[Blissful Scent]

Thats good. I already called today, they said still on process ID section. I must call Back in 2 weeks

 

[Vero27]

Hi everyone,

I'm very thankful that I came across this thread. I received my PRP in January 2025 and am among those who only received one A4 certificate. I live in KZN and was wondering if anyone has been able to successfully apply for a green ID book. I was directed to Chatsworth DHA after being told that DHA Umgeni is only issuing the smart ID and as a PR, I have to first apply for the green ID book, which is really fine with me. Just being able to get an ID would be a blessing. However, the person in charge at Chatsworth DHA insisted that I get a PR verification, told me to go to VFS. Went there and was told that I need to apply for a Proof of Permanent Residence. With a lot of research, I found out that PR Verification and POP are 2 different things. A woman from the helpline of DHA also confirmed that DHA does its own verification when we apply for an ID book. So now, I can either go back to Chatsworth and confront this man and insist on applying for the ID or find another branch, except that I don't know any other DHA in KZN and even the helpline has not been able to direct me to another branch. I will really appreciate some advice

 

[Blissful Scent]

@ Vero27, Congrats on your PRP. As a matter of fact I also received my PRP certificate in January 2025, and within the next week I applied for an ID. Although I'm based in Johannesburg I applied without any stress, as most of the selected Home Affairs offices where you apply for Green ID book does not need PRP verification as all verification is done from their system. I believe the branch you went and the person incharge is being sarcastic and wicked. You must try to locate another branch where you can apply for a green ID book in KZN as the case maybe, or you visit other branches in Capetown or Johannesburg to apply without stress. Try calling the home affairs to get a better answer on where to go apply. Sorry for all the stress

 

[Vero27]

@ Vero27, Congrats on your PRP. As a matter of fact I also received my PRP certificate in January 2025, and within the next week I applied for an ID. Although I'm based in Johannesburg I applied without any stress, as most of the selected Home Affairs offices where you apply for Green ID book does not need PRP verification as all verification is done from their system. I believe the branch you went and the person incharge is being sarcastic and wicked. You must try to locate another branch where you can apply for a green ID book in KZN as the case maybe, or you visit other branches in Capetown or Johannesburg to apply without stress. Try calling the home affairs to get a better answer on where to go apply. Sorry for all the stress

@Blissful Scent
Thank you so much for your reply and sharing your experience at DHA, I really appreciate it. Congrats on your PRP. I'm so glad that you could apply for the Green ID without any issue and I really hope that you will get your ID soon. I received my PRP when we were still in Pretoria and then got very busy with the move. I will take your advice and find out about other branches where I can apply. Thank you for your kind words

 

[Blissful Scent]

@Vero27, Thanks I hope to get it soon. Yes you must try to do that soon. Have a nice day

 

[Task]

Hi everyone,

I'm very thankful that I came across this thread. I received my PRP in January 2025 and am among those who only received one A4 certificate. I live in KZN and was wondering if anyone has been able to successfully apply for a green ID book. I was directed to Chatsworth DHA after being told that DHA Umgeni is only issuing the smart ID and as a PR, I have to first apply for the green ID book, which is really fine with me. Just being able to get an ID would be a blessing. However, the person in charge at Chatsworth DHA insisted that I get a PR verification, told me to go to VFS. Went there and was told that I need to apply for a Proof of Permanent Residence. With a lot of research, I found out that PR Verification and POP are 2 different things. A woman from the helpline of DHA also confirmed that DHA does its own verification when we apply for an ID book. So now, I can either go back to Chatsworth and confront this man and insist on applying for the ID or find another branch, except that I don't know any other DHA in KZN and even the helpline has not been able to direct me to another branch. I will really appreciate some advice

 

[Task]

Hi @Vero27

So I also thought you do not need the PR verification

It was mentioned to go to Orange Farm home affairs to apply for my daughters first green ID book

we did the application in april

when I phoned the Orange farm branch to I was told that they have sent back the application and we need to get the verification before they will continue with the application

I’ve done the verification application at VFS at the start of this month and hoping it gets done soon

all the best. It can be so confusing sometimes

 

[Blissful Scent]

@ Task. When we applied in January 2025 there was no verification required. They told us they no longer required Verification of PRP to process the Green book ID. I submitted with ease and still waiting for outcome, even called yesterday and they said its on process call back in 2 weeks. All the best though

 

[Vero27]

Hi @Vero27

So I also thought you do not need the PR verification

It was mentioned to go to Orange Farm home affairs to apply for my daughters first green ID book

we did the application in april

when I phoned the Orange farm branch to I was told that they have sent back the application and we need to get the verification before they will continue with the application

I’ve done the verification application at VFS at the start of this month and hoping it gets done soon

all the best. It can be so confusing sometimes

@Task
Thanks for sharing. I'm sorry to hear that they sent back the application for your daughter.

I agree, it can be confusing, especially with so little information available at DHA or VFS

For PR Certificates that were just recently issued (this year), it just doesn't make sense that we need to go and verify it and I was told over the phone that DHA will do their own verification

Anyway, I really hope you get the verification soon. All the best to you and your daughter

 

[Vero27]

@Vero27, Thanks I hope to get it soon. Yes you must try to do that soon. Have a nice day

@Blissful Scent
Thank you. Have a nice day too

 

[twrist]

Given that I'm still waiting for my ID, I thought I'd try to do something productive and apply for a driver's licence, but apparently foreigners need a Traffic Registration Number so I went along to the Traffic Registration office to apply for one of those, and was told they are only for people on temporary visas, so i don't qualify (!). The traffic department won't let me apply for a licence without an ID though, and they won't accept my PR certificate, so once again I'm stuck in this weird limbo of being permanent but not permanent enough. Has anyone dealt with something similar?

I'm so sick of not having an ID number. I keep running up against walls at every turn. I'm trying to be a productive member of society over here!

 

[Blissful Scent]

@ Twrist, so sorry about your predicament. You should have applied for a Traffic Register while you were using temporary visas. I had my traffic register while I was still using temporary visa, so registering for a driver's licence after getting my PR was very easy. You cannot do much so just wait and hold, and don't give money to anyone to avoid getting it all wrong. As soon as ID is out you can follow up and get it done. Baby steps okay, all will be fine, we are almost there. Enjoy your day

 

[a4xiaoxiami]

Given that I'm still waiting for my ID, I thought I'd try to do something productive and apply for a driver's licence, but apparently foreigners need a Traffic Registration Number so I went along to the Traffic Registration office to apply for one of those, and was told they are only for people on temporary visas, so i don't qualify (!). The traffic department won't let me apply for a licence without an ID though, and they won't accept my PR certificate, so once again I'm stuck in this weird limbo of being permanent but not permanent enough. Has anyone dealt with something similar?

I'm so sick of not having an ID number. I keep running up against walls at every turn. I'm trying to be a productive member of society over here!

Now you know what SA looks like, LOL.

Productive? Efficiency? with DHA or any government agency?

How long have you been here?

BTW, why not use your temp visa to apply for the Traffic Registration Number? Is it still valid? Why did you show your PR certificate to the officials?

Sometime, you need to be more creative to be "productive" in SA.

 

[Da Di]

@ Twrist, so sorry about your predicament. You should have applied for a Traffic Register while you were using temporary visas. I had my traffic register while I was still using temporary visa, so registering for a driver's licence after getting my PR was very easy. You cannot do much so just wait and hold, and don't give money to anyone to avoid getting it all wrong. As soon as ID is out you can follow up and get it done. Baby steps okay, all will be fine, we are almost there. Enjoy your day

I want to echo that advice. @twrist don't be discouraged. If you really think about it, you will find that it makes sense. It would be akin to duplicating your identity or profile in the system if we were allowed to do that. I'm sure, as someone here in the forum suggested, they would allow you to get a TR with your temp visa if still valid, but if you were to go back to merge/transfer it to your ID after you get it, i suspect there could be a problem when they see the timelines (i.e. why did you apply for this document using a document that predates your most recent document?). Don't quote me on this, but I would go further in speculating that, best-case scenario, they would make you apply for your license from scratch, based on your ID.

Just be patient, stay focused. You have cleared the hardest hurdle, and it's all flat surface from now on . I know for a fact that at least securing employment is much easier now. As well as registering a company, applying for a loan, credit, travelling without restrictions, and all the rest of it. Take it from me, I'm still on the other side, climbing the hurdles.

All the best. 🤞

 

[bunnyMan]

Anyone got their ID recently in critical skills category? this is taking forever now.

 

[makPret]

I went all the way to Mabopane to receive an update since the people were on the phone were telling me one moment that my ID has been out for months then another call they would say it's only on Stage 1. As expected the ID was not ready at Mabopane and I was only told what my ID number is. Not even sure what I can do with that info

 

[tafadzwagonera]

Anyone got their ID recently in critical skills category? this is taking forever now.

I called DHA a few days ago and was informed that my ID application is still at the first-issue stage, and that they have no idea when it will move to the next stage. Prior to this interaction, I had emailed DHA via the HACC email address, and they responded with the same information, while assuring me that my application was receiving immediate attention.

 

[bunnyMan]

I called DHA a few days ago and was informed that my ID application is still at the first-issue stage, and that they have no idea when it will move to the next stage. Prior to this interaction, I had emailed DHA via the HACC email address, and they responded with the same information, while assuring me that my application was receiving immediate attention.

Is this for Cirical Skills PR? when did you apply?

 

[bunnyMan]

I went all the way to Mabopane to receive an update since the people were on the phone were telling me one moment that my ID has been out for months then another call they would say it's only on Stage 1. As expected the ID was not ready at Mabopane and I was only told what my ID number is. Not even sure what I can do with that info

Is this for Cirical Skills PR? when did you apply?

 

[tafadzwagonera]

Is this for Cirical Skills PR? when did you apply?

Yes. I submitted my application in mid-November last year.