Apply from anywhere in the world. We manage your application in South Africa, deal with Home Affairs, arrange your apostille where required, and help get your documents safely delivered to you overseas.
Whether you need a certificate retrieved, apostilled or a more detailed vault record, start with the service that best matches your requirement. If you are unsure, we’ll help you work it out.
A fully managed service for obtaining your South African birth certificate while you are living overseas.
For cases where you need the underlying birth register record or a vault copy for a specific legal, citizenship or immigration purpose.
We manage the certificate retrieval and arrange the apostille process where your document needs authentication for use overseas.
You are still in the right place. Use the SA Docs network to move to the specialist service you need.
You should not have to understand the inner workings of Home Affairs just to obtain your own documents. You give us the information we need, and we manage the South African process from there.
We manage the process in South Africa from a complete application through to obtaining your document, with apostille and international delivery available where required. Individual Home Affairs cases can vary and any issue requiring attention will be managed through your case.
Tell us what you need, complete your details and provide the required supporting information.
Your application is reviewed before processing so obvious missing information can be dealt with early.
Your case is processed and followed up in South Africa rather than leaving you to navigate Home Affairs alone.
If your destination or purpose requires authentication, it can be managed as part of the same case.
Once complete, your documents can be sent to you overseas using tracked international delivery.
Home Affairs applications do not always follow a perfect path. If something needs attention, additional information or clarification, your case can be handled individually and you can respond securely through your SA Docs account.
Getting the right South African document can become a long, frustrating process when you are thousands of miles away. Our managed service is designed to remove as much of that burden as possible while keeping you informed throughout your case.
Our target turnaround applies to the managed service once a complete application is ready for processing. Individual Home Affairs cases can vary, and any exceptions are handled as part of your case.
Often the difficult part is not knowing that you need a birth certificate, but knowing which version, whether it needs an apostille, and what your destination country will expect. Start with what you are trying to achieve.
For foreign citizenship, ancestry, nationality or related applications requiring South African civil records.
When a visa, residency or immigration authority asks for a full South African birth record.
For marriage processes where your foreign authority requires proof of birth or related South African records.
Where supporting civil documents are required for a South African or foreign passport and identity application.
For court, estate, inheritance, administrative or other official matters requiring an authenticated civil record.
No problem. Tell us who has requested the document and where it will be used, and we can help identify the route.
Our guided application can use your purpose and destination to help identify the appropriate service, including whether an apostille or a more detailed record may be required.
Your SA Docs account is designed to stay with you. Track your current case, keep future requests together and return when life means you need another South African document.
Some applications are simple. Others uncover missing records, old registrations, incorrect information or additional requirements. That is when having a managed case matters most.
A missing or difficult-to-locate record does not automatically mean the end of the process. Your case can be assessed for the appropriate next step.
Older registrations and underlying birth records can require a different route or additional supporting information.
Names, dates or other details can sometimes be recorded incorrectly. Rectification may require additional processing and supporting evidence.
If you have an existing Home Affairs application, the appropriate route may differ from starting a new full-service application.
If your case needs clarification, another document or a different route, it remains with a real case manager. You can be contacted through your secure account, respond, provide what is needed and continue from the same case history.