Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has gazetted new South African passport fees that come into effect as from 1 November 2022.
In a statement, the Home Affairs Department said the new fees follow a benchmarking process with other countries “which found that our tariffs were up to three times lower.”
Production costs
Production costs are also “much higher” than what South Africans are paying for the passports, the Department added. This means that the government is “heavily subsidising” passport holders.
“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,” Motsoaledi explained.
The Minister reminded applicants that there is no such thing as an “emergency passport.” Instead, there is an emergency travel certificate that enables South Africans stranded abroad to travel back home.
“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,” he added.
New South African passport fees
In you are applying in South Africa, the new passport fees are as follows:
- Adult passport: R600 for 32 pages (previous fee: R400); R1,200 for 48 pages, also known as maxi (previous fee: R800).
- Child passport: R600 (previous fee: R400).
- Official passport: R600 (previously free).
- Diplomatic passport: R600 (previously free).
- Document for travel purposes: R600 (previous fee: R300)
- Crew member certificate: R600 (previous fee: R350).
If you are applying abroad (at a South African embassy or consulate), the fees are as follows:
- Adult passport: R1,200 for 32 pages (previous fee: R400); R2,400 for 48 pages (previous fee: R800).
- Child passport: R1,200 (previous fee: R400).
- Emergency travel certificate: R140 (previous fee: R140).
The last time the government increased passport prices was in 2011. To view Minister Motsoaledi’s gazette notice, click here.