South Africa’s Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, has outlined measures to modernise the country’s passport system in a bid to restore visa-free access to key international destinations.
This follows challenges since Ireland introduced a visa requirement for South Africans last year, a change that has since led to processing delays of up to 14 weeks and widespread criticism from the trade.
Speaking on outbound travel challenges at the 2025 TBCSA Leadership Conference last week, Schreiber said the loss of visa exemptions was linked to weaknesses in South Africa’s systems rather than political factors.
“Our systems have not been modernised to secure and ensure the legitimacy of the South African passport. It’s on us. We need to work,” he said.
A critical gap identified in the application process was that while fingerprints and facial data are captured at Home Affairs offices, the photograph taken in the photo booth was not biometrically verified. Schreiber confirmed that this loophole had now been closed.
“The passport will not be produced if your face doesn’t match your record on the population register. This is the level of detail we need to get to if we want to solve the big problems,” he explained.
Further reforms include upgrading the population register into what Schreiber termed an “intelligent population register” that could interact with different agencies and private-sector users.
The department also plans to introduce a new e-passport featuring a biometric chip storing the holder’s facial and fingerprint data in line with international best practice.
“Insulating the passport application process and making the physical document itself more secure and more modern is what we need to do first. Then we can go and negotiate with countries around the world. Invite them to come and look at our process and give them that confidence,” said Schreiber.
He added that regaining visa-free access would require “focused and deliberate work” over the coming years, but expressed confidence that the reforms would help position the South African passport more favourably.
