{"id":1630,"date":"2025-04-03T07:25:28","date_gmt":"2025-04-03T07:25:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dirco.gov.za\/ottawa\/?page_id=1630"},"modified":"2026-08-27T13:23:17","modified_gmt":"2026-08-27T13:23:17","slug":"general-information-for-all-passport-applicants","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/dirco.gov.za\/ottawa\/general-information-for-all-passport-applicants\/","title":{"rendered":"General information for all passport applicants"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"1630\" class=\"elementor elementor-1630\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-element elementor-element-b29c886 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"b29c886\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-705d7c9 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"705d7c9\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;ekit_we_effect_on&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">General information for all passport applicants<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"aux-parallax-section elementor-element elementor-element-d4942d0 e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"d4942d0\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-952c33c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"952c33c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;ekit_we_effect_on&quot;:&quot;none&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul type=\"disc\"><li><span data-olk-copy-source=\"MessageBody\">Passports are\u00a0not\u00a0renewable. If your passport is due to expire you have to apply for a\u00a0new\u00a0passport.<\/span><\/li><li>The processing of documents is done by the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa. However, all applications must still be submitted\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">through the VFS services<\/span>. The High Commission or Consulate General in Toronto do\u00a0not\u00a0have any influence on expediting the processing of applications.<\/li><li>To ensure that applicants receive their documents on time, they are advised to apply at least\u00a0<b>TWELVE<\/b>\u00a0months prior to their intended date of departure or date of expiry of passports. It takes 6 months to process new South African documents.<\/li><li>South Africans are required to keep their passports valid at all times even if not travelling.<\/li><li>South African citizens holding dual citizenship\u00a0<b>must enter or depart South Africa<\/b>\u00a0making use of a South African passport only.<\/li><\/ul><p align=\"center\"><b>IMPORTANT NOTICES<\/b><\/p><p><b><span lang=\"en-GB\">Now Open in Ottawa and Toronto:<\/span><\/b><span lang=\"en-GB\">\u00a0Easier access for South Africans in Canada to passports, IDs &amp; birth registrations via<a title=\"https:\/\/visa.vfsglobal.com\/can\/en\/zap\" href=\"https:\/\/visa.vfsglobal.com\/can\/en\/zap\" data-auth=\"NotApplicable\" data-linkindex=\"1\">\u00a0<b>VFS Global<\/b><\/a><\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>General information for all passport applicants Passports are\u00a0not\u00a0renewable. If your passport is due to expire you have to apply for a\u00a0new\u00a0passport. The processing of documents is done by the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa. However, all applications must still be submitted\u00a0through the VFS services. The High Commission or Consulate General in Toronto do\u00a0not\u00a0have [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"rs_blank_template":"","rs_page_bg_color":"","slide_template_v7":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1630","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v28.7 (Yoast SEO v28.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>General information for all passport applicants - South African High Commissioner in Ottawa, Canada<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dirco.gov.za\/ottawa\/general-information-for-all-passport-applicants\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"General information for all passport applicants\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"General information for all passport applicants Passports are\u00a0not\u00a0renewable. If your passport is due to expire you have to apply for a\u00a0new\u00a0passport. The processing of documents is done by the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa. However, all applications must still be submitted\u00a0through the VFS services. 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