Home Affairs expands new online booking system in South Africa – and the bank branches where you can get your Smart ID and passport

The Department of Home Affairs has extended its online Branch Appointment Booking System (BABS) to 56 offices, following its launch in June to process Smart ID cards and passport applications.

Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that since its commencement in June 2022, 115,329 South Africans have used this system – now available in all nine provinces.

Find your city here

The system was initially piloted in 24 of the department’s busiest offices upon soft launch in December, allowing booked and walk-in clients. However, in the future, select Home Affairs branches will only process smart ID and passport applications for clients who have booked an appointment through the Branch Appointment Booking System.

“Apart from making sure that there are no queues in the Home Affairs offices where it is implemented, the BABS system will help eradicate corruption by making sure that those who practice the obnoxious behaviour of selling queue spaces have no clients because clients book straight online and come at the appropriate time, and hence they have no need to buy space from anybody in the queue,” the minister said in May.

The minister said that the department also plans to introduce branches in shopping centres to ease the load on current offices.

Presenting his departmental budget speech in May, Motsoaledi said that while new branches are being built, the introduction of Home Affairs outlets inside shopping malls would provide ‘immediate relief’ in areas that already have high footfall.

“Operating Home Affairs offices at malls will obviate the problem of queuing in the sun or rain. Malls will also provide convenient and safe parking for clients,” he said.

Discussions are already underway with several malls around the country, including:

• Menlyn Mall in Tshwane
• Cresta Mall in Johannesburg
• Southgate Mall in Johannesburg
• The Pavillion in eThekwini
• Tygervalley Mall in Cape Town

“Since the malls still have to move some tenants around to make way for Home Affairs, we will install our equipment there around September this year. We shall start with the Menlyn Mall in Pretoria and then roll out to the rest,” he said.

Banks

Many of South Africa’s popular banks plan to extend the number of branches where customers can get their smart ID cards or passports, and avoid the chaotic Home Affairs process.

Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said in a parliamentary meeting last year, that the Department of Home Affairs’ partnership with banks is planned to extend to 70 branches.

The department is set to roll out its expansion from 1 July 2022.

First National Bank and Standard Bank make up the majority of home affairs supported bank branches while Capitec currently does not offer the service.

Applicants who wish to use their personal bank are required to register on the E-Home Affairs system, book an appointment and then visit the bank to make payment and collect the important documents.

The Department of Home Affairs also plans to expand its own E-services in the next few months to alleviate long queues and reduce strain on the department. The new system allows for clients to make a booking and visit the office on the date and time of the appointment without having to queue.

According to the Department of Home Affairs Annual Report for 2020/2021, the department continues to face common challenges, namely, unstable and uninterruptable network infrastructure, long queues, insufficient and poor office accommodation, and capacity constraints.

---

Bank branches

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) continually adjusts its list of approved bank branches where people can apply for a smart ID card or passport, with 26 branches currently available.

The below-mentioned branches do not allow for walk-ins and require an online application and booking process only.

Absa

Discovery

FNB

Investec

Nedbank

Standard Bank

Read: These jobs have been added to South Africa’s critical skills list