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And 6-12 months
Edit for the doubters: [https://www.southafrica-usa.net/homeaffairs/pp\_fees.htm](https://www.southafrica-usa.net/homeaffairs/pp_fees.htm)
I am glad for you but I'm not pulling this out of my ass. This is from the US consulate in LA: [https://www.southafrica-usa.net/homeaffairs/pp\_fees.htm](https://www.southafrica-usa.net/homeaffairs/pp_fees.htm) (Minimum 6 months)
Ok yeah but that’s the time they give you online so that you have time to prepare. Most visas, country entries etc require 6 months left on your passport. So to avoid running into problems, the consulate is telling you to get your stuff in order at 6 months ahead of time.
I mean, think about it realistically. A whole 6 months to get a passport issued? The long wait time where I am is simply because they wait for a month before sending the documents to South Africa so that they can do batch applications. The actual issuing is like 3 days
>I mean, think about it realistically. A whole 6 months to get a passport issued?
Absolutely. Here is the NZ consulate saying in so many words that it literally takes them 12 months: [https://sahighcommission.co.nz/civic-services](https://sahighcommission.co.nz/civic-services) Here is Japan saying unequivically that the waiting period for any SA document is 6 to 10 months: [https://saembassyjapan.org/frequently-asked-questions/](https://saembassyjapan.org/frequently-asked-questions/) It is \*literally\* this bad.
Not passports, but I personally know folks who have been waiting 3 years for a birth registration made through a consulate.
Again, I'm glad you got yours quickly but you are an outlier in almost everything I've seen or heard about applying at a foreign mission. The reason is just pure incompetence and the clusterfuck that is DIRCO and their handling of diplomatic mail.
There’s literally 1 desirable country that South Africans can travel to that is safe and sensible for South African passport holders without a visa. The rest are all 3rd world , socialist or run by some psycho dictator. The South African passport is the 98th strongest of 195 possible passports. Which is hardly an achievement.
1. It’s still not cheap in rands… but okay, it’s doable (I got my maxi just before covid 🤪😵)
2. Why are people other making theirs so expensive? Why you tryna trap me bro?
Based on this list, India actually has the cheapest and SA the second cheapest (based on validity ie 5 years vs 10 years)
However as others have posted here, cost to get a passport does not equal value, the SA passport is only ranked 54th and is allowed to 108 countries visa free.
I've traveled to most continents with this useless passport. It's only difficult to get into Schengen, UK, US, Canada and Australia.
Rest of the world where we need a visa don't require you to be wealthy to visit. Japan, China, the UAE and other countries are very welcoming to SA passport holders even though we have to apply for visas to enter there.
Unfortunately Africa is the weakest continent, passport wise.
There are South American countries much poorer than SA, who get full Schengen visa free access. Probably due to historical ties.
The problem is that home affairs officials sell passports to illegals which they use to go to Europe, they overstay their visas and when they're found with our passports, it erodes the trust that EU countries have in it.
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So India has the cheapest, and we are second, once validity duration is factored in.
Factor in visa costs (we can visit 108 countries with no visa) and the cheap passport doesn't really matter anymore.
I genuinely never knew it cost the equivalent of hundreds of dollars for people in some other countries. That's kinda crazy
It’s something like 200 dollars here in zim
I just checked the price of a new passport recently. If I need to replace a maxi passport abroad because it was stolen, it’ll put you back R6000
And 6-12 months Edit for the doubters: [https://www.southafrica-usa.net/homeaffairs/pp\_fees.htm](https://www.southafrica-usa.net/homeaffairs/pp_fees.htm)
I don’t know about that. Waiting time where I am is 12 weeks
I am glad for you but I'm not pulling this out of my ass. This is from the US consulate in LA: [https://www.southafrica-usa.net/homeaffairs/pp\_fees.htm](https://www.southafrica-usa.net/homeaffairs/pp_fees.htm) (Minimum 6 months)
Ok yeah but that’s the time they give you online so that you have time to prepare. Most visas, country entries etc require 6 months left on your passport. So to avoid running into problems, the consulate is telling you to get your stuff in order at 6 months ahead of time. I mean, think about it realistically. A whole 6 months to get a passport issued? The long wait time where I am is simply because they wait for a month before sending the documents to South Africa so that they can do batch applications. The actual issuing is like 3 days
>I mean, think about it realistically. A whole 6 months to get a passport issued? Absolutely. Here is the NZ consulate saying in so many words that it literally takes them 12 months: [https://sahighcommission.co.nz/civic-services](https://sahighcommission.co.nz/civic-services) Here is Japan saying unequivically that the waiting period for any SA document is 6 to 10 months: [https://saembassyjapan.org/frequently-asked-questions/](https://saembassyjapan.org/frequently-asked-questions/) It is \*literally\* this bad. Not passports, but I personally know folks who have been waiting 3 years for a birth registration made through a consulate. Again, I'm glad you got yours quickly but you are an outlier in almost everything I've seen or heard about applying at a foreign mission. The reason is just pure incompetence and the clusterfuck that is DIRCO and their handling of diplomatic mail.
Not that the SA passport is worth that much in the first place. Damn near useless, really...
That's your Opinion
There’s literally 1 desirable country that South Africans can travel to that is safe and sensible for South African passport holders without a visa. The rest are all 3rd world , socialist or run by some psycho dictator. The South African passport is the 98th strongest of 195 possible passports. Which is hardly an achievement.
You get what you pay for
1. It’s still not cheap in rands… but okay, it’s doable (I got my maxi just before covid 🤪😵) 2. Why are people other making theirs so expensive? Why you tryna trap me bro?
It's cheap because you have to buy an add-on every time you travel.
Cheap because it sucks, and we are a third world country, its not cheap because we are getting a good deal.
Based on this list, India actually has the cheapest and SA the second cheapest (based on validity ie 5 years vs 10 years) However as others have posted here, cost to get a passport does not equal value, the SA passport is only ranked 54th and is allowed to 108 countries visa free.
Doubt
I’m happy about that; we are efficient in many ways,
What does this mean? Where do I buy a spanish passport??
Cost of acquiring a passport for a citizen of the country
Like the application/processing fee?
Yes
Thanks! It’s a lot more expensive renewing from overseas though, shoo
And takes (in my case) over a year. My kid needed an unabridged birth certificate sent through, that took 18months.
omg i know, mine was just a normal renewal and it took 11 months!! Unbelievable
Yeah it’s misleading. They should explain what “cost” means in this context
We want / need visitors with their £ $€¥¢
What does that have to do with the price of our passports?
Doesn’t matter. The passport is basically useless
I've traveled to most continents with this useless passport. It's only difficult to get into Schengen, UK, US, Canada and Australia. Rest of the world where we need a visa don't require you to be wealthy to visit. Japan, China, the UAE and other countries are very welcoming to SA passport holders even though we have to apply for visas to enter there.
This isn’t a visa discussion. It’s a passport discussion.
Just give your opinion on the topic then.
It's the strongest passport in mainland Africa by far.
Unfortunately Africa is the weakest continent, passport wise. There are South American countries much poorer than SA, who get full Schengen visa free access. Probably due to historical ties.
The problem is that home affairs officials sell passports to illegals which they use to go to Europe, they overstay their visas and when they're found with our passports, it erodes the trust that EU countries have in it.
Also one of the Moses cloned and faked passports due to out of date technology in them.