Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber announced production will end on 31 March 2027, and the green ID book will become invalid a year later. Home Affairs has urged affected citizens to plan and obtain the newer form of identification.

Schreiber made the remarks at the Home Affairs’ Quantum Leap: A Vision for the Future of Government event at Constitution Hill on Thursday (1/10). He described the green book as one of the most defrauded documents on the continent, a magnet for identity theft and illegal immigration.

He said approximately 14.7 million South Africans currently have only a green ID book. These citizens will have 12 months from when the system is shut down next year to obtain a new smart ID card. First-time applicants and anyone over 60 will be exempt from the fees for obtaining an ID card, as has been the policy previously.

“The continued use of the green ID Book is irreconcilable with the functioning of a modern society,” said Schreiber. “On 31 March 2027, the machines that produce this booklet will be permanently shut down and decommissioned.

“For the first time ever, every single eligible person will be able to obtain a secure Smart ID card. This is a quantum leap into the future for our country.

“Surveillance is the state watching the citizen. What we are building is the opposite: the citizen watching the state and other users of their data.  By the end of this administration in 2029, every last South African citizen will be formally documented for the first time in our history.”

More than 515 bank branches are currently offering biometric Smart ID replacement services, with more than 822,000 citizens having used the service. Home Affairs said it expects this to increase to more than 1,000 service points by the end of 2026.

Home Affairs is also introducing home delivery for IDs and passports, while the Electronic Travel Authorisation system has reduced some visa processing times to as little as 24 hours. It is also planning a biometrically secured ePassport and the modernisation of six land ports through a R12.5 bn public-private partnership.

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