The Hague, 22 October 2025 — South Africa’s Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, officially inaugurated the country’s first European Home Affairs service centre in The Hague, Netherlands, marking a milestone in the government’s efforts to modernize and expand services for citizens living abroad.

The new centre—established in partnership with VFS Global—will provide key civic services such as passport applications, birth registrations, and, soon, smart ID-services. The initiative reflects the Department of Home Affairs’ (DHA) commitment to making essential government functions more accessible to South Africans overseas while strengthening bilateral ties with host countries.

Dr Schreiber highlighted the department’s drive to “bring services closer to where South Africans live,” noting that passport turnaround times for applicants in the Netherlands are expected to drop dramatically—from as long as 12 months to just five weeks.

Central to the initiative is a strong focus on digital transformation. The centre introduces an online booking system via the VFS-website, offering both scheduled and walk-in appointments. Applicants will receive real-time updates through email and SMS-based tracking. Future upgrades will include infrastructure to support smart ID applications and digital document delivery, aligning Home Affairs with international e-governance standards.

For the first time, applicants can opt to have their passports and other documents couriered directly to their homes. The courier service—available from 1 November—aims to save time and costs, piloting in the Netherlands before possible rollout in South Africa. Officials believe this innovation could significantly reduce queues at domestic Home Affairs offices.

The Hague launch follows successful pilots in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, the UAE, China, Germany, Canada, and the USA, forming part of the DHA’s broader “Home Affairs at Home” vision. The initiative seeks to make government services as convenient as online banking, enhancing global competitiveness by simplifying travel and compliance for citizens abroad.

In a further step toward inclusivity, Dr Schreiber announced plans for an upcoming Citizenship Reinstatement Platform—an online service enabling South Africans to verify and restore their citizenship status following a Constitutional Court order.

By decentralizing access to critical services, the DHA aims to relieve embassy workloads and improve overall efficiency. The launch in The Hague underscores South Africa’s ongoing commitment to innovation, accessibility, and dignity in public service—ensuring that citizens, wherever they reside, remain connected to their home country.