Home Affairs opens smart ID applications to naturalised citizens

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has delivered the “big news” that naturalised South African citizens can now finally apply for their smart ID cards.

Previously, those who called SA their second home were required to use the green barcoded ID, casually known as the “green mamba.”

NATURALISED CITIZENS TO GET SMART ID CARDS

In an X post, Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber posted: “For the first time ever, over 1.4 million naturalised citizens and lawful permanent residents are now eligible to obtain Smart IDs and use eHomeAffairs! We’re starting with applicants from visa-exempt countries and then expanding to all others.

Schreiber added that the development was a “major milestone on the digital transformation.”

He continued: “ It is a victory for social inclusion. As these citizens and lawful residents were previously excluded from the Smart ID and restricted to the vulnerable green ID book. And it is a victory for national security. As it makes our country less reliant on the insecure green ID book”.

SOUTH AFRICANS HAVE MIXED REACTIONS

While naturalised citizens will be enjoying the benefits of smart ID cards – particularly enhanced safety – many South Africans expressed their concerns.

@Nelisiwe94: “So many people being naturalised? I wonder what process they followed to qualify. I hope we are not giving citizenship to undeserving people who are coming to SA with ulterior motives”.

@AwaitedOne1: “It’s an invasion, a hostile takeover. Are they going to get voting rights as well?”

@LimpopoLadyy: “That’s a whole lot of foreigners. If we add the wives/husbands, children, and other relatives they brought, that’s over 15 million foreigners”