South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs has announced plans to expand the smart ID and passport system to five new front offices in 2024.

The department first introduced the ‘live capture’ feature for passport and smart card applications in 2013 and has since rolled it out to 202 offices and 30 bank branches across the country. This is reported by
BusinessTech.

There are plans to expand the feature to five more front offices in the next financial year, making it easier for citizens to access smart cards and passports.

In FY 2022/23, the department issued 2,6 million smart cards against a target of 2,2 million, bringing the total number of smart cards issued to over 21 million since 2013. In FY 2023/24, the department plans to issue 2,5 million smart cards.

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iStock