Your green ID book’s days are numbered

After over a decade since introducing the smart ID card, the Department of Home Affairs says it finally has plans to retire the green books.

In a clip shared by The South African from ETV News, Minister Aaron Motsoaledi urged South Africans to upgrade the books to cards as an announcement will be made ‘soon’.

“We think it’s long enough that we’ve kept dual identity documents. Very soon, we will make an announcement that we will keep one, and the other becomes invalid”.

While green ID books are still valid for now, Home Affairs no longer issues them. 

So far, 55% of South Africans have been issued with smart ID cards, per My Broadband.

It features benefits such as:

• A microchip that securely stores citizen’s data, including biometric information
• A ‘match on card’ feature that allows biometric verification through the microchip without access to a central database. 
• Visual features to prevent forgery
• Polycarbonate for durability