Passport Status Check South Africa: How to Track Your Application
A passport status check tells you where your South African passport application is: still being processed, printed, waiting for you at the office, or held up by a problem. Home Affairs no longer answers status requests by SMS, so the way to check has changed. Today you rely on the automatic SMS updates Home Affairs sends at key stages, your online Home Affairs profile, the contact centre, or a visit to the office or bank branch where you applied.
Below are the routes, how long a passport should take, what each stage means and what to do when an application goes quiet. If you have not applied yet, start with our passport application guide.
Passport Status Check at a Glance
| Route | What you need | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic SMS updates | The cellphone number you gave on your application | Everyone. The updates arrive without you asking |
| eHome Affairs profile | Your eHome Affairs login | Applications started online, including bank branch applications |
| My Home Affairs Online | A My Home Affairs Online account | Applications linked to that account |
| Contact centre, 0800 60 11 90 | Your ID number and the reference number on your acknowledgement slip | When the updates stop or a status looks wrong |
| The office or bank branch where you applied | Your acknowledgement slip and ID | An application that is overdue or stuck |
How to Check Your Passport Status
1. Watch for the automatic SMS updates
Home Affairs sends SMS updates to the cellphone number on your application at key stages, including when the passport is ready for collection. Make sure that number is one you still use.
The old status line on 32551, where you sent your ID number and got a reply, has been switched off. Home Affairs decommissioned it after criminals misused it for phishing, so treat any message that claims to come from it with suspicion, especially one that asks you to click a link or pay before your passport is released.
2. Log in to your eHome Affairs profile
If you started your application on eHome Affairs, log in and open the My Applications tab. That includes bank branch applications, which start with applying and paying on eHome Affairs before the biometric appointment (see our guide to Home Affairs bank branches).
3. Check My Home Affairs Online
Home Affairs launched a second online platform, My Home Affairs Online, in August 2026. It invites users to register an account to apply for services and track their applications. If you have an account, check whether your passport application shows there; if it does not, use another route rather than assuming something is wrong.
4. Call the Home Affairs contact centre
The contact centre is on 0800 60 11 90, toll-free from South Africa. Have your ID number and the reference number from your acknowledgement slip ready. Call when the updates stop for longer than you would expect, or when a status does not match what you know.
5. Ask at the office or bank branch where you applied
For an application that is clearly overdue, go back with your acknowledgement slip and ID. Staff can look it up directly and tell you whether it is in production, waiting at the office, or held up by a problem that needs you in person.
How Long Does a South African Passport Take?
The Department of Home Affairs gives these processing times:
- Ordinary tourist passport (32 pages): 13 working days
- Maxi passport (48 pages): 13 working days
- Minor's tourist passport: 18 working days
- Applications made abroad: at least six to eight months
Working days exclude weekends and public holidays, so 13 working days is closer to three calendar weeks, and busy periods such as December can add time. Do not book flights on the assumption that the target will be met. The fees you paid depend on the passport type and on whether you replaced a passport that was still valid; our passport fees guide sets them out.
What Your Passport Status Means
The wording differs between an SMS, an online dashboard and what an official reads to you on the phone, but every application moves through the same stages:
- Received or captured: your application, photograph and fingerprints are on the system and the fee has been paid. Nothing is needed from you.
- In production: the application has passed its checks and the passport is being printed. South African passports are produced at the Government Printing Works and then sent to the office where you applied.
- Ready for collection: the passport has arrived at your office or bank branch and you can collect it.
- Collected: the passport has been handed over.
- A problem or a referral to the office: something about the application needs to be resolved before it can go ahead, and usually that means going in person.
If your status says collected and you did not collect the passport, contact Home Affairs immediately through the contact centre and the office where you applied. A passport handed to someone else in your name is identity fraud and should be reported at once.
Collecting Your Passport
When your status reads ready for collection, return to the same office or bank branch where you applied. Take:
- your acknowledgement slip, which carries your reference number;
- your original ID; and
- your old passport, if you are renewing. You hand it in when you collect the new one, not when you apply, so you can still travel on it in the meantime.
Collect promptly. If you cannot get there for a while, ask the office how long it will hold your passport.
Why a Passport Application Gets Stuck
When an application stalls, it is usually for one of these reasons:
- Your details do not match your identity record. A passport is issued against your record on the National Population Register, so a name, surname or ID number that does not match that record will hold it up, for example a surname that differs from your record after a marriage or divorce.
- A problem on your ID record itself, such as an ID number that has been blocked, has to be resolved at Home Affairs before the passport can be issued.
- Photograph or fingerprint quality. Rare with live capture at a modernised office or bank branch, but it happens.
Before you go back to the office, confirm that the ID number on your acknowledgement slip is correct. Our free ID number validator checks the 13-digit format and checksum in seconds, which catches a mistyped digit. If you want to see what Home Affairs currently holds against your ID number, an Enhanced ID Verification returns your names, marital status, document issue date and blocked status from Home Affairs in real time, so you know what to correct before you queue.
Applied Abroad or Through VFS?
If you applied at a South African embassy, high commission or consulate, ask that mission about progress, and allow for the six to eight months or more that Home Affairs gives for applications made abroad.
VFS Global's tracking pages often appear when you search for a passport status, but VFS handles visa and permit applications for Home Affairs, so a passport you applied for at a Home Affairs office or bank branch in South Africa will not appear there. Our VFS Global guide covers what VFS does handle. For the same tracking routes applied to a Smart ID card, see our guide to checking your ID status online, and to confirm that any ID number on a form is correctly formed, use the ID Checker tool on our homepage.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check my passport status in South Africa?
Watch for the automatic SMS updates Home Affairs sends to the cellphone number on your application, log in to your eHome Affairs profile or My Home Affairs Online account if you applied online, call the Home Affairs contact centre on 0800 60 11 90 with your ID number and reference number, or ask at the office or bank branch where you applied.
Can I still check my passport status by SMS?
Not by sending a request. The old 32551 status line, where you sent your ID number for a reply, has been switched off after it was misused for phishing. Home Affairs now sends automatic SMS updates to the cellphone number on your application at key stages instead.
How long does a South African passport take?
Home Affairs gives 13 working days for an ordinary tourist passport or a maxi passport, 18 working days for a minor's passport, and at least six to eight months for an application made abroad. Busy periods such as December can add time.
What do I need to collect my passport?
Go to the office or bank branch where you applied with your acknowledgement slip and your original ID. If you are renewing, bring your old passport, because you hand it in when you collect the new one.