President Cyril Ramaphosa will officially launch South Africa’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) at OR Tambo International Airport on 12 August.
This will position the system as the cornerstone of the country’s digital immigration overhaul following its pilot during South Africa’s G20 Presidency.
Department of Home Affairs spokesperson Carli van Wyk says the ETA will apply to all visa types by year-end. Operation Vulindlela Phase Two’s latest progress report – which also outlines the next phase of the Department of Home Affairs’ Trusted Employer Scheme (TES) and related digital visa initiatives – has the addition of all qualifying countries pencilled in for as soon as next month.
“Work is underway to expand the ETA into a single, secure and fully-digital visa platform, replacing legacy systems and expanding the ETA platform to include visitor, work and study visas,” the report says.
The ETA combines biometric verification, machine learning and the upgraded Electronic Movement Control System (eMCS 2.0). It is billed as the flagship reform of the Department of Home Affairs’ digital transformation programme, aimed at strengthening border security, while making travel to South Africa faster and simpler for legitimate travellers, Home Affairs says.
In his May budget vote speech, Home Affairs minister Dr Leon Schreiber said the department’s goal was to move away from paper-based, office-centric service delivery by using digital channels, biometric verification and automation to improve access to services, while reducing fraud and corruption.
The ETA was launched last year as a targeted pilot for travellers from China, India, Indonesia and Mexico – the four visa-required countries participating in the G20 Leaders’ Summit hosted by South Africa.
The report says applications can already be completed within 24 hours, with dedicated airport lanes processing eligible travellers in under 60 seconds.
An ETA for ETA
In May, Schreiber explained the system uses biometric and machine learning technology to enable prospective travellers to apply for a tourist visa on their laptop or smartphone.
“The ETA transforms national security, by checking 40 different parameters to verify the authenticity of a passport and by using liveness detection to verify a selfie of the applicant against their passport photo,” says Schreiber. “The Border Management Authority then uses facial recognition technology once the traveller arrives at the border post, to verify their identity and visa.”
As of Schreiber’s May budget vote, the ETA had already processed over 75 000 applications, resulting in more than 71 000 approvals and nearly 4 500 rejections.
Two months later, more than 203 000 applications had been processed, with more than 5 700 fraudulent applications rejected on the back of machine learning-detected fraudulent passports, manipulated documents and other indicators of fraud, the minister said, addressing the Xpatweb Annual Global Mobility Conference.
“The ETA constitutes the most significant reform to our immigration in South African history. The reason is simple. The ETA is not just digitising a paper-based process,” says Schreiber. “It is replacing an entire operating system with a modern, intelligent platform.”
ID, please
The developments build on a broader digitisation drive that has seen Home Affairs roll out smart ID services through bank branches, start with the development of a digital ID system and replace paper-based processes with biometric verification and automated workflows.
Currently, when including the department’s 214 modernised Home Affairs offices, South Africans can access smart ID services at 541 locations, compared to just 214 before the bank partnership began.
By the end of the year, the digital partnership with banks to accelerate the rollout of smart IDs is expected to expand to around 750 participating bank branches. Together with the department’s own offices, this will give South Africans access to around 1 000 locations where they can apply for a smart ID card – nearly five times the number of access points that existed just two years ago.
Access to smart ID and passport services through participating bank branches continued to expand, with more than 200 000 applications processed across 171 branches.
Trust exercise
The Operation Vulindlela report also highlights the launch of phase two of TES, which broadens access to streamlined visa processing for qualifying employers and was gazetted last month.
The department says this is “another major step in modernising South Africa’s immigration system to reduce red tape, attract investment, and support economic growth and job creation”.
TES now covers strategic infrastructure projects, businesses setting up regional or global headquarters in South Africa, and qualifying financial sector entities. It fast-tracks visa applications for businesses that meet government criteria.
Eligible companies can recruit skilled foreign workers faster, provided they invest in South Africa, employ mostly South Africans, invest in skills development and operate in priority sectors, with applications assessed by an interdepartmental committee.
Schreiber says TES “directly contributes to the apex priority of the Government of National Unity, which is to grow the economy to create jobs”.
Home Affairs has also completed the first round of assessments for its Meetings, Exhibitions, Events and Tourism Scheme (MEETS), aimed at simplifying group visa applications for conferences, sporting events and exhibitions, as well as the Screen Talent and Global Entertainment Scheme (STAGES), which targets international film and creative productions.
The department’s target for the completion of the online web-based platform for a full rollout of STAGES is September, while a completion date for MEETS was not indicated in the Operation Vulindlela first quarter report.
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