South Africa Visa Information:
| Every country has the sovereign right to decide who may or may not enter its territory. Possession of a visa does not guarantee automatic admission to the Republic. It only authorizes the holder to proceed to the Republic to report to an immigration officer at a port of entry for the purpose of being examined as to his/her ability or otherwise, to comply with the (entry) requirements of the Act. |
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The purpose of a visa on the one hand is to ensure proper screening of applicants so that undesirable persons are not admitted to the Republic and on the other hand to facilitate the entry of approved applicants at South African ports of entry. Visas provide immigration officers with the necessary information to ensure that applicants are admitted for the correct purpose and period into the RSA.
Any queries relating to visas are handled by the South African missions or representative office in your country or the nearest one situated to you. Visas are considered by the South African missions abroad and must be affixed in the applicants' passports before departing to the RSA. Visas are not issued on arrival at South African ports of entry. Applicants arriving without visas will be refused entry into the RSA and placed on return flights in terms of legislation.
Visa requirements (what to submit)
- Passport valid for no less than 30 days after the expiry of the intended visit.
- Passports must contain at least 1 (one) unused page for entry/departure endorsements (sometimes referred to as visa page).
- Payment of the prescribed fee, if applicable (see Countries exempt from visa control).
- A vaccination certificate, if required by the Act.
- Statement and/or documentation confirming purpose and duration of visit.
- Two (2) identity photographs (see specifications below).
- Proof of financial means in the form of:
- bank statements;
- salary advices;
- undertaking(s) by the host(s) in the Republic;
- bursaries;
- medical cover;
- or cash available, including credit cards or travellers' cheques
to cover the living expenses during the sojourn in the Republic.
- Applicants traveling by air must be in possession of:
- a return or onward ticket; or
- proof of sufficient funds; or
- lodge a cash deposit of equivalent value to such a ticket.
Medical visas (visitor's visas for medical treatment of less than three [3] months)
A person wishing to receive medical treatment in the RSA must first apply for a visitor's visa at the nearest South African Mission, if he or she is subject to South African visa control. Foreigners who are exempt from South African visa control may enter for the period for which they are exempt, provided that it does not exceed three months.
Foreigners who require medical treatment for a period exceeding three months must apply for a medical treatment permit.
Photographs
Photographs must comply to the following specifications:
- Length - 45mm
- Width - 35mm
- The background of the photograph shall be plain and free of shadows and shall not have a white lining
- Only the head and shoulders of the person concerned shall be included in the photograph and the head from the chin to the top of the hair shall not be smaller 22mm and not larger than 25mm
- The person concerned shall be photographed without any head-gear or veil, and any other additions to the face which tend to alter the natural likeness shall be removed. (The Director-General may exempt any person or any category of persons from any of these requirements.)
- Spectacles may be worn provided that the lenses do not make the eyes invisible. Spectacles with dark lenses may be worn if the eyes will appear distorted without them or if the person is blind
- The full-face of the person concerned shall be photographed directly from the front, and the head may not be bent or tuned sideways
- The face shall be a recognizable likeness of the person and the head, hair, eyebrows, eyes, nose and moustache or beard, if any, shall be sharply and clearly defined
- Neither the photograph nor the copies thereof may be defaced by holes, pencil or ink marks or in any other manner
The Director-General may reject the copies of the photographs if they do not, in his or her judgment, comply with the requirements mentioned above, or if he or she deem them unsuitable in other respects, in which case the person concerned shall provide two new copies at his or her own cost.
Identity document and passport photographs could be taken at regional or district offices equipped for this service, at a cost of R13-00 for a frame of four black and white photographs.
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