Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber
SCORE: B
As 2025 began, Schreiber picked up where he left off in 2024 by announcing that 27 officials had been dismissed between July 2024 and February 2025 for fraud, corruption and sexual harassment.
He also announced the Border Management and Immigration Anti-Corruption Forum — an inter-agency body (with law enforcement, special investigations, prosecution authorities) aimed at rooting out systemic corruption at immigration and border control, including through digital reforms. During his 2025 budget-vote address in parliament, Schreiber said Home Affairs had managed to clear a backlog of 306 000 visa applications — some dating back more than a decade — and delivered nearly 3.6 million smart IDs.
The department also made good on the promise of digitisation by rolling out the Home Affairs Citizenship Reinstatement Portal — an online platform allowing people (especially those abroad) to verify and reinstate their citizenship securely, using biometric verification and facial recognition.
Initial plans have also been made for a new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA), which aims to modernise visa application and entry processes using biometrics and automated checks. Schreiber also announced the extension of the validity of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP) until 28 May 2027 — giving relief to thousands of Zimbabwean migrants living in South Africa under that permit, although this did stir some criticism from parties like Action SA.
However, challenges remain. Some reports still suggest that on-the-ground service quality is still far from satisfactory with many citizens still queuing for hours at Home Affairs.
The department has also fallen short of its internal digitisation target for 2024/2025 according to its annual report where it digitised 12.1 million records, short of the 14.8 million target.