almost unconstitutionally, anyone who’d become a lawful permanent resident in South Africa was effectively barred from obtaining one.

However, one-month ago, on Sunday 11 May 2025, Home Affairs Minister Dr. Leon Schreiber announced Smart IDs for naturalised citizens were finally going ahead. It is understood that more than 1.4-million lawful permanent residents are now eligible for the latest ID.

SMART IDS FOR NATURALISED CITIZENS

Government has long touted the enhanced security of the Smart ID card. And yet millions were unable to access it, until now. Image: File

Frankly, we were appalled that such a situation even existed. In the past we were regularly contacted by readers on our WhatsApp line. Despite having all the same constitutionally enshrined rights, naturalised citizens were being discriminated against for decades. To become a naturalised South African citizen, you must first hold permanent residency for at least five years.

However, the good news is that Smart IDs for naturalised citizens are now available to anyone eligible through the e-Home Affairs platform. The application cost is R140. “This is a major milestone on the digital transformation journey of Home Affairs. It is a victory for social inclusion and national security. These citizens and lawful residents were previously excluded from the Smart ID and restricted to the vulnerable green ID book,” said Dr. Schreiber

IT SYSTEM ISSUES

Technology and IT system issues were the reason for unavailability of Smarts IDs for naturalised citizens prior, reports BusinessTech. Due to the vagaries of the old Home Affairs’ paper-based system, only certain residents could access Smart IDs on an invite-only basis. This was because all processing had to be done manually.

Worse still, naturalised citizens were only permitted to visit a handful of outdated Home Affairs offices that still supported the issuing of old green ID booklets. Embarrassingly for previous leadership, Smart IDs have been around since 2013. And green ID booklets were purported to be phased out somewhere between 2018 and 2022. And yet, they still remain in use, despite government’s own concerns about fraud and identity theft.