SA PASSPORT PICKLE
I have both a South African and a British passport. I live in the UK but intend to go back to SA to renew my passport, which expired two months ago. My British passport is still valid. The trip is specifically to renew my passport and visit family. Would I have any issues? — Fraser Kilian
In general, British-passport holders don’t need a visa to enter SA for stays of up 90 days, as long as they have a return ticket, their passport is valid for at least 30 days after their departure date and they have two empty pages for stamps.
However, you should be aware that, in terms of the South African Citizenship Amendment Act of 2004, it is an offence for a South African citizen of 18 years and older to enter or leave SA on a foreign passport, so if you want to stay on the right side of the law, you will have to apply from overseas (sahc.org.au).
You can renew your passport at the South African High Commission in London between 8.45am and 12.45pm, Mondays to Fridays, excluding public holidays. You may have to queue as this is a walk-in service.
The cost is £35 (about R700) and the claimed turnaround time is six months, although there have been reports of it taking longer. Progress reports are not provided as passports are processed in SA but applicants can contact home affairs in SA directly to check on their application status. See
southafricahouseuk.com.
For those within SA, the process of passport renewal is simple and costs R400.
Visit a home affairs branch to go through the process or apply online (https://ehome.dha.gov.za/
ehomeaffairs) and book an appointment to submit your biometrics at and collect your passport from specific FNB, Absa, Standard Bank or Nedbank branches in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria.
If you don’t live in these areas, you can use the online application service but you will have to visit a home affairs branch to have your biometrics captured and collect your passport. The standard processing time of a new passport is seven to 10 days.
Note that we tested the online registration system, and found that the website glitched repeatedly. A bit of perseverance, though, and registration was successfully completed.