Owning a passport is one of the most basic requirements for one to travel from South Africa to Britain and vice versa. First-time travellers apply for the travel document at the Department of Home Affairs. However, if you are a British national and have lost your travel document, regardless of the conditions in which your card disappeared, you can still get a new travel document. The British High Commission in South Africa is the body that is in charge of the renewal of British passports in South Africa.
There are instances when one loses their travel documents unintentionally. Some of these incidences include theft. That, therefore, brings up the question of whether replacing the travel document is viable. Another instance that may require one to renew his/her British passport in South Africa is when the document is full.
It is possible for a citizen of the United Kingdom to apply for a new travel document while in South Africa. There are, however, specific British passport renewal regulations that one should put into consideration.
Before you proceed to the process of applying for a new travel document, one should ensure that they cancel the lost document. This requirement is critical since it will help minimize the chances of someone else using your identity for malicious reasons.
After that, the applicant can proceed to report the lost document. For cases where you are not the victim, it is advisable to report the lost and found document to the commission offices.
Steps to Renew British passport from South Africa
In case you lose your travel document a few days before your travelling date, there is the emergency passport option that you can apply for. This option takes a shorter time to process. It, however, has a set of requirements that one should meet for them to qualify for it. These requirements are:
- The applicant must be a citizen of the United Kingdom.
- He or she must be outside the country while applying for the document.
- The passport of the applicant must be lost, expired, full, or damaged.
- The applicant should prove that they are supposed to travel and cannot wait until the normal passport is processed.
New applicants do not qualify for an emergency passport application.
Eligibility of the emergency passport
If you are a South African applying for a British passport but qualify for the emergency travel document, there is a restriction on how you can use it. For instance, the document allows you to travel to your destination.
It, however, limits you to travel across five countries. Apart from that, some countries may require you to leave the travel document at their borders. Besides that, the details of your travels will be stamped on the travel document.