Cape Town – In a move towards digital transformation, the Department of Home Affairs, led by Minister Leon Schreiber, has introduced a new rule to deliver visa waiver application outcomes via email.
Initially, this will apply to Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) holders, with plans to expand the digital-first approach to other visa and permit applicants.
This change eliminates the need for applicants to visit VFS Global offices to collect physical waiver letters, as they will now receive digital copies via email in PDF format, usable for future visa applications.
The Department of Home Affairs has today taken our first small yet meaningful step on the journey towards wholesale digital transformation to safeguard national security, enhance efficiency and create jobs.
From today, we are rolling out digital delivery of waiver outcome… pic.twitter.com/fvtmbNcZvh
— Leon Schreiber (@Leon_Schreib) August 29, 2024
“While this step on its own may be a small one, it is still meaningful as part of our larger quest to clamp down on corruption and to enhance efficiency of services by transforming Home Affairs into a digital-first department.
“This simple embrace of a digital-first approach to processing waivers has also significantly accelerated our work to clear the permitting backlog that dates back a decade, which started out at over 306 000 unprocessed applications.
“Through this change, we have been able to effectively process 60 582 outstanding ZEP waiver applications, many of which date back to 2022.
“Another 22 529 ZEP waiver applications are set to be processed soon, further reducing the backlog and freeing up valuable resources in a department that has been financially gutted to the point of only having 40% of the staff resources. This step illustrates our absolute determination to use technology to do more with the little we have,” the minister said.
Despite the shift, applicants can still opt to collect hard copies at branches, he said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
