Lost, stolen or expired passport

If your South African passport is stolen, lost or expired

1. Email Ms Mafafo at mafafok@dirco.gov.za . She is the consul at our embassy in Ukraine. Georgia is accredited to that embassy.

2. As soon as possible: For a lost or stolen passport, complete an affidavit in front of a notary. It must be translated to English. Scan it and email it to her. Details on the affidavit 

(a) what happened

(b) where 

(c) what date 

(d) steps you took to recover it and

(e) date that you reported the loss to the police.

3. Unfortunately applying for a new ordinary passport will take too long because it requires 2 consular visits (one to apply and one to take delivery of the new passport). The average time between consular visits is 3 years.

4. Plan ahead: Getting an emergency passport (or ETC for short) can take up to a month.

5. An ETC only allows one-way travel back to SA. The dates and flight numbers are fixed.

6. Start your email saying that you need an ETC. Specify the emergency, which can include

(a) death or serious illness of a close relative,

(b) avoiding or minimizing overstaying or other legal matters or

(c) other ??

7. Complete form 529 (see below) and attach it to the email.

8. Do you still have an original ID, expired passport or even SA drivers license ? Mention it in the email. Very valuable in speeding up the process.

9. If you are overstaying, state it. Otherwise state either

(a) You have residency and when it expires or

(b) You applied for residency, it was denied and you're in the grace period and when it ends or

(c) You entered Georgia in the last 365 days and the date it expires on.

10. If at all possible, state that your goal is to return to and live in SA. If you mention any travel plans that you may have after returning to SA, it complicates things and you may receive follow up questions.

11. If you're still based in SA, provide proof of address. Otherwise find friends or family willing to house you in SA. Include their physical address and WhatsApp number(s) in your email.

12. Include a number where she can reach you on WhatsApp.

13. If this guide is unclear or incorrect, you can contact me on WhatsApp: +27837659503 . Once you send an email, I can follow up with Ms Mafafo on the progress.

14. After Ms Mafafo processed your application, she will send you further instructions. An application fee of approximately USD 100 is payable.

15. Once back in SA, please provide me with feedback as to what additional steps was necessary and how long it all took.

16. Community Circle SA Facebook group also has experts who may help.

17. References: SA embassy in Ukraine and Getting an emergency passport in the UK