Acacia Travel

Travel

Visas

Travel Booking Solutions

Associate Member

Obtaining visas can be time consuming and complicated.

These tips can simplify this sometimes problematic procedure:

Always add on another day to the time it takes for an embassy/consulate to issue a visa.
To avoid delays always give an embassy/consulate exactly what it needs ensuring that all the correct documentation on its list of requirements are submitted.
If an embassy/consulate identifies wrong information or that the passenger has not signed the form personally the passenger and travel agent may land themselves in hot water.
Always make a copy of the application and keep it with you on your trip, anything can happen... a visa may have been issued for the wrong dates and the passenger may have to prove the correct ones were requested...
You may have applied for multiple entries into a country and you may have been issued with a single entry visa!! Also make copies of relevant pages in your passport.
Visa requirements for unaccompanied minors, youngsters on working holidays, single parents and older passengers should be checked thoroughly.
Young people entering a country must be able to prove they have enough funds to support themselves during their stay.
When initiating a travel booking it is a good idea to take your passport with you to the consultant.

MPORTANT INFORMATION

SA citizens travelling on foreign passports do not need a departure permit from South Africa, however, they may only use their foreign passport to enter and depart from the country where their passport originates. They must now acquire and travel on a SA passport to any other country they visit otherwise they need to be in possession of a letter of permission from the Minister of Home Affairs to travel on an alternative passport. Furthermore they need to prove their SA citizenship on re-entry into South Africa.

British and Irish Permanent Resident holders must prove their status in SA on arrival. Foreigners exempt from the re-entry requirements irrespective of their nationality in terms of section of the Aliens Control Act 1993 are:
1. Holders of valid immigration permits
2. Holders of valid study, work seekers & work permits
3. The dependents of the above permit holders who themselves are holders of valid visitors permits endorsed for the specific purpose to accompany their spouses / parents.
4. Aliens who are exempt from Section 23A of the Aliens Control Act 1991 (Act 96 of 1991)