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With Tourism Month on our doorstep, it’s encouraging to see the country making positive strides in attracting visitors to our shores.
In further efforts to ease travel into the country – safely and securely - Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber announced the launch of an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) this week.
It was initially piloted during South Africa’s G20 Presidency for travellers from China, India, Indonesia, and Mexico towards the end of last year, with the ETA already processing 216,204 applications – with 6,126 fraudulent applications rejected.
This new technology is designed to streamline how international travellers apply for 90-day visas.
READ: South Africa tourism: What if we became tourists in our own country?
Home Affairs goes digital
This is the third pillar of Home Affairs’ digital journey.
Over the past two years, the department has been working towards what Schreiber calls ‘Home Affairs @ home’, which brings services to people digitally rather than requiring them to visit a physical office.
The 3 pillars are:
- Digital access to civic services
- Digital identity
- Digital immigration
The first is already underway. Schreiber said more than 400 bank branches now offer digital Smart ID replacement services through their integration with Home Affairs. More than 500,000 South Africans have used the service since it launched, according to the Minister.
By the end of 2026, the department plans to add first-time Smart ID applications, passport applications, and home delivery.
The next step is digital identity, with plans for digital versions of identity credentials to eventually be available on smartphones.
Then there is immigration, which is where the ETA comes in.
So, how does the ETA work?
Through the ETA system, eligible travellers can:
- Create a profile online (eta.dha.gov.za)
- Verify their phone number and email address through a one-time pin
- Scan their passport
- Upload a selfie
- Make payment once verified
Biometric technology compares the passport photograph with the traveller's face, while the system checks more than 40 passport parameters to establish whether the document is authentic. Applications also undergo automated risk analysis before approval.
If approved, travellers receive their ETA within 24 hours and can store it in a digital wallet on their smartphone.
Management at South African borders
To enable this functionality upon arrival, the Border Management Authority, in collaboration with the South African Revenue Service, has upgraded the Electronic Movement Control System to create EMCS 2.0 at the international airports.
Travellers will have their faces checked again when they arrive, allowing officials to verify that the person entering the country is the same person who received travel authorisation.
“Unlike the BMA’s old movement control system, EMCS 2.0 is biometrically enabled to use facial verification to determine whether a traveller may enter the country, eliminating the scope for criminals to use fraudulent passports or visa papers,” says Schreiber.
“In other words: the face of the traveller becomes the key that determines whether they may enter, rather than physical documents that can be manipulated.”
Connecting to South African airports
Schreiber says the next step is linking the ETA and EMCS 2.0 to eGates, which are owned by ACSA.
“I would like to appreciate the collaboration that has started between ACSA, the BMA, Home Affairs and SARS, and to encourage the teams to urgently accelerate the work to integrate the ETA with the eGates,” he notes.
Over the coming weeks, embassies of countries will be informed as they are systematically added to the ETA. It’s currently available for travellers arriving at:
- OR Tambo International Airport
- Cape Town International Airport
- King Shaka International Airport
- Lanseria International Airport
READ: King Shaka International Airport is on the rise: Why its recovery matters for Durban
Long-term plans for the digital system
Schreiber's ambition is for this to eventually become much bigger than a digital visa system.
“With our airports fully equipped, we will turn our attention to land and sea ports over the coming months to roll out facial recognition and EMCS 2.0 at all ports of entry,” he adds. “Our aim is to turn it into the single-entry point and central platform for an end-to-end digital immigration system.”
The department also plans to expand the system to more visa categories, including study, spousal, and work visas.
For travellers, this could mean a much smoother journey into South Africa, although exactly when each new feature becomes available will depend on the phased rollout
Benefits of this new travel system
- Faster visa processing with less paperwork and no need for physical documents.
- More efficient arrivals with shorter queues.
- Biometric verification, which allows for stronger fraud prevention.
- Real-time overstayer detection.
- Easier visa extensions and more convenient travel.
- Potential tourism boost as well as supporting investment and business travel.
- Better integration between agencies for stronger border control.
“By the time this work is complete, South Africa will have one of the most sophisticated, efficient and secure digital visa and entry/exit systems anywhere in the world,” he says.
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