Temporary Passport problems

[Dawie]

Here's an interesting scenario that I would like some comments on.

As from the 1st June 2006 the UK government is no longer accepting South African temporary passports as acceptable travel documents for entry into the UK. Please see this url for clarification:

http://www.publications.parliament.uk/p ... 419-47.htm

As a South African passport holder this concerns me. Primarily I am concerned with what will happen if I go to, say, Spain, on holiday and I lose my full permanent passport. It currently takes the South African government 4 months to issue a new full passport and 7 days to issue a temporary passport for emergency travel.

As the UK no longer accepts temporary passports for entry to the UK AND waiting 4 months for a normal passport to be re-issued in not an option, could anyone advise as to how I could get back into the UK under this scenario. Would they make an exception if you an ILR holder?

This is freaking me out.

[RobinLondon]

If I were a freaked-out South African, I would always carry a (UK-notarised) photocopy of my current full passport with me as well as a copy of whatever current UK visa I had. As an extra step, I would take a copy of my Home Office file with me when I went abroad. Then in case someone nicked my passport, I at least could construct a credible story to the IO when I presented my temporary SA passport. Even better, I would go the the UK consulate in Spain, for instance, and request their help. If they didn't provide a temporary entry clearance in the temporary passport, at least they could issue a letter or start a paper trail.

But you're right, this is bad news and puts a lot of responsibility on the SA passport holder. Either the UK needs to relax a bit or SA needs to tighten up their passport issuance procedures. Easy for me to say, hard for anyone to do. In the meantime, Dawie, you might just want to get British at your earliest opportunity. Until then, I guess it's just an ominous irritation.

[bbdivo]

Coming from the same part of the world, this has always been a worry for me, that is why I guard my passport with my life. I get very nervous when it has to be posted around, eg for drivers licence, visa applications, etc.

[Dawie]

Yes, I share your same sense of nervousness. That's primarily why when I applied for ILR I went in person to Croydon spent £500. I have never sent my passport via any sort postal system and I never will. I know too many people who have lost their passports that way. Although God alone knows why someone would want to steal a South African passport.

The main issue is the ridiculous fact that it takes 4 months to issue a normal passport. The South African government likes to think that it is a global player in the world and yet it treats its citizens with third-world contempt. If an Australian or New Zealander lost their passport in a foreign country they would receive a brand new full passport in a matter of days not months. Why can't they offer the same service? What the hell are they doing for four months? Pulping the paper for the passport themselves?

I don't blame the UK government, to be honest. The South African temporary passport is a ridiculously easy instrument to forge. All your personal details are hand written and then protected with a simple piece of laminate. Any fool with a knife and a pot of glue could forge one, and they do!

[ppron747]

If you want to see an insecure document, the UK Emergency Passport wins the prize - not even a bit of laminate to protect it!!

[JAJ]

If I were a freaked-out South African, I would always carry a (UK-notarised) photocopy of my current full passport with me as well as a copy of whatever current UK visa I had. As an extra step, I would take a copy of my Home Office file with me when I went abroad. Then in case someone nicked my passport, I at least could construct a credible story to the IO when I presented my temporary SA passport.

The problem is likely to be getting on board a United Kingdom bound flight. Without being able to do that, it won't even be possible to get as far as the IO to plead one's case.

Even better, I would go the the UK consulate in Spain, for instance, and request their help. If they didn't provide a temporary entry clearance in the temporary passport, at least they could issue a letter or start a paper trail.

What's odd about all this is that if you take the statement literally, the UK will not accept the South African temporary passport even with an entry clearance

Maybe the only option would be for the OP to try to get a Home Office travel document for non-citizens (the type normally issued to refugees/stateless persons who can't get a passport from their own government).

But you're right, this is bad news and puts a lot of responsibility on the SA passport holder. Either the UK needs to relax a bit or SA needs to tighten up their passport issuance procedures. Easy for me to say, hard for anyone to do. In the meantime, Dawie, you might just want to get British at your earliest opportunity. Until then, I guess it's just an ominous irritation.

And think hard in the meantime before venturing beyond the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

[Dawie]

Just found this:

http://www.globalbuzz-sa.com/forums/sho ... post140173

For those without acceptable travel documentation, in the event of emergency or exceptional and compassionate cases, there is the contingency of travel to the UK on a Uniform Format Form obtained and endorsed with a UK visa from a UK entry clearance post overseas.

Do you think being an ILR holder and having your whole life in the UK and needing to urgently get back to your job constitutes an emergency for these purposes?

[Dawie]

Bingo, look at this:

http://www.britishhighcommission.gov.uk ... 4348270424

[Dawie]

Right, from what I can gather from reading all the guidence notes, as long as you have a travel document, even if it's not officially recognised by Her Majesty's Government, an Entry Clearence mission has got the discretion to grant you a returning resident visa on a Uniform Format Form which can be used alongside the aforementioned travel document to enter the UK.

Clearly the Foreign Office guidence notes differ from the statement made in parliament. In an emergency it seems that common sense and discretion can be exercised to facilitate your return to the UK. I don't know for sure, but I would imagine that your case is even stronger if you can provide them with a photocopy of your ILR vignette and the personal details page of your lost passport.

[Leo_Swan]

Dawie,

Let me just correct you , I applied for my SA passport renewal on 28 Feb 2006 and guess what, 5 months later I am still waiting. Also I have emailed, on a daily basis, the SA Home Office (in uk) for the past month and they dont even reply, calling them HA good luck...

I just wanted a moan.

[Dawie]

Leo Swan

I feel for you man. Here is the personal details of the chief immigration officer at the South African Embassy:

[.............................]

If I were you I would phone every day twice a day until you get your passport. Phone him in the morning on his way to work, phone him in the evening when he leaves the embassy. Phone him while he's on his lunch break. Phone him until he personally flies over to Pretoria and gets your passport.

I'm working on getting the personal details of the South African Ambassador herself. [.........................] Someone needs to do it.

You know what I'm saying?

With respect personal details relating to a sovereign's state's consular officer and likewise comments about their head of mission that can be misconstrued to be in bad taste (with potential legal recourse against the forum hosts) have been deleted. Thank you for your understanding - Kayalami

[Leo_Swan]

Thanks Dawie,

I will try my best, it is not that i need it now because I am a BC as well it is just the fact that i started my Naturalisation after that and i t was completed by May. Yet when you deal with SA it is like pulling teeth!

Thanks again

[jes2jes]

I wonder if the kind of coverage you get from your bank for lost bank cards, drivingl icences and passports can do for you in such a situation. I have the kind of policy on one of my bank accounts which promises to replace lost documents (passports, driving licences etc) within 24 hours of reporting it lost when abroad. I don't know if foreign passports are included but that is what I hold currently.

I think you should exploit that option and see if they can pull some strings with the Home Office of SA in case you loose your passport.

I lost mine once between the HO and the postal system and had it replace the same day when I appeared at the High Commision of Ghana myself. Nice country to belong to in such emergencies.

[Dawie]

Haha, let me explain a few things to you.....

Home Affairs in South Africa is answerable to noone. They are a law unto themselves. No amount of cajoling, bribing, favours or anything else will make your passport arrive quicker than 4 months. As one poster has mentioned above, he is still waiting 5 months later.

That's great that Ghana is well organised enough to replace your passport in a single day. Unfortunately us South Africans are not offered that kind of service. You see, Home Affairs in South Africa have not yet realised that they are there to serve us.

[Kayalami]

The production of RSA passport booklets is a centralised process carried out solely in RSA. In comparison the UK has passport booklet processing facilities at their overseas diplomatic missions so such can be done locally. It still takes time for such to be done though and for this reason an emergency type passport is issued for those who need to get back to the UK in days.

A starting point for the difference in timelines between RSA and say the UK is that in RSA your application details (to include fingerprint biometrics) are checked against the population register. AFAIK the system is not entirely automated and as you can imagine manualy checking such can take some time. There is a large scale IT project to automate the fingerprint system. For obvious reasons such technology is initially dedicated to the law enforcment sector so those who have criminal records are a priority for being placed onto the automated system. Added to this is that there have been high profile and recent concerns about fraudelent RSA passports expressed by the UK government.

IMHO the biggest issue is simply one of resource. The RSA passport costs GBP13.00 which at less than the heathrow express fare is lower compared to those of any other country I know of. There are also well documented issues about resources (underfunding) at the Dept. of Home Affairs back in RSA. In effect I query whether there is a full cost recovery of in relation to any citizens services (registration, id cards issuance etc) and suspect the tax payer is likely subsidising these to millions of rands. Perhaps a way forward is to for concerned South Africans to write to their MP's express their views on the lengthy delays in passport issuance.

[JAJ]

Thanks Dawie,

I will try my best, it is not that i need it now because I am a BC as well it is just the fact that i started my Naturalisation after that and i t was completed by May. Yet when you deal with SA it is like pulling teeth!

Thanks again

AIUI if you have applied for permission to keep your South African citizenship then you must use a South African passport to enter and leave South Africa.

And if you haven't then you may not be entitled to a South African passport in the first place.

[jes2jes]

Kayalami,
I must say that your explanation has shed a lot of light on the issue. I cannot believe the RSA passport cost so low, no doubt it takes this long. I don't think the cost as it stands currently can meet a few pages of the document. The department needs to charge more and that will make them accountable for certain time lines. GHC in London charges £50 for renewals and £100 for replacement of lost PP's or first time applicants. I think the maximum days to collect is 14 days but they normally issue it within 5 working days.

RSA Home Affairs has a long way to go and the citizens can help to make it a dream come true.

[Leo_Swan]

Dear JAJ,

Not to worry Sir, I did do the section 6 thing, so I am safe in the knowledge that I should get it and I am a duel national.

[Dawie]

IMHO the biggest issue is simply one of resource. The RSA passport costs GBP13.00 which at less than the heathrow express fare is lower compared to those of any other country I know of. There are also well documented issues about resources (underfunding) at the Dept. of Home Affairs back in RSA. In effect I query whether there is a full cost recovery of in relation to any citizens services (registration, id cards issuance etc) and suspect the tax payer is likely subsidising these to millions of rands. Perhaps a way forward is to for concerned South Africans to write to their MP's express their views on the lengthy delays in passport issuance.

For political reasons the South African government IMHO will never introduce a premium service, like the UK, to speed up the processing of passports as this will be seen as unfair to the majority of the population who cannot even afford the GBP13.00 let alone whatever it would cost for a premium service. The politics comes into it because they would end up with a situation where the majority of people who can afford the premium service will be white and the majority who can't will be black. Accusations of preference being given to whites will follow along with the political consequences. Unfortunately this is the price we have to pay for our "Rainbow nation". Fairness to all means everyone gets the worst service not the best service.

[Christophe]

For political reasons the South African government IMHO will never introduce a premium service, like the UK, to speed up the processing of passports as this will be seen as unfair to the majority of the population who cannot even afford the GBP13.00 let alone whatever it would cost for a premium service. The politics comes into it because they would end up with a situation where the majority of people who can afford the premium service will be white and the majority who can't will be black. Accusations of preference being given to whites will follow along with the political consequences. Unfortunately this is the price we have to pay for our "Rainbow nation". Fairness to all means everyone gets the worst service not the best service.

Well, yes, but the UK premium service is designed to deliver a new passport (to most applicants) the same day - while this is a good service and worth having, for most people most of the time it is not necessary to get a new passport on the same day. It seems a pity though that the South African government can't deliver new passports within a reasonable time for people using the 'standard' (and it seems only available) service: exactly what a 'reasonable time' would be is difficult to pinpoint, I guess, but obviously 4 months or more is not what most people would consider reasonable.

[jes2jes]

For political reasons the South African government IMHO will never introduce a premium service, like the UK, to speed up the processing of passports as this will be seen as unfair to the majority of the population who cannot even afford the GBP13.00 let alone whatever it would cost for a premium service.

Dawie, most African countries are less richer than the RSA. These countries and the people who live in them have low income and yet the PP application does not take that long. I think it is not an issue of rich or poor neither black or white. The issue is a revamp of the HA Ministry in RSA with adequate funding and logistics to meet modern standards and demands of the current population.

Read through Kayalami's post and you will understand. I guess issuance of PP's are not a priority to the RSA compared to other services of the economy like Tourism. It is a shame really. Majority of people living in Asia and Africa should make this statement but they don't. RSA is one of the richest countries in Africa if not the world.

[Kayalami]

Note that many countries have their temporary passports deemed no longer acceptable for entry to another country so the issue is not unique to RSA temp passports. For example the US is no longer accepting temporary German passports for entry on the VWP. The delay in RSA passport issuance is of particular issue to those applying at RSA's overseas diplomatic posts. I am of the opinion that parliament is best to address this failing which RSA's exemplary Supreme Court should be able to mandate expedition under relevant clauses for service provision under the constitution.

[JAJ]

Note that many countries have their temporary passports deemed no longer acceptable for entry to another country so the issue is not unique to RSA temp passports. For example the US is no longer accepting temporary German passports for entry on the VWP.

There is a difference between not accepting passports for a visa-waiver scheme, and refusing to accept a passport full stop (even if endorsed with a visa or entry clearance).

The only reason the U.S. doesn't accept temporary German passports for the VWP is that they are not machine readable (they are accepted if the holder has a U.S. visa or Green Card). Temporary passports that otherwise meet the VWP requirements are ok for visa waiver.

[jes2jes]

JAJ,
You are correct. My passport is not machine readable but I have used it to the US several times with a visa. This was issued in an emergency same day service so did not get the opportunity for the automated one.
Good point.

[OL7MAX]

Dawie, an unusual suggestion: Have you tried contacting your MP? (No, not the British one)