South African passport
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A South African passport (Also commonly referred to as the ' Green Mamba' or the '
Biltong Biltong is a form of dried, cured meat that originated in Southern African countries (South Africa, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Namibia, Botswana, and Zambia). Various types of meat are used to produce it, ranging from beef to game meats such as ostri ...
Book' by South Africans) is a
travel document A travel document is an identity document issued by a government or international entity pursuant to international agreements to enable individuals to clear border control measures. Travel documents usually assure other governments that the beare ...
issued to citizens of South Africa for the purpose of international travel. It allows the bearer to travel in foreign countries in accordance with visa requirements, and facilitates the process of securing assistance from South African consular officials abroad, if necessary. A South African passport is a valid proof of
citizenship Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
document according to
South African nationality law South African nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of South Africa. The primary law governing nationality requirements is the South African Citizenship Act, 1995, which came into force on 6 October 1995. Any p ...
. , citizens of South Africa enjoyed visa-free access to 100 countries, of which some may require pre-travel registration according to the
Visa Restrictions Index The Henley Passport Index (abbreviation: HPI) is a global ranking of countries according to the travel freedom enjoyed by the holders of that country's ordinary passport for its citizens. It started in 2006 as Henley & Partners Travel visa, Visa ...
. South African passports are issued by the
South African Department of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi was appointed as South Africa's minister of the Department of Home Affairs in May 2019. Duties The department is responsible for: * Maintenance of the National Population Register (the civil registry), including the record ...
, in terms of the South African Passport and Travel Documents Act (Act 4 of 1994), and the South African Passport and Travel Documents Regulations of 1996.


Types of passports

There are six types of South African passports: ;Regular passport: These passports are issued to citizens who are 16 years of age or older, and are intended for occasional travel, such as vacations and business trips. They contain 32 pages, and are valid for 10 years. Regular passports are not renewable – when they expire, new passport applications have to be filed.http://www.southafrica-canada.ca/Consular/passport-application.htm South African Passports (South African High Commission, Ottawa, Canada) ;Maxi passport: Similar to regular passports, but they contain 48 pages to cater for frequent travellers. Like regular passports, they are issued to citizens aged 16 and older, are valid for 10 years, and are non-renewable. Like the regular passport, when a maxi passport expires, a new passport application must be filed. ;Child passport: These passports are issued to citizens who are 15 years of age or younger. They are valid for five years, and are non-renewable ;Official passport: These passports are issued to officials attached to government institutions who have to travel on official business. They are valid for five years, and are issued to officials free of charge by the Department of Home Affairs. ;Diplomatic passport: Issued to diplomats and consuls for work-related travel, and to their accompanying dependants.


Physical appearance

South African passports are green in colour, with the South African
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
emblazoned in gold in the centre of the front cover. "REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA", French: "RÉPUBLIQUE D'AFRIQUE DU SUD" are inscribed in gold text above and below the coat of arms respectively. "PASSPORT", French: "PASSEPORT" are inscribed in gold text near the bottom of the front cover. The back cover is left blank. Beginning in 2009, passports were issued with the new post-2000 South African coat of arms. Additionally, visa pages now contain pictures of the Lion, Buffalo, Leopard, Elephant, and Rhinoceros – the Big Five animals of Southern Africa. The passport note occupies the first page of the passport, and the particulars page occupies the last. The identity information page is printed on the inside of the passport's back cover, opposite the particulars page.


Languages

The front cover, passport note, particulars page, and identity information page are printed in both English and French. Until 1994, they were also printed in
Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
.


Passport note

Passports contain a note from the issuing state, addressed to the authorities of all other states, identifying the bearer as a citizen of that state and requesting that they be allowed to pass and be treated according to international norms. The note inside the South African passport states: In English: :''In the Name of the President'' :''The
President of the Republic of South Africa The president of South Africa is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of South Africa. The president heads the executive branch of the Government of South Africa and is the commander-in-chief of the South African Natio ...
requests all whom it may concern to allow the bearer of this passport to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer all necessary assistance and protection.'' and in French: :''Au Nom du Président'' :''Le Président de la République d'Afrique du Sud, prie tous ceux que les présentes peuvent concerner de laisser passer librement et sans entrave le titulaire du présent passeport et de lui accorder toute aide et secours en cas de besoin.''


Particulars page

On the particulars page, the bearer is instructed to fill in their address of permanent residence and other contact information, and the name, address, and contact information of someone to notify in case of accident or death abroad.


Identity information page

The following data are printed on the identity information page, located on the inside of the passport's back cover: *Photograph of passport holder *Type f document*
Code In communications and information processing, code is a system of rules to convert information—such as a letter, word, sound, image, or gesture—into another form, sometimes shortened or secret, for communication through a communication ...
f the issuing country, which is ZAF for South Africa F, or f, is the sixth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounced ), and the plural is ''efs''. His ...
*Passport number *Surname *Given name(s) *Nationality *Date of birth *Identity number *Sex *Place of birth ists only the country name*Date of issue *Authority he issuing authority of the passport, which is Dept of Home Affairs*Date of expiry *Holder's signature (if aged 16 or older) A
machine-readable zone A machine-readable passport (MRP) is a machine-readable travel document (MRTD) with the data on the identity page encoded in optical character recognition format. Many countries began to issue machine-readable travel documents in the 1980s. Mos ...
is found at the bottom of the identity information page.


New passports (with the new post-2000 coat of arms)

The Department of Home Affairs began issuing new format passports on 9 April 2009. These passports are not biometric but do contain sophisticated security features such as a seven-layer polycarbonate page where personal details and a photograph are laser engraved. Various other security features have been used to bring the passport into line with
International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sc ...
requirements.


Visa-free travel

Visa requirements for South African citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of South Africa. In 2019, South African citizens had visa-free or visa on arrival access to 100 countries and territories, ranking the South African passport 51st in the world (tied with Belize) according to the Henley visa restrictions index.


Applying and carrying

Until more modern and digital methods were introduced, to apply for a South African passport, one had to fill in application form BI-73, and bring the appropriate-sized photographs to ensure correct identity. Nowadays, photographs are captured onsite, as well as other
biometrics Biometrics are body measurements and calculations related to human characteristics. Biometric authentication (or realistic authentication) is used in computer science as a form of identification and access control. It is also used to identify in ...
. South African passports are issued at any home affairs office in South Africa but all are printed in the executive capital,
Pretoria Pretoria () is South Africa's administrative capital, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to South Africa. Pretoria straddles the Apies River and extends ...
. According to the South African Citizenship Act (Act 88 of 1995) as amended by the South African Citizenship Amendment Act (Act 17 of 2004), South Africans may hold dual citizenship, but may not use their citizenship of another country to gain advantage or avoid responsibility while in South Africa. It is also illegal for an adult who holds South African citizenship to enter or depart South Africa using a non-South African passport.
Dual national Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on t ...
s using a non-South African passport to enter/exit South Africa may be turned away from
border checkpoint A border checkpoint is a location on an international border where travelers or goods are inspected and allowed (or denied) passage through. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders. Access-controlled borders ofte ...
s and could be fined or
imprisoned Imprisonment is the restraint of a person's liberty, for any cause whatsoever, whether by authority of the government, or by a person acting without such authority. In the latter case it is "false imprisonment". Imprisonment does not necessari ...
for up to 12 months. However, the use of their non-South African passport is permitted to enter/exit any country other than South Africa.


Gallery of historic images

File:1944 South African passport.jpg, 1944 South African passport File:1948 South African passport.jpg, 1948 South African passport File:1951 South African passport.jpg, 1951 South African passport File:Pre 1994 South African passport web.jpg, Front cover of a South African passport, issued pre-1994. File:SA Passport Coat of Arms 2010 web.jpg, Front cover of a South African passport with new coat of arms, issued from 2009 onwards. File:SA Passport 28-29.jpg, Pages 28 and 29 of a South African passport with an endorsement relating to foreign travel allowance (2007). File:1995 South African Passport page 0 and 1.png, 1995 South African Passport inside front cover page and page 1. File:1995 South African Passport page 2 and 3.png, 1995 South African Passport pages 2 and 3. Passport information was mostly handwritten and some stamps were used. File:1995 South African Passport page 36 and 37.png, 1995 South African Passport pages 36 and 37. Foreign travel allowance rules. File:1995 South African Passport page 38 and 39.png, 1995 South African Passport pages 38 and 39. Conditions of Issue, Information for Travellers and Caution notices in Afrikaans. File:1995 South African Passport page 40 and 41.png, 1995 South African Passport pages 40 and 41. Conditions of Issue, Information for Travellers and Caution notices.


See also

*
Visa requirements for South African citizens Visa requirements for South African citizens are administrative entry restrictions by the authorities of other states placed on citizens of the Republic of South Africa. As of 13 April 2021, South African citizens had visa-free or visa on arri ...
*
Department of Home Affairs (South Africa) Aaron Motsoaledi was appointed as South Africa's minister of the Department of Home Affairs in May 2019. Duties The department is responsible for: * Maintenance of the National Population Register (the civil registry), including the recordi ...
*
South African nationality law South African nationality law details the conditions by which a person is a national of South Africa. The primary law governing nationality requirements is the South African Citizenship Act, 1995, which came into force on 6 October 1995. Any p ...


References


External links


South Africa Government OnlineSouth African Department of Home AffairsHow to Renew a South African Passport
{{DEFAULTSORT:South African Passport Passports by country
Passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
Passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
Passport A passport is an official travel document issued by a government that contains a person's identity. A person with a passport can travel to and from foreign countries more easily and access consular assistance. A passport certifies the personal ...
South Africa and the Commonwealth of Nations