Question NW2434 to the Minister of Home Affairs
01 July 2022 - NW2434
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
In light of reports that Ryanair DAC instituted an Afrikaans language test, which they have since abandoned, for South Africans due to far too many persons believed to be in possession of fake South African passports, what measures has his department put in place to (a) assist with the identification of fake South African passports that are being used locally and abroad, (b) cancel and flag such documents as not being legitimate documents and (c) ensure that the credibility of the South African passport is restored?
Reply:
a) The Department has done a lot with regards towards ensuring that fake passports are identifiable which include amongst others:
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- All passports have unique security features of which specimens were shared with all foreign governments present in South Africa for purposes of differentiating a fake passport from an authentic one.
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- During the production process of a passport a unique identifier is uploaded onto our Movement Control System which upon scanning at a port of entry is able to verify the authenticity of a passport, i.e. to check if such passport was issued by the Department.
- Airlines have access to the Advanced Passenger Processing system which enables them to screen travellers before they depart. The Department also runs a 24-hour Operations Centre which airlines can use if they want to authenticate SA passports. Department also regularly communicates with all airlines to update them on how to validate South African passports, including the look and feel.
b) Passports issued under fraudulent circumstances are traced, flagged as fraudulent and removed from the records.
c) We have started following up and arresting Home Affairs Officials and Foreign Nationals involved in passport fraud.
END