Lals - I hope you like paperwork and admin, you've got quite a bit of it ahead... But if you take it seriously and think carefully you can save yourself lots of time and stress. Once you receive a valuable document, like an "unabridged" anything or a "certified" anything make copies of them (plenty) and have them all certified by a commissioner of oaths (and not an SA police officer - that is considered worthless). Then scan the original and scan the certified copy and keep them both on a portable hard drive. Just imagine you are here (in a few months time!?!) and you need to get a copy of something official - how do you suppose anyone in NZ will be able to have a sensible discussion with Home Affairs in Pretoria when it can't even happen face-to-face over the counter!? So the plan is to make yourself administratively independent. Get a FAT passport (pay a little extra) so that you can travel plenty without having to get replacement documents. The time my wife and I invested in getting our paperwork organised has paid off many times. Good luck! It is DEFINITELY worth it.
