Home Affairs to roll out door-to-door passport delivery for South Africans abroad
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has unveiled a worldwide door to door passport delivery service for South Africans living abroad, cutting application delays and expanding digital access to essential documents.
Image: File pic
South Africans living abroad will soon be able to have their passports delivered directly to their doorsteps, the Department of Home Affairs has announced.
The new service, unveiled by Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber during an address to the South African community in The Hague, Netherlands, will go live globally on November 1, 2025.
The announcement coincided with the opening of the department’s new service centre in the city, which has already reduced passport waiting times from up to 18 months to just five weeks.
The initiative forms part of the department’s ongoing digital transformation drive aimed at improving efficiency and accessibility for citizens around the world.
For the first time, South Africans applying for passports overseas will be able to choose courier delivery instead of traveling to a Home Affairs office to collect their passports.
The option will initially be available at 18 service centres worldwide, with delivery turnaround times ranging from 24 to 72 hours and fees between US$30 and US$60.
Schreiber said the reform was a significant milestone in the department’s modernisation efforts.
“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 for #TeamHomeAffairs as we work with urgency to reform our department from a laggard to a world leader in identity management,” he said.
He added that the department’s digital transformation was designed to eliminate the need for clients to travel long distances and stand in queues to obtain essential documents.
“Through our vision to deliver Home Affairs @ home, we are pushing forward relentlessly to eliminate the need for clients to travel large distances and stand in long queues to obtain enabling documents.
''Instead, our digital transformation journey means that we are using technology to decentralise access and bring our services to South Africans right where they live – anywhere in the world,” Schreiber said.
The minister said the department planned to expand the doorstep delivery option to citizens in South Africa once the system had been tested successfully abroad.
“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 to provide all South Africans with the option to have their documents delivered to their doorstep, including through our new digital partnership model with the banking sector.
''This latest step demonstrates that the tech-driven service delivery revolution underway at Home Affairs continues to gather momentum as we work to deliver dignity for all,” he said.
hope.ntanzi@iol.co.za
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