Applying for your ID in South Africa

Applying for your passport in Germany When you apply for your new South African passport in Germany, you have to apply at either the South African Embassy in Berlin or the Consulate in Munich, depending on where you live.  Official information can be found on the South African Embassy website. The Embassy has taken great care to document all the relevant information, which can be downloaded from their website.  After submitting your application, the documents are sent to South Africa for processing. The new passport is then sent back to Germany. Once the passport arrives at the South African Embassy or Consulate it would be mailed to the applicant in the self-addressed envelope provided, or the applicants would be duly notified. In the case of passport applications, the applicant would be requested to return his or her current valid tourist passport for cancellation; cancelled passports would thereafter be returned to applicants together with their new passport.Apply for your new passport at least a year before the expiry date. The embassy or consulate cannot influence the processing time. Take into account that appointment openings fill up very quickly, and your application appointment can be a month or two after you sent an appointment request. Booking your appointment All South African citizens / applicants requiring civic services, and who reside in Berlin, Brandenburg, Bremen, Hamburg, Hessen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Niedersachsen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Sachsen, Sachsen-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thüringen shall approach the South African Embassy in Berlin: Tiergartenstr. 18, 10785 BerlinAll South African citizens/applicants requiring civic services, and who reside in Bayern and Baden-Wuerttemberg shall approach the South African Consulate-General in Munich: Sendlinger-Tor-Platz 5, 80336 Munich  To schedule an appointment at the Munich Consulate, please send an email with the information below to: Munich.CivicApp@dirco.gov.za To schedule an appointment at the Embassy in Berlin, please send an email with the information below to berlin.consular@dirco.gov.za  Email Format Subject line of email: Appointment request Full name of the applicant Applicant’s date and place of birth South African 13-digit identity number, if applicable/available Contact details (Address + mobile phone number) Application type e.g. passport You will get an email from the embassy to confirm receipt of your request for an appointment. They will then manually schedule an appointment and send you a second email with your appointment date. Check your email spam folder as the reply email from the embassy might end up there. Checklist of what documentation you need The most up-to-date information is always available on the Embassy website, here is the link for an Adult passport (over 16 years of age). Please note that you need to take your current passport with you, as well as copies (See links above). Your current passport will be returned to you. The following statement is on the application checklist. The applicant’s original passport must be submitted regardless of whether the current passport is full or expired or the applicant’s forename and/or surname has been amended – the original passport will be given back to the applicant The applicant may continue to use her or his current passport during the processing of the new passport. Child passports The list for a child passport can be found here. Information about who should be present and sign the application is available on the  Department of Home Affairs website.  As a rule, the child and both parents should be in attendance when the application is submitted.  They don’t accept a power of attorney. More information on the link above. You cannot renew a passport, only apply for a new one Good to know Important Info Here are some important things to remember in order to make the process of applying for your passport as smooth and stress-free as possible. 01 Confirmation Email As mentioned above you will get a confirmation email that your email to the Embassy or Consulate was received. 02 SPAM Check your email spam folder for emails from the Embassy or Consulate 03 Have some patience Allocating appointments is a manual process. You will get an email with your appointment date as soon as it is allocated to you. 04 thoughfullness Inform the Embassy or Consulate if you cannot make your appointment so that they can allocate it to someone else. Inform them of any change of address. 05 Come prepared Make sure you have all the documentation required for your passport application. 06 Plan ahead Last but not least, apply for an appointment well in advance, do not wait until your passport has expired. South African citizens are entitled to hold two tourist passports concurrently. Persons wishing to apply for a second passport must provide a written motivation. German residence permit linked to old passport I found information with regards to traveling with a new passport, while your residence permit is linked to your old passport, on the Berlin website: “Re-entry to Germany is easy if your residence permit is still valid and you still have the old passport. Take your old and new passports and your residence permit with you on your trip. However, we recommend that you enquire about the entry and exit conditions of the country you are visiting before you travel abroad (for example at the embassy of the country you are visiting) Legal basis –  Gesetze §3, §4 and §13 AufenthG Art 5 Updates on your application process If you’re applying for a South African passport in Germany, it’s important to note that the embassy cannot track the progress of your application until they receive the diplomatic bag from Home Affairs in South Africa. This means they are unable to provide updates on processing times. However, applicants with civic status enquiries can follow up directly with Home Affairs by emailing hacc@dha.gov.za. Some applicants have also had success obtaining updates by calling Home Affairs at 0800 60 11 90 from South Africa. Responses via email may take some time, with some applicants reporting a reply after about a month. A document listing the average processing times can be found on the Embassy website download document References SA Citizen Services Consular Business hours for civic services For more information see the

Passport Application Applying for a new Adult Tourist passport in South Africa can be done online via the Department of Home Affairs E-Services.  This service allows you to fill in the application form online and make an appointment for your biometrics.  Biometrics can be done at participating banks.  You can collect your passport at the selected bank. You have to collect your passport in person. The current turnaround time for an adult Tourist passport is around one work week, but this could be longer so keep that in mind when booking your flights.  Home affairs e-services Online Application tips How to use eHomeAffairs Mobile You need a South African mobile number to register on the Department of Home Affairs E-Service site. The OTP is sent to your mobile number. Dates You must type in the dates and not use the drop-down calendar to see available appointments Keep in mind You can complete the application while still in Germany, but you must do the Biometrics in person in South Africa. If you want to apply for your passport in Germany, please refer to the links below.  As a rule, you must surrender your old passport when collecting the new one. You can ask them if it is possible to still keep your old one if you need it to travel back to Germany. Your Residence card is linked to your old passport.  During the appointment, they will take your fingerprints and there should be a photo booth for digital photos.  To be on the safe side, take passport photos with you. They asked me why I wanted a new passport, as my current passport was still valid and had open pages. During your online application, you have to specify your reason for applying and I chose “passport full” as it was the only option that made sense. I told the lady that I live in Germany and that I do not often travel to South Africa, so I would like to apply while I am here. This was sufficient for her and her supervisor approved the application. I did not have to hand in my current passport. When applying early for a new passport, there might be additional costs involved. If you do not want or cannot make use of the E-Home Affairs site, you can also schedule appointments in South Africa via the BABS system.  The related application forms are filled out manually and not online.  For more information, visit the Department of Home Affairs website Collection of Passports An announcement by the department on 12 August 2022: “Today, we are announcing the first of three steps to be taken by the Department to secure the integrity of our passport and make it foolproof against fraudulent acquisition. The following measures will have to be followed: A passport can only be collected strictly from the office where it was applied for. Only the person who applied for that passport can come and collect it by activating it through a fingerprint. By the way, this is nothing new. This is a method that is being used to collect Smart ID Cards. For minor children, their parents or guardians who helped them to apply for that passport will be the only ones allowed to come and collect it and activate it using their own fingerprints. We also wish to advise passport holders to check passports for expiry at least once a month or for frequent travellers, every fortnight. I wish to take this opportunity to dispel the myth of an emergency passport. There is nothing called an emergency passport for any South African travelling to another country. The so-called emergency passport is actually a handwritten document available only to a South African who is stranded in another country. This document allows them to return home and when they arrive, its usefulness comes to an abrupt end.” German residence permit linked to your old passport Regarding travelling with a new passport, but still having your residence permit or visa linked to your old passport, I found this on the Berlin Welcome Centre website:“Re-entry to Germany is easy if your residence permit is still valid and you still have the old passport.Take your old and new passports and your residence permit with you on your trip.However, we recommend that you enquire about the entry and exit conditions of the country you are visiting before you travel abroad (for example at the embassy of the country you are visiting)Legal basis –  Gesetze §3, §4 and §13 AufenthG Art 5 Fiktionsbescheinigung – Probationary permit, a temporary proof of your German residence permit If you applied for a new German residence card and have not received it yet, you can request a Fiktionsbescheinigung, or Temporary proof of German Residence.With this you can travel from and to Germany.Roughtly translated “With a fiction certificate (from the Latin fictio ‘acceptance’, ‘fiction’), foreigners in Germany prove the existence of a provisional right of residence, which often arises with the application for the issue or extension of a residence permit submitted to the immigration office.The fiction certificate is regularly issued for the period in which the immigration office is examining the application for a residence permit.The term “Fiktionsbescheinigung” refers to the legal fiction of the continuation of the previous right of residence as long as the application for a residence permit is examined and has not yet been approved.In this phase, the stay is still legal after the expiry of the previous residence permit or the previously permit-free stay;From now on, however, the right of residence is only a provisional one and therefore no longer guaranteed.“ Info on the web Department of Home Affairs eHomeAffairs  Department of Home Affairs Branch Appointment Booking System (BABS) and a list of offices using the BABS system A very informative page with photos documenting the process from Mybroadband Related content