Have You Got Your Passport? Check This Before You Jet Off

People always think they know where their passport is – that safe place in the top of the wardrobe where it has been stashed for years – but Flight Centre has a huge number of queries from people who discover their passports weren’t in that special place at all, and they need to replace them in a hurry.

So can it be done?

It really does depend on how much of a hurry you're in.

It will generally take two to four weeks for the Department of Home Affairs to process your passport application. And if you're travelling to a destination that requires a visa you will need to factor this into the equation.

Some countries take up to 15 working days to process a visa application. So if you do the maths you'll know that a quickie trip won't quite be on the cards.

My advice would be to always know when your passport expires (SA passports are generally issued with a ten year validity) and how many open pages are left - you will need at least two to leave and return the country.