The bail application of murder-accused Paralympian and Olympian Oscar Pistorius started in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court shortly before 10am on Tuesday. Pistorius is charged with Steenkamp's murder last Friday.
Meanwhile Pistorius' application for a firearm licence was initially rejected, according to a report on Tuesday.
Beeld newspaper reported that the licence, for a 9mm firearm, was not approved when he applied for it in 2008.
This is the firearm with which Pistorius allegedly shot dead his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, in his Pretoria home last week.
Beeld said it was not clear why the application was unsuccessful but the licence was approved in 2010 after Pistorius appealed against the decision not to grant him a licence.
He has six other pending applications for firearm licences, reported the Afrikaans daily. – Sapa