ID blocked? You have 30 days to explain why it shouldn’t be cancelled

The Department of Home Affairs is stepping up its fight against identity fraud, started the process to cancel blocked SA ID documents.

ID documents are generally blocked when their holder dies, if there is a duplicate, a query on its validity, or if there are suspicions it may have been involved in fraud.

The department recently gazetted a notice that anyone who currently has a blocked ID will have 30 days to explain why it should not be cancelled.

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Submissions must be sent to Sylvia.Phasha@dha.gov.za.

“Through this move, Home Affairs aims to resolve the decades-old issue of wrongfully blocked IDs while reducing the number of fraudulent documents in circulation,” it said.

ID blocked for nearly 20 years

The department revealed that some of these documents have been blocked for 19 years.

“Some of the IDs were originally blocked as far back as 2005 for a range of reasons, including because the biometric system flagged the documents as duplicates, held by illegal immigrants, or because the holder had passed away.

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“By providing the public with the opportunity to make representations, the Department intends to end the inconvenience caused by the block to holders of legitimate IDs, while cancelling those held by unauthorised persons.”

Court order

It follows a court order handed down earlier this year, which required the Department to undertake a fair administrative process to differentiate between IDs wrongfully blocked and those that represent genuine security threats.

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“I encourage members of the public to make use of this opportunity to ensure that we conduct a just and equitable process to unblock IDs that have been wrongfully blocked.

“At the same time, the gazetting of these decisive measures underscores our commitment to clamp down on fraud and to move with urgency to resolve longstanding challenges while upholding the rule of law,” Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said.