Description
A passport is a document that is needed for South African citizens to travel to another country. It is also needed for re-entry into South Africa. Citizens who intend to travel outside South Africa are advised to apply for a passport in good time.
You can replace your passport if it is lost or stolen. Lost or stolen passports must be reported to the South African Police Service. You will complete a prescribed declaration form and the police will issue a case reference number.
Documents for travel purposes are issued to applicants with permanent residence status who are unable to obtain a passport from their country of origin, stateless persons or refugees.
A passport expires when its period of validity lapses. Once this happens, you cannot use it anymore even if the passport is not full. Instead, you have to apply for a new one.
If your passport gets full before the period of its validity ends, you still have to apply for a new one.
What type of passport can you apply for?
Tourist passport
This passport is issued to South African citizens who are 16 years or older. It is valid for travelling to all countries unless endorsed otherwise. It is valid for 10 years from the date of issue.
Child’s passport
A child’s passport is issued to South African citizens under the age of 16. It is valid for five years from the date of issue.
Maxi passport
A maxi passport is a 64-page document for
frequent travellers. It is the same as the tourist passport except that
it contains double the number of pages to provide for more visa pages.
It is valid for 10 years from the date of issue.
Temporary passport
A temporary passport is issued to South African citizens who need to travel urgently for a valid reason and cannot wait for their proper passports to be issued. It is issued on condition that an application for a permanent passport has already been lodged or an application for the permanent passport is issued at the same time. It is valid for 12 months from the date of issue.
Emergency passport
An emergency passport is issued to people who intend to travel urgently to neighbouring countries that do not require entry visas, or for emergency return to South Africa. It is valid for nine months from the date of issue, but only for a single trip to the country concerned and back to South Africa.
Official passport
An official passport is issued to government officials (South African citizens) who travel abroad on official business. It is valid for five years.