For New York applicants only: At least six (6) months after lodging your application, please check the list of passports ready for release. If your name appears on the list, please forward your current passport to the South African Consulate General in New York for cancellation. Cancelled passports with valid visas will be returned to applicants together with their respective new passports.
Child passports are issued to children who are fifteen years and below. These passports are not renewable. On their expiry, new passport applications will have to be filed.
Requirements
Application forms plus supporting documentation must be submitted in duplicate. It has been noted that some applicants submit application forms in duplicate but the other documents are still not sent with copies. Please ensure that you have two sets of the application: 1) the original application form(s) and supporting documents, and 2) a copy of the whole set.
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BI 73 Passport Application Form. The passport application form has to be signed by the parents of the child concerned. Single mothers can sign as the sole parent of their child; (See sample BI73 sheet).
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Notarized Copy of South African Birth certificate;
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Letter of permission to issue a passport. To be submitted in cases when parents of the child concerned are divorced and only one has physical custody. The parent not having custody but allowed by the court to have access to the child can provide the requested letter of permission. In terms of South African passport regulations, the parent who has sole custody and guardianship can sign passport applications of their children on their own.
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Two (2) passport size (2" x 2") photos. Please note that color photos which comply with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards for passports photo images are required for South African passport applications. The holder's signature (persons 16 years old and above) is laser engraved into the passport. To ensure good quality scanned signature for laser engraving into the passport, the signature in the signature box on the passport application form should be in the middle of the box and must not touch the sides of the box. A medium point ballpoint pen should be used to sign the box. Please ensure that your teeth are not showing on the photo. Passport applications in which the photo and signature images do not meet quality standards will be rejected causing delays in the issuance of passports.
Last Revised: Tuesday, June 28, 2011
