About Home Affairs Guide

01 — Who We Are

Home Affairs Guide is an independent South African information website focused on Department of Home Affairs (DHA) services.

We are not the Department of Home Affairs, and we are not affiliated with the DHA or any bank, law firm, or government body.

We created this site to make official Home Affairs processes easier to understand. DHA information is often scattered across announcements, platforms, and service pages that don’t talk to each other.

Bank websites explain their role in the partnership, but not always the full DHA process. News articles report on policy changes but rarely provide step-by-step guidance.

Our goal is to organise verified official information into clear, practical guides.

02 — What We Do

Plain-language guides, verified against official sources

We research, verify, and explain DHA processes in plain language, including:

Smart ID applications
Passport services
Bank-based Smart ID and passport services
Birth, marriage, and related documentation processes

Our content is based on official DHA publications, Government Gazette notices, verified bank announcements, and primary source documents.

All content is reviewed by the Home Affairs Guide Editorial Team before publication or update, in line with our Editorial Policy.

When policies, fees, or processes change, we update affected guides and display a “Last updated” date on every page.

03 — What We Don’t Do

We do not process applications. We do not have access to DHA systems. We cannot check your application status, expedite documents, or intervene in DHA decisions.

For direct assistance, contact the Department of Home Affairs:

Toll-free 0800 60 11 90

Email hacc@dha.gov.za

Template Complaint letter tool

04 — Who Can Do What We Don’t

If you’d prefer to have a certificate or apostille application handled on your behalf, Home Affairs Guide has a disclosed, paid partnership with Apostil.co.za, a private document services provider. They can submit applications, follow up with DHA, and manage the process end to end.

Apostil.co.za’s involvement does not affect the accuracy or independence of our content.

05 — Accuracy & Responsibility

All fees, processing times, and branch information reflect the most recently confirmed official information available at the time of update.

If any information on this site differs from official DHA platforms such as dha.gov.za or ehome.dha.gov.za, the official source takes precedence.

If you notice an error or outdated information, please use our Contact page to let us know so we can review and correct it promptly.