The stress of losing your passport isn’t something you want to go through, yet many of us do. The South African Chamber in the USA (SACCUSA) has reached out to assist Saffas by connecting them with the right people at the South African embassy.
The SA embassy in Washington DC is the only office where an Emergency Travel Certificate (ECT) can be issued. This can only happen upon approval of the Department of Home Affairs and Consular Services. The usually process takes about two or three days but due to Covid-19 it could take up to five days.
SACCUSA proposes the following steps to help expedite the process:
1. Report your passport as stolen and get an affidavit, as well as a copy of the Police Report from your local Sherriff.
2. Complete Form DHA-73 “Application for a South African Passport or Travel Document”.
3. Complete Form DHA-9 with a full set of fingerprints on the official form only.
4. Complete Form BI-529 “Determination of Citizenship Status”.
5. Submit all forms to the South African Embassy in Washington DC in person or by mail/courier.
If you can’t do it in person, please include a prepaid envelope so that the embassy can mail the ETC certificate back to you.
When the embassy receives the official application forms and the supporting documents as stipulated above, they will submit the ETC application to the Department of Home Affairs in Pretoria for approval.
