Renewing South African Passport

[carokian]

Hi everyone
First allow m to say thank you for all the good advice these boards generate.
My SA passport (which has my EU residency card inside) has just expired, so I have to apply to have it renewed. I believe that this can take quite a long time and that even thought my EU residency card expires in 5 years time, it also has to be reapplied foe once I have my new passport.
Is this correct and can anyone offer any suggestions please?

Thank you as always
Caro

[Administrator]

.

my EU residency card expires in 5 years time, it also has to be reapplied foe once I have my new passport.

No.

You will get your new passport, and the residency visa in the old passport will remain in that passport.

You will, however, need to keep your old passport as proof that you have said residency visa.

Do not lose your old passport .. if you do, THEN you WILL have to get a duplicate visa issued and applied in your new passport.

Not Fun.

This would be an excellent time for you to make a full copy of your entire passport, every page, and put it in a safe place.

I keep an 800 dpi scan of every page of my passport electronically. Every time it is altered, I re-scan the altered pages. I keep multiple electronic copies (two CD's with burned data, in addition to the hard drives of two different computers) and I keep two printed copied in different locations.

You do not have to reapply for your residency visa .. but you may have to apply for a duplicate should the original be lost ... a process so painful that it is best if you take all precautions to ensure it does not happen.

the Admin

[Siggi]

If you have been in the UK longer than four years, the SA Consul will request a letter from the UK Home Office, stating you have not acquired British nationality.
I know of two cases, where SA citizens have been stripped of thier SA Nat on renwal,because the SA Consul assume, that if you have been outside of SA for longer than four year's you will have acquired another Nationality.
If in doubt, renew your passport in SA.
Good luck!