South Africans possessing blocked ID need to provide Home Affairs with reasons

JOHANNESBURG - The Home Affairs Department is calling on South Africans who are currently in possession of a blocked ID to provide written reasons and representations within 30 days.

This comes as the department aims to clamp down on ID fraud in the country.

According to the department, some IDs have been blocked for over 19 years for a range of reasons including duplicates, the fact that they were held by an illegal immigrant or because the ID holder has passed away.

Minister Leon Schreiber says the department is committed to a fair administrative process to differentiate between IDs that have been wrongfully blocked and IDs that represent a genuine security threat.

"The submissions must be sent to sylvia.Phasha@dha.Gov.Za. The department will also undertake a sustained social media advertising campaign to provide the public with an opportunity to make representations."