How Much Is a Passport in South Africa? 2026 Fees

If you are budgeting for a new South African passport in 2026, the headline number is simpler than most government fees: a standard adult tourist passport costs R600. But that single figure hides a fee schedule with five different document types, a rule that doubles the cost if your current passport is still valid for six months or longer, and a handful of extra charges that catch first-time applicants off guard. This guide breaks down exactly how much a South African passport costs in 2026, what the fee does and does not include, and how to avoid paying more than you have to. Before you start any Home Affairs application, you can confirm the 13-digit SA ID number you will quote on the form using the free South African ID validator on our homepage, which runs the Luhn checksum and decodes your date of birth, gender, and citizenship in seconds.

How Much Is a South African Passport in 2026?

A standard adult tourist passport with 32 pages costs R600. The larger 48-page maxi passport, aimed at frequent travellers, costs R1,200. A child passport for anyone under 16 costs R600. These fees were set in Government Gazette No. 47256, which came into operation on 1 November 2022, and they remain unchanged in 2026 — the Department of Home Affairs has not gazetted a new schedule since.

The fee is the same whether you are applying for the first time or renewing an expired passport: South Africa does not "extend" a passport, it issues a brand-new booklet with a new number every time, so the renewal and first-time application costs are identical. The difference between the two routes is operational, not financial, and we cover it in our passport application guide and passport renewal guide.

2026 South African Passport Fee Table

Here is the full Home Affairs travel-document fee schedule in force for 2026:

The higher figures are not typos. Home Affairs charges the standard tariff for a first issue, or where your previous passport has already expired or has less than six months of validity left. If the passport you already hold is still valid for six months or longer, the tariff doubles. We explain that rule in full further down.

What the Passport Fee Includes — and What It Doesn't

The R600 (or R1,200) you pay covers the production and issuing of the passport booklet itself: the secure printing, the biometric chip, and the courier of the finished document to your collection point. It does not cover several things people assume are bundled in:

• Photographs — at any live-capture-enabled Home Affairs office or partner bank branch, your photo and fingerprints are taken on site at no extra charge. You only pay for photos if you are applying from abroad and must submit printed pictures.
• Your ID document — you cannot apply for a passport without a valid SA ID number. If you still need to apply for or replace your ID, that is a separate Home Affairs fee covered in our Smart ID Card cost guide.
• Courier or travel costs — applications lodged at South African missions abroad attract local handling and courier fees on top of the R600 booklet fee, and those vary by country.
• Bank charges — applying through eHome Affairs and a partner bank does not add a Home Affairs surcharge, but normal online-banking payment rules apply.

Tourist Passport vs Maxi Passport: Is the R1,200 Worth It?

The only practical difference between the standard 32-page tourist passport (R600) and the 48-page maxi passport (R1,200) is the number of blank visa pages. Both are valid for 10 years for adults. The maxi passport costs exactly double, so the question is whether you will fill 32 pages before the booklet expires.

For the average South African who travels once or twice a year, the standard 32-page passport is more than enough for a decade. The maxi passport pays for itself only if you are a frequent business traveller or a holder of multiple visas that consume full pages — once a 32-page passport runs out of space, you have to apply (and pay) for a replacement before the 10 years are up, which wipes out the saving. If you stamp out pages quickly, paying R1,200 once beats paying R600 twice.

How Much Does a Child's Passport Cost?

A passport for a child under 16 costs R600 in 2026, the same as a standard adult booklet, but a child passport is valid for only 5 years rather than 10. Beyond the fee, a child application carries extra documentary requirements that can add indirect cost: you need the child's unabridged birth certificate, and both parents (or legal guardians) must consent in person. If you do not yet hold an unabridged birth certificate, factor in the separate Home Affairs fee and processing time for that document before the passport application can proceed.

When a Passport Costs Double: The Six-Month Validity Rule

The most misunderstood line on the Home Affairs fee schedule is the doubled tariff, and it is not a penalty for losing your passport. Home Affairs sets the tariff by how much validity is left on the passport you already hold. You pay the standard fee for a first issue, or where your previous passport has already expired or has less than six months left to run. If the passport in your hand is still valid for six months or longer, you pay double: R1,200 for a 32-page tourist passport, R2,400 for a 48-page maxi, and R1,200 for a child passport.

Two practical consequences follow, and both catch people out. First, renewing early is expensive. If you want a fresh booklet because yours is running out of blank pages, or you simply want to renew well ahead of a trip, and your current passport still has more than six months on it, you will be charged the doubled tariff even though nothing has been lost or damaged. Second, the reverse also holds. If your passport had already expired, or had under six months left, at the point it was lost or stolen, the standard fee applies. Losing a passport is the most common route into the doubled bracket, but only because a lost passport is usually still valid.

If your passport was lost or stolen, the tariff is only part of it. Home Affairs also requires a loss-of-passport report on Form DHA-335, obtainable from any Home Affairs office, together with confirmation that you reported the loss to the police in the form of an affidavit. Submit both with your application.

Emergency Travel Certificate Cost

An emergency travel certificate (ETC) is the cheapest document on the schedule at R140. It is not a passport — it is a single-use travel document issued to South African citizens who are stranded abroad without a valid passport and need to get home. The ETC authorises one journey back to South Africa within 30 days and is applied for at the nearest South African embassy, high commission, or consulate. Once you are home, you apply for a full passport at the normal R600 fee. Because the ETC is single-use and tightly restricted, it is never a substitute for renewing your passport on time.

How Long a South African Passport Takes

Cost and waiting time are the two things people ask in the same breath, so it is worth putting the official turnaround next to the fee. Home Affairs publishes 13 working days for an adult tourist passport and for a maxi passport, and 18 working days for a child passport, measured from the day your application is captured rather than the day you book. The Western Cape Government's service page quotes a wider range of roughly 7 to 21 working days. Both are government sources, so treat 13 working days as the target and the wider range as what offices tend to quote in practice. If you are applying at a participating bank branch, confirm the current turnaround at the counter before you plan travel.

Applying from outside South Africa is a different proposition. Because biometrics have to be couriered to Pretoria for printing, Home Affairs estimates that applications lodged at an embassy, high commission, or consulate take at least six to eight months. If you are moving abroad, renewing before you leave is worth considerably more than any fee you might save by waiting.

How to Pay for Your Passport

There are three ways to pay the Home Affairs passport fee, and none of them adds a government surcharge:

1. Online via eHome Affairs. If you hold a Smart ID card and bank with FNB, Standard Bank, ABSA, Nedbank, Investec, or Discovery Bank, you can pay the fee directly through the bank's online-payment integration inside the portal. Our eHome Affairs portal guide walks through registration and payment.
2. At a Home Affairs branch. Pay the cashier by cash or card on the day of your application. Keep the receipt — its reference number is what you use to track and collect the passport.
3. At a partner bank branch. When you book through eHome Affairs, full payment is completed online before your biometric appointment at the bank. You then attend the bank only for the photo and fingerprint capture.

Whichever channel you use, the application still needs an online appointment booking through the Home Affairs online booking system or a walk-in queue ticket.

Passport Cost Compared to Other Home Affairs Documents

At R600, a standard passport sits at the higher end of the Home Affairs fee range, well above the cost of a Smart ID card but cheaper than a maxi passport or any replacement. For a side-by-side comparison of every DHA document fee — Smart ID, ID replacement, and the civil documents — see our Smart ID Card cost guide. The full index of Home Affairs services and what each one costs is in our Home Affairs online services hub.

How to Avoid Paying More Than You Need To

• Time the renewal, do not just rush it. The single biggest avoidable cost is the doubled tariff, and it is triggered by renewing while your current passport still has six months or more left. Waiting until you are inside that six-month window keeps you on the R600 rate. Leave enough runway for the 13 working day turnaround and any visa deadlines, but renewing a year early is the expensive mistake, not the safe one.
• Choose the right booklet. Do not pay R1,200 for a maxi passport unless you genuinely fill pages fast — most travellers do not.
• Get the details right the first time. A rejected application is wasted time, and the original fee is normally retained, not refunded. The most common cause of rejection is an ID-number mismatch with the National Population Register, so verify your number with our free ID checker before you submit the form.
• Use live capture. Applying in person at a live-capture office or partner bank means your photos are free and meet the specification automatically, removing the risk of a rejection over photo quality.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is a South African passport in 2026?

A standard adult tourist passport (32 pages) costs R600. The 48-page maxi passport costs R1,200, and a child passport (under 16) costs R600. These fees have been in force since 1 November 2022 and remain unchanged for 2026.

Why does replacing a passport often cost double?

Because the tariff is set by how much validity is left on the passport you already hold, not by how you lost it. A passport that is lost or stolen is usually still valid for six months or more, which puts the application in the higher bracket at R1,200 for a 32-page booklet. If the passport that went missing had already expired, or had under six months left, the standard R600 applies. You will also need a loss-of-passport report on Form DHA-335 plus an affidavit confirming you reported the loss to the police.

Is the passport fee the same for renewal and a first-time application?

Not always, and this is where most people get caught. South Africa issues a new passport with a new number rather than extending an old one, and the tariff depends on how much validity is left on your current booklet. A first issue costs R600. A renewal also costs R600 if your existing passport has expired or has less than six months left. But if you renew while your current passport is still valid for six months or longer, the tariff doubles to R1,200.

Are photographs included in the passport fee?

At any live-capture Home Affairs office or partner bank branch, your photograph and fingerprints are captured on site at no extra cost. You only pay separately for photos if you are applying from abroad and have to submit printed pictures.

How much does a passport cost from abroad?

The R600 booklet fee still applies, but South African missions abroad add local handling and courier charges that vary by country, because biometrics have to be couriered to Pretoria for printing. Contact the nearest embassy, high commission, or consulate for the local fee in your currency.

Does it cost anything to check if my passport is ready?

Tracking is effectively free. You can SMS your 13-digit ID number to 32551 (a small per-SMS charge applies) or log into eHome Affairs at no cost. The DHA contact centre on 0800 60 11 90 also confirms status during office hours.

Do pensioners pay less for a South African passport?

No. Home Affairs publishes no pensioner, senior-citizen, or other age-based concession on passport fees. Every applicant aged 16 or older pays the same tariff for the same booklet. The only two things that change what you pay are the number of pages you choose, 32-page tourist or 48-page maxi, and how much validity is left on the passport you currently hold.

How long does a passport take in South Africa?

Home Affairs publishes a turnaround of 13 working days for an adult tourist or maxi passport and 18 working days for a child passport, counted from the day the application is captured. The Western Cape Government quotes a wider practical range of about 7 to 21 working days. Applications lodged at a South African mission abroad are far slower, at an estimated six to eight months.

Where to Go Next

Now that you know the cost, the next step depends on your situation: read our first-time passport application guide if you have never held one, or our passport renewal guide if yours has expired. To confirm the SA ID number you will use throughout the application is structurally valid, run it through the free Luhn-checked validator on our homepage.

Sources: Department of Home Affairs (dha.gov.za), Government of South Africa (gov.za passport services), Government Gazette No. 47256 of 30 September 2022.