South Africa border technology

Electronic Travel Authorisation (2026)

On 13 August 2026 Engineering News, reporter Schalk Burger, reported that DHA launched the ETA platform at an event on 12 August ¹. The ETA was piloted during South Africa's G20 Presidency in 2025 for travellers from China, India, Indonesia and Mexico ¹.

Engineering News reported that the ETA had processed 216,204 applications and rejected 6,126 found to be fraudulent ¹. Applicants register on the DHA website, scan their passport and upload a selfie. The platform matches the passport photo to the selfie and checks the passport against more than forty parameters ¹. After payment, automated risk analysis screens for fraud, and approved travellers receive the ETA within 24 hours ¹.

The ETA is to become compulsory in phases for short visits by nationals of countries that now need port-of-entry visas. DHA will notify embassies as each country is added ¹. Visa-exempt travellers can use it voluntarily ¹. The report gave no fee and named no technology contractor ¹.

EMCS 2.0, facial verification and eGates

The BMA, working with the South African Revenue Service (SARS), upgraded EMCS 2.0 at international airports, as reported by Engineering News ¹. Travellers look into a camera at immigration and facial verification decides entry. Faces are verified again on departure ¹.

Facial recognition and EMCS 2.0 are to roll out to land and sea ports once the airports are fully equipped ¹. The ETA and EMCS 2.0 must be linked to eGates owned by ACSA. Minister Leon Schreiber urged ACSA, the BMA, DHA and SARS to speed up that work ¹.

In June 2020 DHA told Parliament that ABIS would enable e-gates at airports ².

Border Management Authority

In August 2020 Parliament's Home Affairs committee heard that the BMA Act still had to be brought into operation so that a Commissioner could be appointed ³. A draft commencement proclamation had gone to the Presidency with 15 September 2020 as the target date, and a 15-year roll-out roadmap existed ³.

The DHA website links to the BMA site for ports of entry and carries an eVisa Applications link to ehome.dha.gov.za ⁶.

Visa services contract

In June 2020 DHA told Parliament that its contract for frontline visa application services is with VFS South Africa, a subsidiary of VFS UK ². The contract was extended, not terminated, during COVID-19 to give DHA time to complete a public-private partnership to appoint a replacement ².

Members raised concerns about the lack of a competitive bid for the extension ². Deputy Minister Njabulo Nzuza said DHA was developing an e-visa system to build its own capacity ².

ABIS contract and findings

DHA began a project in 2015 to replace HANIS, which stored photographs and fingerprints, with ABIS, which can store iris and facial data ³. The State Information Technology Agency (SITA) ran the tender. Bids were accredited in 2016 and the award to EOH Mthombo was made in July 2017 ⁴.

The Auditor-General found the ABIS contract was awarded irregularly, as recorded at a committee meeting on 2 June 2020 ². DHA said it believed correct procedures were followed ². A forensic report by Nexia SAB&T, presented on 25 May 2021, found the entire contract irregular. It said confidential DHA information, including the project budget, was given to EOH Mthombo before the bid closed ⁴.

The contract was ceded to IDEMIA with Treasury approval on 11 February 2021 ⁴. Business Day, reporter Linda Ensor, reported on 9 May 2023 that IDEMIA missed at least five extended deadlines, that DHA levied penalties and withheld payment, and that DHA returned to HANIS as its primary database ⁵.

Sources differ on the contract value. The 2021 committee record gives R409.89 million ⁴. Business Day in 2023 gave R477m for the EOH Mthombo contract and R65m for the IDEMIA contract ⁵.