Home Affairs plans to use machine learning to make yes or no decisions on visa applications through its Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system, with humans only stepping in when an anomaly is detected.
The ETA is currently live at four airports and processes short-stay visa applications from multiple countries, allowing eligible travellers to apply online before travelling to South Africa. Approved authorisations are stored on travellers’ phones, with biometrics checked on arrival.
Carli van Wyk, minister Dr Leon Schreiber’s spokesperson, says the ETA will use these technologies to make automated, risk-based adjudication decisions, limiting human discretion and opportunities for fraud. “Human intervention is required where the system detects an anomaly that needs further adjudication.”
The department previously said the system checks for indicators, including fraudulent or reused documents, and cross-references applications against criminal and other databases. It also checks more than 40 passport security parameters.
Paradigm shift
Speaking at the Home Affairs Quantum Leap: A Vision for the Future of Government event at Constitution Hill, Schreiber described the ETA as a “revolutionary” system covering the visa application, adjudication and communication process.
“In early 2027, we will add additional visa categories, including study visas and work visas, into the ETA to eliminate the scope for human interference, fraud, or delays in South Africa’s visa processing system,” says Schreiber. “Corruption is not only being fought; it is being replaced by automation.”
A backlog of more than 306 000 paper visa applications is being replaced by the ETA, he notes.
“This platform is already driving a revolution in tourism, as visa processes that used to take weeks have been cut to just 24 hours. In the process, it is repositioning Home Affairs as a powerful economic enabler and driver of growth and job creation.”
The visa system will be progressively rolled out beyond the current four international airports to cover all ports of entry, ensuring no one can legally enter South Africa without providing the biometrics and other AI-verified credentials Home Affairs requires to enforce immigration law.
Finger on the pulse
ETA was initially trialled for G20 delegates from China, India, Indonesia and Mexico in October last year ahead of the event. This was followed by an official launch by president Cyril Ramaphosa at OR Tambo in mid-August, which took the system live at OR Tambo International Airport, Cape Town International Airport, King Shaka International Airport and Lanseria International Airport.
By the time of the official launch, however, linking the ETA and biometric border system to the Airports Company of South Africa’s automated eGates was still a work in progress.
Home Affairs will be accelerating the expansion of the ETA to become the only platform to process all visa, permit and immigration-related matters. It has since been expanded for short-stay visa applications from 53 countries, “with more being added every week”, says Schreiber.
Go South, young man
Schreiber also notes that legitimate travellers from enormous source markets like China and India previously had to travel to only one or two physical locations to fill in a form, leave behind their passport, and wait weeks to receive an outcome – an approved ETA is now issued within 24 hours and stored directly in a smartphone wallet.
The Department of Tourism says India and China have been identified as two key source markets for South Africa to grow arrivals due to the high number of tourists who travel internationally from these countries.
“Currently, South Africa only receives 41 600 arrivals from India and 79 700 from China, a minor share of our total arrivals for 2024, which stood at 8.9 million total international arrivals,” its 2024/25 annual report says.
The Department of Tourism’s growth partnership plan from March indicates it aims to increase jobs in the sector to a million by 2030, with indirect jobs targeted at 2.3 million in the same period.
Tourism says it wants to increase international land and air tourist arrivals to 11.1 million by 2027 and 15 million by 2030. Between January and December 2025, South Africa welcomed 10.48 million international tourists, up 17.6% from 2024 and the highest number on record, according to the department.
Schreiber says the ETA system’s ability to speed up applications and detect fraud “means more legitimate tourists, more money spent in South Africa, and more jobs created for South Africans”.
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