South African passports are valid for 10 years
South African passports are only issued in Pretoria.
A passport is a document issued by a national government for international travel that certifies the holder’s identity and nationality.
Applicants should note that, in terms of section 26(B) of the South African Citizenship Act, 1995, it is a punishable offence for a South African citizen, 18 years or older, to leave or enter South Africa on a foreign passport.
South African passports and travel documents are issued in terms of the South African Passports and Travel Documents Act, 1994, and the related regulations.
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Permanent South African passports and travel documents (machine-readable documents) are printed only in Pretoria from where they are dispatched to the offices of application.
Applications made within South African borders can be submitted to any office of the Department of Home Affairs; applications made outside of the country can be submitted to your nearest South African embassy or mission.
The passports are only issued in Pretoria, South Africa. Applications can still be submitted or forwarded to the applicable South African representative office.
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Applications take six months or more to be finalised.
They are valid for 10 years and are not renewable. When South African passports expire, new passport applications will have to be filed.
Application forms plus supporting documentation must be submitted in duplicate. Applicants must ensure that they have two sets of the application: 1) the original application form(s) with supporting documents, and 2) a copy of the whole set.
Emergency travel certificates (ETCs) are issued by South African missions abroad to South Africans who have to travel back home urgently for reasons of death, sickness, or any other emergency. ETCs take only three weeks to be finalised.
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