South Africa will begin doorstep delivery of passports for citizens living abroad from November 1, marking the first time the country has offered courier delivery for critical government documents, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber announced today.
The service will initially be available at 18 cities worldwide where South Africa has established new service centers that have reduced passport waiting times from 18 months to five weeks. Delivery fees will range from $30 to $60 with turnaround times of 24 to 72 hours.
“This bold reform not only promotes inclusivity by resolving long-standing problems experienced by South Africans abroad when applying for a passport but also amounts to another watershed moment,” Schreiber told the South African community in The Hague during the announcement.
The minister unveiled the initiative at the opening of a new dedicated service center in The Hague. Similar centers have opened in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Wellington and London since July.
Additional centers are planned for the United Arab Emirates and China in coming months. France, Germany and North America will follow later, according to the department.
The doorstep delivery represents part of Schreiber’s broader “Home Affairs @ home” vision. The department plans to extend the service to South African residents once the international rollout proves successful.
“Once we are comfortable that doorstep delivery is working smoothly and securely for the relatively small population of South Africans living abroad, we will scale up this reform,” Schreiber said in a statement.
The reform addresses persistent complaints from the estimated two million South Africans living overseas. Many previously waited over a year for passport renewals through consular offices.
VFS Global operates the new service centers under contract with the department. The centers offer online appointment booking, SMS tracking and email support alongside walk-in services.
The centers process both adult and minor passport applications. Birth registration services are also available at the facilities.
Home Affairs has struggled with service delivery backlogs for years. The department cleared over 306,000 visa applications in the past year and produced 3.6 million Smart ID cards.
Digital transformation initiatives include partnerships with South African banks. Capitec, FNB, Standard Bank and Absa now offer document services at selected branches.
The department aims to eventually enable passport applications through banking apps. Home delivery would follow for domestic applicants using facial recognition technology for security.
South African citizens must enter and exit the country using South African passports even if they hold dual citizenship. The new service aims to ease this requirement for diaspora communities.