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Passport – Applying in South Africa

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 do not need to be a client of the selected bank. 
  • You can collect your passport at the selected bank.
  • The current turnaround time for an adult Tourist passport is around one work week

Keep in mind

You can fill out the application while still in Germany, but you have to 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 have to 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.

Application Form Tips

  • 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.
  • You must type in the dates and not use the drop-down calendar to get appointments. Until I did that I couldn’t get available dates.”
  • They asked me why I want 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 choose “passport full” as it was the only option that made sense. It 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.

Collection of Passports

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.

Temporary proof of German Residence

To stay in Germany longer than 90 days in a 180 period, you will need a residence permit. Qualifying for a residence permit will depend, among other things, on the type of visa you applied for. Your long-stay visa allows you to travel to Germany. Within two weeks after arrival in Germany, you need to register at your local town office and  Immigration authority. See Registering at the local town office. You will receive a Meldebestätigung

Info on the web

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