South Africa Electronic Travel Authorisation and EMCS 2.0 facial verification at four airports
Deployed · limited scope
South Africa's Electronic Travel Authorisation went live at O.R. Tambo, Cape Town, King Shaka and Lanseria airports, Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber said in his launch speech on 12 August 2026. The ETA works with EMCS 2.0, the Border Management Authority's upgraded movement-control system, which uses facial verification at international airports, and the minister said 216,204 applications were processed in the pilot.
ITWeb reported on 13 August 2026 that 6,126 fraudulent applications, 2.8% of submissions from the pilot countries, had been rejected. It also reported that linking the ETA and EMCS 2.0 to ACSA's automated eGates was still a work in progress. The application and fraud figures are the government's own, from the launch period.
Project announced
The published announcement establishes the reported scope. It remains visible as the project develops.
View supporting evidenceLive data from the Aerostack register. Status reflects published evidence only. See Our approach for how records are graded.