Home Affairs Dismisses 20 Officials, Moves to Digital Visa System

The ETA forms part of a broader reform agenda, including the development of an Intelligent Population Register and a new Digital ID system.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has announced a series of disciplinary and digital reform measures aimed at curbing corruption and closing loopholes in South Africa’s immigration system.

Speaking in Pretoria on Monday following the release of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) interim report, Schreiber confirmed that disciplinary processes against implicated officials are underway.

“A total of 20 officials have already been dismissed since April last year,” the Minister said.

Crackdown on Corrupt Officials

The SIU investigation uncovered recurring schemes involving document fraud, visa and work-permit manipulation, and facilitation networks enabling unauthorised entry into South Africa.

Schreiber said he has requested the Director-General to engage the Department of Public Service and Administration and the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs to prevent dismissed officials from being re-employed in other parts of the State while criminal proceedings are ongoing.

Over the past two financial years:

• 75 disciplinary cases were completed

• 16 officials were suspended without pay

• 22 received written warnings

Several cases have also been referred for criminal prosecution.

“I would encourage the National Prosecuting Authority to prioritise these cases as part of our collective efforts to restore the rule of law,” Schreiber said.

2,000 Fraudulent Study Visas Identified

The department has identified more than 2,000 study visas that were fraudulently issued through syndicates operating within Home Affairs.

Administrative processes are underway to cancel these visas. Authorities will also ringfence any subsequent visas obtained by the same individuals to ensure that irregularly issued documents are revoked and that perpetrators are deported or prosecuted where required.

Ending Manual Processes

Schreiber said the department is moving decisively away from paper-based systems, which the SIU confirmed had created opportunities for manipulation.

“Paper-based and manual processes have long created space for crooked officials to overlook fraudulent documents or approve non-compliant applications,” he said.

To address this, Home Affairs has begun rolling out the Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system.

Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA)

Launched last year, the ETA allows visa applicants to:

• Apply online

• Capture biometrics

• Receive real-time approvals

The system uses machine learning to verify the authenticity of documents such as passports and biometric facial recognition to match applicants’ faces to passport photos.

To date, the ETA has declined more than 30,000 tourist visa applications that did not meet regulatory requirements.

“The ETA operates through rules-based decision-making overseen by the Department but cannot be manipulated by any official,” Schreiber said.

Expansion to Airports and Land Borders

In partnership with the Border Management Authority and the South African Revenue Service, Home Affairs is expanding facial recognition technology to all international airports and the busiest land ports of entry.

Once the rollout is complete, the ETA will become the central processing system for all tourist visas, replacing manual processing at South African missions abroad.

The system will later expand to additional visa categories, including study visas.

Toward a Digital ID and Intelligent Population Register

The ETA forms part of a broader reform agenda, including the development of an Intelligent Population Register and a new Digital ID system.

These initiatives aim to:

• Record biometrics for every person in South Africa

• Strengthen identity verification

• Protect citizenship records

• Combat identity theft linked to the green bar-coded ID book

“This is how we eliminate the scourge of identity theft by illegal immigrants,” Schreiber said.

The Minister said the combined disciplinary actions and digital transformation efforts are designed to ensure accountability, restore public trust and prevent future manipulation of immigration systems.