Waive the R140 Fee: Free First-Time Smart ID Upgrades for All South Africans
The Issue
Petition Target: The Minister of Home Affairs; The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs
Petition Description
A valid identity document in South Africa is not a luxury — it is essential for survival. Yet millions of citizens remain stuck with old, vulnerable green barcoded ID books because they cannot afford the R140 fee to upgrade to a Smart ID card.
We are calling on the Department of Home Affairs to waive this fee for every citizen's first upgrade to a Smart ID.
With unemployment high and the cost of living rising, R140 is a real barrier. For a household choosing between groceries and an ID document, it shouldn't be a choice at all.
The current system traps people in an unfair cycle: the unemployed and low-income earners can't afford the upgrade; without a Smart ID, they struggle to access banking, jobs, and government services; and that, in turn, deepens the poverty keeping them out of the formal economy in the first place.
Government already provides free Smart IDs to 16-year-olds and pensioners over 60. But everyone in between — the millions of working-age adults most affected by unemployment and rising costs — is left to pay. Access to secure identification is a constitutional right, and citizens should not be financially penalised for moving to the state's own preferred, more secure system.
Our Demand: The Department of Home Affairs must amend its regulations so that the first-time conversion from a green barcoded ID book to a Smart ID card is free for all South African citizens, regardless of age.
Sign this petition to demand equal dignity, economic inclusion, and a fair system for every South African.
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The Issue
Petition Target: The Minister of Home Affairs; The Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs
Petition Description
A valid identity document in South Africa is not a luxury — it is essential for survival. Yet millions of citizens remain stuck with old, vulnerable green barcoded ID books because they cannot afford the R140 fee to upgrade to a Smart ID card.
We are calling on the Department of Home Affairs to waive this fee for every citizen's first upgrade to a Smart ID.
With unemployment high and the cost of living rising, R140 is a real barrier. For a household choosing between groceries and an ID document, it shouldn't be a choice at all.
The current system traps people in an unfair cycle: the unemployed and low-income earners can't afford the upgrade; without a Smart ID, they struggle to access banking, jobs, and government services; and that, in turn, deepens the poverty keeping them out of the formal economy in the first place.
Government already provides free Smart IDs to 16-year-olds and pensioners over 60. But everyone in between — the millions of working-age adults most affected by unemployment and rising costs — is left to pay. Access to secure identification is a constitutional right, and citizens should not be financially penalised for moving to the state's own preferred, more secure system.
Our Demand: The Department of Home Affairs must amend its regulations so that the first-time conversion from a green barcoded ID book to a Smart ID card is free for all South African citizens, regardless of age.
Sign this petition to demand equal dignity, economic inclusion, and a fair system for every South African.
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Petition created on 25 September 2026