SA Passports and other travel docs: How much are they now?

The Home Affairs Minister has approved the new cost of SA passports and other travel documents. Here’s how much you’ll pay…

Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has amended the fees for South African passports and travel documents, after consulting with his Finance counterpart, Enoch Godongwana.

Motsoaledi’s department says the changes to passport and travel document fees were informed by the outcome of a bench-marking exercise with other countries which found that South Africa’s tariffs were up to three times lower.

According to the department, the decision was also informed by the fact that production costs are much higher than what people are paying for our documents, which means the Government is heavily subsidising passport holders when such a subsidy is not realised for ordinary ID applicants.

“We believe that the people who are able to travel out of the country are financially better off than ordinary citizens and they don’t need to be subsidised in the manner we have been doing,” said Motsoaledi.

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NEW FEES FOR SA PASSPORTS AND OTHER TRAVEL DOCUMENTS

The Department of Home Affairs says the new fee adjustments for SA passports and other official travel documents comes into effect on 1 November 2022. The department says the fees were last adjusted in 2011.

Application fees for SA passports or travel documents made in the country are as follows

• Adult passport R600 for 32 pages (current fee R400); R1 200 for 48 pages (maxi, current fee R800)
• Child passport R600 (currently R400)
• Official passport R600 (currently no charge)
• Diplomatic passport R600 (currently no charge)
• Document for travel purposes R600 (currently R300)
• Crew member certificate R600 (currently R350)

Meanwhile, application fees for SA passports or travel document made outside the country at Missions, Embassies or Consulates, are as follows:
• For adultsR1 200 for 32 pages (currently R400); R2 400 for 48 pages (maxi, current fee R800)
• For children R1 200 (currently R400)
• Emergency travel certificate R140 (currently R140).

“Once more, we wish to advise our people that there is nothing called an emergency passport. The emergency travel certificate mentioned above is a document available only to South Africans stranded abroad. It helps them to come back home and when they arrive, the usefulness of the document lapses. There is no emergency travel certificate for South Africans who need to travel abroad”

Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi

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By: Thabo Baloyi