South Africa Embassy Sofia Bulgaria

PASSPORTS

South African travel documents are granted 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 respectively. A passport is an internationally recognized travel document that verifies the identity and nationality of the bearer.

South African passports are issued only in Pretoria. However, applications must still be submitted or forwarded to the applicable South African Embassy. Applications can take five (5-6) months to be finalized.

Temporary Passports and Emergency travel certificates are issued at South African missions abroad and both take one (1) week to be finalized.  
Please be advised that temporary passports are not accepted by some countries.  It is the responsibility of the traveller to inquire with the countries to be visited before applying for a temporary passport.  The Embassy accepts no liability in this regard.

Different types of passports and their requirements:

Regular Passport
Regular South African passports are issued to South African applicants who are 16 years old and older.

They are valid for 10 years and are not renewable.

Requirements:
•    Completed application form (BI-73) *
•    Completed form (BI-529E) (HERE)
•    Completed BI-9 (Fingerprint form) *
•    3 Passport size photos
•    Copy of present South African Passport
•    Copy of South African ID Document
•    If the passport is lost or stolen, attach translated police report
•    Prescribed fee of 30 lv.

Child Passport
Child passports are issued to children who are fifteen years and below.  These passports are not renewable.

Requirements:
•    Completed application form (BI-73) *
•    Completed Application form (BI-529E) (HERE)
•    Completed BI-9 (front part – fingerprints not necessary) *
•    3 Passport size photos
•    Copy of present South African Passport
•    Copy of Birth Certificate (applicable for first application)
•    Copy of parents South African passports
•    Prescribed fee of  23 lv.

Temporary Passport
Temporary passports, valid for one year, are issued to applicants who need to travel urgently while their permanent passports are being processed.
Please be advised that temporary passports are not accepted by some countries.  It is the responsibility of the traveller to inquire with the countries to be visited before applying for a temporary passport.  The Embassy accepts no liability in this regard.

Requirements:
•    Completed application form (BI-73) *
•    Completed Application form (BI-529E) (HERE)
•    Completed BI-9 (Fingerprints not required for minors) *
•    3 Passport size photos
•    Copy of present South African Passport
•    Copy of South African ID Document
•    If the passport is lost or stolen, attach translated police report
•    Prescribed fee of 14 lv.

Maxi Passport
Maxi passports contain 64 pages for frequent travellers. They are the same as regular passports (valid for 10 years) except that they contain double the number of pages to provide for more visa pages.

Requirements:
•    Completed application form (BI-73) *
•    Completed Application form (BI-529E) (HERE)
•    Completed BI-9 (Fingerprint form) *
•    3 Passport size photos
•    Copy of present South African Passport
•    Copy of South African ID Document
•    Prescribed fee 60 lv.

Emergency Travel Certificate
Emergency Travel Certificates are issued to South Africans who have to travel back home urgently for reasons of death, sickness or any other emergency.  It is in a page form and may be issued with validity ranging from a month to a year and only to be used once. Applicants for emergency travel certificates must also apply for permanent passports.

Requirements:
•    Completed application form (BI-73) *
•    Completed Application form (BI-529E) (HERE)
•    Completed BI-9 (Fingerprint form) *
•    3 Passport size photos
•    Copy of present South African Passport
•    Copy of South African ID Document
•    Prescribed fee of 11 lv.

* Note: Forms BI-73 and BI-9 can not be downloaded and must be obtained from the
Embassy

IDENTITY DOCUMENT

South African citizens and permanent residents, 16 years and older, must be in possession of an identity document.

Requirements:
•    Completed form BI-529E (HERE)
•    Completed Fingerprint form BI-9 *
•    Three (3) recent photographs with the applicants name written on the reverse side
•    Copy of applicant's old ID document
•    Copy of Marriage Certificate, Divorce Decree or Spouse's Death Certificate, if applicable
•    Written request to change "Surname".  To be submitted by recently married female applicants who would like to:
to change to their married surnames, or
wish to use double–barrel surnames;
•    Prescribed fee for first issuance is 3 lv.
•    Prescribed fee for re-issuance is 11 lv.

* Note: Form BI-9 can not be downloaded and must be obtained from the Embassy