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Today, 18 September 2025, the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr. Leon Schreiber, presented the Department’s brand-new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to the Tourism Business Council of South Africa’s Leadership Conference. This initiative, which forms a central pillar of our vision to deliver Home Affairs @ Home through digital transformation, leverages cutting-edge machine learning technology to digitalise and automate visa processes, replacing outdated paper-based systems with a secure, efficient, and traveller-friendly digital platform.

The ETA will enable visa applicants to apply online, capture biometrics, and receive approvals in real-time, eliminating lengthy processing times and cumbersome documentation. It will be integrated with an upgraded Electronic Movement Control System (EMCS 2.0) that will be based on facial recognition at ports of entry, starting with OR Tambo and Cape Town International Airport. This will ensure seamless arrivals through automated biometric checks and minimal queuing, enhancing both traveller experience and national security.

User acceptance testing will commence at the end of September, with the first phase set to open for applicants in mid-October. The first phase will focus on delegates attending G20 meetings from the four G20 member countries that require visas to visit South Africa, namely China, India, Indonesia and Mexico and who arrive at OR Tambo or Cape Town International Airport.

The second phase will commence following the conclusion of the G20 leaders meeting in late November, which will open applications to all tourists from the same four countries. Once the system is stable, the ETA will be expanded to become the single entry-point for tourist visas from all countries that require visas to visit South Africa.

Over the coming years, the ETA will be expanded to other visa categories, with automated entry-and-exit, based on facial recognition, to be rolled out to all ports of entry.

Minister Schreiber said: “The ambitious vision that we launched following the formation of the Government of National Unity to use digital transformation to deliver Home Affairs @ Home, is becoming reality. The ETA is set to eliminate visa barriers that have suppressed South Africa’s tourism potential for many years, while simultaneously revolutionising the security of our immigration processes. Our Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) pilot has already brought in more than 35 000 additional tourists from China and India in just seven months, and the ETA has the potential to turbocharge these numbers in 2026.”

Minister Schreiber concluded: “Instead of long queues, paper forms and inefficiency, from now on, the first impression that tourists will get of South Africa will be when they apply online for an ETA – showcasing a country with an immigration system that is rapidly modernising, embracing innovation, and blazing a trail towards becoming a world leader in digital transformation.”

Issued by Department of Home Affairs