Personal South Africa Visa Application Experience
I want to share information about starting the application visa to South Africa from the United Arab Emirates.
I am a Filipina married to a South African National, Unfortunately, as a Philippine passport holder, I am not exempt from visa for South Africa 😑 We both based on Dubai, UAE and been together for a few years then got married 6 months prior to my first visit to my husband's amazing country.
I remember, before I even process my visa application, I was excited and nervous because it was my first time if ever I succeed to visit my husband's place. Even I am married to him I wasn't confident and think any scenarios that my visit visa will get rejected. I went and read a lot of blogs, websites, forums, and South Africa embassy information, anything that will give me any additional information to make sure our vacation plan to SA will push through. Since my husband was with me here in Dubai, We have to ask one of his relatives from SA to send me an invitation letter, It was his Uncle from Johannesburg that invited me, He sent the invitation letter that I wrote with his attached signature along with his other legal documents and statements of account as per the required documents as a sponsor for my visit, at the same time I gathered my own set of required documents that I need to submit. After I got my sponsored documents I book the nearest date for a visa appointment. You have to submit it personally to the VFS Application Center located in Wafi Mall in Oud Metha Road, Dubai on your appointment date and designated time.
Please note that I'm viewing the process from my own perspective. Since I am married to South African and my sponsored letter stated that I will be staying with his relatives. I didn't provide any hotel accommodation booking. I also want to think that being married to my husband made my application got a high approval rate.😅
I contacted an agent from a travel agency here in Dubai to provide me a dummy flight ticket, travel insurance that will cover the duration of my visit. If you don't have a sponsor, I strongly suggest just get yourself a dummy flight and hotel booking and cancel it after you got your visa approved, and if for some reason your application got rejected you don't have to pay for all your booking cancellations. I know most of the travel agencies here in Dubai offered dummy tickets in one of their services. Note that in your dummy ticket you have to tell the agent to book a direct flight from where you are to South Africa so you don't need to give a yellow card certificate as an additional requirement. Once you got approved and you booked your real flight ticket keep in mind to avoid to have a stopover to any part of Africa countries or else you'll have to present the yellow card.
I also made sure that I have sufficient enough money in my bank account to reflect in my statement of accounts at least a week before my appointment date, show that I am capable to support myself even though I have my husband with me. I was paranoid at that time and try to do anything to make sure I covered all the bases 😊
See below is my sample of the invitation letter that I made.
Once I got my visa approved after I submitted all the documents, you must keep your payment-visa receipt because you will have to present it once you come back and claim your passport. I got a text message after 6 working days to pick up my passport in the VFS office where I submitted my application. I got a multiple entry visa for a 3 month period.
The VFS office is only a facilitator or the commercial company that manages and supports services to people applying for a visa, it is not them that doing the approval or rejection of visa application but only working in partnership with the South African Consulate General.
Our main plan is to get to Oudtshoorn, Western Cape where my husband's grandparents live, but out of respect and courtesy to our uncle, my sponsor, we booked and flew directly first and stay 1 week in Johannesburg then flew to George, a two-hour drive away from his hometown.
See my next post as I walk you through the process of South Africa Visa Application.
Watch out for my upcoming post as I write about my South Africa Adventures, Places where I been to and all the cool stuff and the must-try activities and experience you need to-dos.
Base on my own Visitor Visa experience as the wife to a South African Gentleman.
Maria Riol Griffiths, admin blogger, and article writer for Tripfuldiary blog.
I am a Filipina married to a South African National, Unfortunately, as a Philippine passport holder, I am not exempt from visa for South Africa 😑 We both based on Dubai, UAE and been together for a few years then got married 6 months prior to my first visit to my husband's amazing country.
I remember, before I even process my visa application, I was excited and nervous because it was my first time if ever I succeed to visit my husband's place. Even I am married to him I wasn't confident and think any scenarios that my visit visa will get rejected. I went and read a lot of blogs, websites, forums, and South Africa embassy information, anything that will give me any additional information to make sure our vacation plan to SA will push through. Since my husband was with me here in Dubai, We have to ask one of his relatives from SA to send me an invitation letter, It was his Uncle from Johannesburg that invited me, He sent the invitation letter that I wrote with his attached signature along with his other legal documents and statements of account as per the required documents as a sponsor for my visit, at the same time I gathered my own set of required documents that I need to submit. After I got my sponsored documents I book the nearest date for a visa appointment. You have to submit it personally to the VFS Application Center located in Wafi Mall in Oud Metha Road, Dubai on your appointment date and designated time.
Please note that I'm viewing the process from my own perspective. Since I am married to South African and my sponsored letter stated that I will be staying with his relatives. I didn't provide any hotel accommodation booking. I also want to think that being married to my husband made my application got a high approval rate.😅
I contacted an agent from a travel agency here in Dubai to provide me a dummy flight ticket, travel insurance that will cover the duration of my visit. If you don't have a sponsor, I strongly suggest just get yourself a dummy flight and hotel booking and cancel it after you got your visa approved, and if for some reason your application got rejected you don't have to pay for all your booking cancellations. I know most of the travel agencies here in Dubai offered dummy tickets in one of their services. Note that in your dummy ticket you have to tell the agent to book a direct flight from where you are to South Africa so you don't need to give a yellow card certificate as an additional requirement. Once you got approved and you booked your real flight ticket keep in mind to avoid to have a stopover to any part of Africa countries or else you'll have to present the yellow card.
I also made sure that I have sufficient enough money in my bank account to reflect in my statement of accounts at least a week before my appointment date, show that I am capable to support myself even though I have my husband with me. I was paranoid at that time and try to do anything to make sure I covered all the bases 😊
See below is my sample of the invitation letter that I made.
Once I got my visa approved after I submitted all the documents, you must keep your payment-visa receipt because you will have to present it once you come back and claim your passport. I got a text message after 6 working days to pick up my passport in the VFS office where I submitted my application. I got a multiple entry visa for a 3 month period.
The VFS office is only a facilitator or the commercial company that manages and supports services to people applying for a visa, it is not them that doing the approval or rejection of visa application but only working in partnership with the South African Consulate General.
Our main plan is to get to Oudtshoorn, Western Cape where my husband's grandparents live, but out of respect and courtesy to our uncle, my sponsor, we booked and flew directly first and stay 1 week in Johannesburg then flew to George, a two-hour drive away from his hometown.
See my next post as I walk you through the process of South Africa Visa Application.
Watch out for my upcoming post as I write about my South Africa Adventures, Places where I been to and all the cool stuff and the must-try activities and experience you need to-dos.
Base on my own Visitor Visa experience as the wife to a South African Gentleman.
Maria Riol Griffiths, admin blogger, and article writer for Tripfuldiary blog.
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