Home Affairs refuses to issue smart ID to foreign-born citizen

A TAIWANESE-BORN South African citizen is citing discrimination after being refused a new smart ID at Home Affairs last month.

Andy Huang, who has been in the country for 30 years, says Home Affairs officials turned him away from their offices in Centurion on December 5 when he went to collect his smart ID.

Huang said he applied for the document online and paid R140.

He said he was dismayed when he was told he could not be issued with a smart ID because he was not “born in South Africa” after his fingerprints had been taken.

“This is discrimination. First there is inconsistency in the Home Affairs procedure.

“Secondly nowhere (in the) online application forms (does it) say you have to be a South African citizen to get a smart ID.

“The system should be clear on who gets what and how.”

Huang fears many South African immigrants would fall victims of this “scam”.

“This is a scam. The system should not accept payment if you are not going to get what you have paid for.

“It should be able to detect that you are not a South African.”

Huang said he never felt so humiliated and dehumanised.

“I have been here for the past 30 years. I was never discriminated against.

“I was left emotionless after I was told on two occasions in one day that I could not have an ID because I was not born here.

“I was issued with my ID in 1997 with no hassles.”

Department of Home Affairs spokesperson Mayihlome Tshwete said smart IDs are for citizens who were born in South Africa. This would be the case until they get funds from the Treasury to digitise about 200 million documents.

He did not explain how long would that take to complete.

“Smart IDs are for South African citizens whose birth certificates have been digitised.

“You can be living here for 30 years, but if your birth is not digitised you will not get a smart ID.”

Tshwete said the department spent R10 million since the introduction of smart IDs and digitising documents.

He said they need about R100m to digitise about 200 million documents ranging from birth, marriage to death certificates.

“That is why we have formed a partnership with Stats SA to determine how many documents need to be digitised.

“After that has been established we would be able to determine how much money we will need from the Treasury.

“So far the process is moving slowly because we have a limited budget.”

He said the information regarding requirements for acquiring a smart ID would be made available.

Huang replied: “If they have that amount of documents (that) still need to be processed that means I will get my smart ID after another 30 years.”

The Home Affairs debacle comes in light of Tshwane mayor Solly Msimanga’s fiveday visit to Taiwan‚ which upset the government because of its diplomatic and trading relationship with China.

The visit drew sharp criticism from the Department of International Relations and Cooperation and the ANC’s Tshwane caucus which described it as “treason”.

“Yes I’ve been to Taipei. Yes I enjoyed Taipei and no I don’t regret Taipei,” said Msimanga.

“My trip to Taipei was never political and should not have been turned into a political football. My trip was at the invitation of the mayor of Taipei.

“We informed the Department of International Relations and Co-operation of the invitation.”