SOUTH AFRICAN MARRIAGE CERTIFICATES: ABRIDGED / UNABRIDGED

MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE
Getting copies of marriage certificates quoted from the website of the Department of Home Affairs:
Two witnesses and the marriage officer must sign the marriage register after the solemnisation of a marriage. Then the
marriage officer must issue the parties with a handwritten marriage certificate (BI-27) free of charge. The marriage officer must
then submit the marriage register to the nearest office of the Department of Home Affairs, where the marriage details will be
recorded in the National Population Register (NPR).
Any additional abridged copies or unabridged copies of the marriage certificate can be requested by the completed form(s) with
the prescribed fee. The first issue of an abridged marriage certificate is free, and a re-issue is R75.00. In addition to abridged or
unabridged copies of a marriage certificate, you may also request a vault copy of the register or an abridged marriage certificate
that is either computer printed or handwritten after completing Form BI-130 and paying the prescribed fees.
(Reference: http://www.dha.gov.za/index.php/civic-services/marriage-certificates, captured on 17 June 2022)

If you submit the application to the South African Embassy in Seoul, please read the information below:
 All the applications submitted to the South African Embassy in Seoul are sent to Pretoria to process. It takes 6-12 months in
general cases. The Embassy does not have any influence to expedite the process.
 Applications are sent to Pretoria by our monthly diplomatic bag. We send the bag to our head office in Pretoria, the
Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO). And then, the applications are forwarded from DIRCO to
the HQ of the Department of Home Affairs to process. The DHA’s officials in ‘Marriage Section’ issue a marriage certificate
where the application is successful.
 South African civic documents are issued in accordance with your personal particulars (and marital status) as they appear in
the National Population Register (NPR) at the time of your application to the Department of Home Affairs.

How to complete the forms and prepare the documents:

 Applicants must be prepared to provide all the relevant information to our officials on the scheduled appointment day. We
advise to read and complete sample forms before visiting the Embassy. If you have completed the specimen forms provided
by e-mail, it will help you a lot to complete the ORIGINAL forms at the Embassy that day.
 The forms must be completed in black ink, with block letters, and the information must be furnished in FULL. Please do not
skip any question or leave it blank. All the questions must be answered appropriately. For the question which is not applicable
or unknown, you may write ‘N/A’ or ‘unknown’ or further explanation. Incomplete applications are NOT processed by the
Department of Home Affairs. It may be delayed or returned to the Embassy due to incompleteness. Also, applications that
are not legible shall not be accepted by the Department.
 Any document issued in foreign language must be translated in English language by a sworn translator. If you cannot find a
sworn translator in Korea, an authorised translator may translate a foreign document in English language. Then, the original
together with its English translation must be notarised by appointed/authorised notary public from the Minister of Justice by
local law. Please check the names in the English translation are correctly translated as written in their passport.
 When you visit the Embassy, please submit this check-list AND all the supporting documents (IDs, passports, birth/
marriage/death/citizenship certificates, etc.) to us in ORIGINAL. We will assist with certifying a photocopy of your documents
provided that the primary documents are presented to our official in original. It will be attached to your application to the
Department of Home Affairs. The certified copies are done free of charge and we can make photocopies of your original
document(s) at the Embassy that day.

REQUIREMENTS TO APPLY FOR A SOUTH AFRICAN MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE Mark (√)

Duly completed DHA-130 form (Application for Marriage/Customary Certificate): Applicants must state
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the purpose for applying for the certificate in this form.
Duly complete BI-529 form (Determination of Citizenship Status): According to the Department of Home
Affairs, this is required for the applicants when applying for any civic document from abroad. They need
the information about the applicant and his/her parents. Please don’t answer ‘N/A’ for the questions No.
2 9 & 10, it is not an answer to any of the questions. For ‘B: MARITAL STATUS’ part, write the relevant status
next to the words ‘MARITAL STATUS’ on the form (e.g. never-married/married/divorced/widowed). The
details of your current or former spouse must be completed on the form whether divorced or deceased or
widowed.
3 South African passport
4 South African identity document
5 South African handwritten marriage certificate (DHA-27) or marriage register (DHA-30), where applicable.

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 If a dual citizen, valid foreign passport(s) as proof of foreign citizenship: If you had become a dual citizen
6 after 18 years of age, a confirmation letter of retention of South African citizenship issued by the
Department of Home Affairs is required in addition.
If a naturalised citizen, a naturalisation certificate & South African permanent residence permit (DHA-802)
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previously issued to you.
8 Korean ID or Alien Registration Card (ARC)
The fee is KRW5000 for an abridged certificate, KRW7000 for an unabridged certificate. The fee must be
9 paid in cash only. Credit cards or debit cards are not accepted. Please bring the exact amount of cash that
day. Change is unavailable at the Embassy.
If you wish to collect the ID book at one of the DHA’s regional office in the Republic of South Africa, please
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complete the written request to change the destination.

AFTER SUBMISSION OF YOUR APPLICATION TO THE SOUTH AFRICA EMBASSY IN SEOUL

If you have submitted the application to the South African Embassy in Seoul successfully, please read
the information below:
• If the application is completed at the Embassy, we issue a payment receipt for the fee. When you leave the Embassy,
please make sure you have all the supporting documents (passports, IDs, birth/marriage/death certificates, proof of
citizenship, permanent residence permits, etc.) returned to you.
• Applications are sent to Pretoria by our monthly diplomatic bag. We send the bag to our head office in Pretoria, the
Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), during the first week of every month. And then, the
applications are forwarded from DIRCO to the HQ of the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). Upon receipt of your
application, the DHA’s officials in Marriage Section will process it and issue a marriage certificate if the application is
successful. The newly issued marriage certificate will be dispatched from DHA to DIRCO, and from DIRCO to the South
African Embassy in Seoul by a diplomatic bag.
• All information in the application is subject to verification and, if no proof in support thereof has been submitted upon
application, i.e. identifications, birth/marriage/death certificates, naturalisation certificates, proof of citizenship, or any
other document, may be requested in order to substantiate any statement made in the application.
• The South African Embassy in Seoul is NOT in the position to confirm the result on your application because it is decided
by the relevant officials in the Department Home Affairs, case by case. If they request additional information or
documentation to process your application, they notify the Embassy in writing. In this case, we contact the applicant and
advise accordingly. The outstanding document(s) can be submitted to the Embassy and we will send it to the DHA’s
relevant official on behalf of the applicant. It could take another few months for the result.
• Upon receipt of the newly issued marriage certificate from Pretoria, we e-mail each applicant to collect it from the
Embassy. It is advised that passports/IDs/certificates be collected in person due to the security reasons as such documents
contain your personal information.
• You can collect the marriage certificate at one of the DHA’s regional office in the Republic of South Africa. Or, you can
arrange that the certificate be collected by your family member in RSA. If you wish to change the destination of the
marriage certificate, please complete the request form and attach it to your application. However, it is a normal practice
that the newly issued civic document is forwarded to the office where the application was initiated. We have experienced
in some cases that the document to be collected in RSA still comes to the Embassy. It is advised that the applicant contact
the Department of Home Affairs to follow-up and confirm the destination of his/her certificate after a few months.
• To collect the marriage certificate at the South African Embassy in Seoul, applicants must bring their valid passport and
the payment receipt previously issued to them. When you receive the marriage certificate, please check if all the
information in the certificate is correctly issued in accordance with your personal details and marriage information.

How to follow-up on your application(s):

Please be advised that once the application is despatched to Pretoria, the South African Embassy in Seoul has no influence over
the application. All civic applications are processed by the HQ of the Department of Home Affairs in Pretoria and we have no
access to the Home Affairs’ system to check on the current status of the application.
The Department has made available a Home Affairs Contact Centre for follow-up purposes by each applicant. Please contact
the following office for progress on your application:
Home Affairs Contact Centre
Toll free No. : 0800 60 11 90
If abroad/outside RSA : +27 12 338 8000
Website : www.dha.gov.za
E-mail Address : [email protected]