Tag Archive for: Embassy

Andrew Stegmann

Embassies in South Africa: Closures For 2017 Holiday Season

Please take note of the 2017 Holiday Season closing dates for the following embassies in South Africa:

  • ALL VFS Schengen – Will be open, only closed on South African Public Holidays
  • Angola Cape Town – Closing 15th December 2017  re-opening 08th January 2018
  • Angola Johannesburg – Closing 22nd  December 2017 and re-opening 08th  January 2018
  • TLS Belgium – Will be open, only closed on South African Public Holidays (Cape Town and Johannesburg)
  • VFS Canada – Closed25th,  26th, 27th December 2017 and 02nd January 2018
  • China Visa Application Centre   – Closed 25th,  26th, 27th December 2017 and 02nd January 2018
  • Egypt – No updates yet but generally closed between Christmas and South African Public Holidays
  • CAPAGO France – Closed 25th, 26th December and 01st January 2018.
  • Intergate Germany – Only Closed on South African public Holidays. The Embassy and Consulate will have skeleton staff, but this will impact the processing times.
  • Greece – Normal Christmas holidays.
  • CAPAGO Italy – Closed 25th, 26th, December 2017 and 01st January 2018. The Consulate will operate on Skeleton staff
  • Japan – Closed 25th, 26th, (open on 27th and 28th ) closed  29th, 30th 31st  December 2017 reopening on the 03rd January 2018.
  • Madagascar – Closed 25th 26th, December 2017 and 01st  January 2018
  • Morocco – No updates yet but generally closed between Christmas and South African Public Holidays
  • Mozambique – No updates yet but generally closed between Christmas and South African Public Holidays
  • Nigeria – Closed on 25th, 26th December 2017 and 01st January 2018.
  • Russia – Closed 25th  26th, December 2017  and 02nd January 2017.
  • Rwanda – No updates yet but generally closed between Christmas and South African Public Holidays
  • Senegal – 25th, 26 December 2017 until 02nd  January 2018
  • Taiwan – Closed 25th  26th, December 2017 and 01st  January 2018
  • TLS Australia – Will be open, only closed on South African Public Holidays (Cape Town and Johannesburg)
  • TLS Switzerland – Will be open, only closed on South African Public Holidays (Cape Town and Johannesburg)
  • TLS United Kingdom – Will be open, only closed on South African Public Holidays (Cape Town and Johannesburg)
  • Uganda: Closed from 22nd  December 2016 until 08th  January 2018
  • Ukraine – Closed from 22nd December 2017 reopening on 3rd  January 2018
  • USA (no updates yet but generally between closed between Christmas and South African Public Holidays)
  • Vietnam – Closed 25th, 26th, 27th December 2016 and 01st  January 2018

 

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Andrew Stegmann

South African Visa Change Confuses Travellers

The South African Embassy has been inundated with calls from confused travellers after the country made changes to its visa rules.

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Photo: 123rf

From 16 January, New Zealanders will need a three-month holiday visa in order to visit South Africa, the country’s government has said.

The changes are a retaliation, after New Zealand dropped visa-free travel for South Africans.

Air New Zealand has warned travellers who would arrive before that date but would not leave until after that they would be unable to leave the country without the visa.

Flights back to New Zealand before the change were already almost fully booked.

Former Auckland deputy mayor Penny Hulse was expecting to fly to South Africa on 29 December and return on 17 January.

She said Air NZ would not let her fly without the visa and travellers would have to travel to Wellington to get the visa, which could be was costly and difficult at this time of year.

“It’s thrown everything sideways, and the difficulty is not necessarily the visa but the fact that we have to fly to Wellington and obtain a visa face to face.

“And trying to do that a week before Christmas is chaos.”

However, South Africa’s High Commissioner to New Zealand Zodwa Lallie said the country’s Home Office would clarify early next week which travellers needed to obtain a visa.

“If we state that [the visa is required] on and after the 16th of January, then one would not expect that on your return you’d be expected to produce a document you were not required to have before you leave New Zealand,” she said.

“That would be unreasonable in my view.”

Ms Lallie said the January date was decided to avoid disrupting people’s Christmas plans.