Bringing clarification to the public regarding some important questions asked by Nigerian citizens, We have updated all you need to know about South Africa visa fee (how much it cost to fill and apply in 2023), requirements for application form, processing time, means to tracking, embassy letter in pdf, and visa types. Read on for all the information.
The country South Africa is well known as a place where business and tourism thrive and so many other countries including Nigeria go there on a yearly basis.
This page meets the needs of those Nigerians who wish to join the ever-expanding number of Nigerians who travel to South Africa for either tourism or business needs. So if you happen to be one of them, kindly take your time to carefully read through.
It is important that I bring to your notice that the process of getting a visa to South Africa can sometimes be strenuous if you are not fed with accurate information.
As a good measure, we have gotten rid of that problem as you will discover down the line of reading this post. By doing so, you will easily get to know about the whole process of getting a visa to South Africa and how much it will cost you.
By standard, every international passport holder needs a visa to the country where they intend to visit before they can go there. The same thing applies: every citizen of Nigeria who has an international passport needs to obtain a visa to South Africa before they can travel to the country.
It is also wise to apply for the visa ahead of time so that you can avail yourself of all the late-hour rush here and there. Professionally, it is advisable that the application for the visa is done four weeks ahead in order to give enough time for the processing of the visa to take its full course.
There are some conditions that might exclude you from being able to apply for a visa and some of them are stated below:
- If you already have an international passport from South Africa, you do not need to make any application for visa.
- If you already have an international passport from either Ireland (the northern region that is, with an inclusion of those overseas territories own by Great Britain, the Republic of Ireland, British Islands Bailiwick of Guernsey and Jersey, the Isle of Mann, as well as the Virgin Islands) or from the UK (United Kingdom of Great Britain) then you are not part of those that will go through the visa control unit in South Africa and because of that, you do not need a visa to South Africa.
- There are also some visitors who are from some of these other countries that are also excluded from obtaining visa based on certain criteria.
South Africa Visa fee in Nigeria
Category of Visa | Charge for Visa in Naira (VAT inclusive) | Service Charge in Naira (VAT inclusive)
- Long Period (term): for Business Visa | N30,600 | N25,470
- Short Period (term): for Holiday Visa | N8,600 | N25,470
In a situation where a courier service request is made for the passport, then each passport will incur an additional charge of N4,500.
You should however note that, this visa charge can change without any prior notice because it is determined by the rate of exchange at that particular period in time.
Payment for these charges can either be made at the bank, through a cash implant, or through VFS Global.
When payment is being made, you are required to produce a photocopy of your passport’s first page to the bank.
In the course of applying for visa, there are some documents which you would be required to produce. These documents are as stated below:
General and Basic Requirements for a South Africa Visa
- A passport that is still valid (its validity should span for a period not lesser than thirty days after the expiration of the person’s intended stay).
- A letter of invitation or acceptance for a training, program, etc. by the applicants from the South African based company showing in clear details the necessary contact information for the authorized personnel from the company such as address and phone number (office phone number is mandatory).
- An application form (Form B184), which has been duly filled specifically with black ink.
- A certificate of birth for children or minors that are travelling with their parents.
- A letter of consent attached with photocopies of the parents’ ID card or data page of their international passport might equally be requested from those minors or children whose parents are not travelling with them.
- Booking of a flight that is verifiable.
- A photocopy of the medical card for international vaccination (medical card for yellow fever), duly filled by a legal health professional.
- A photocopy of the data page of passport along with photocopies of any visa already existing or the ones gotten before.
- A letter of recommendation or introduction from your employer (if any), containing the needed contact details, which has been duly signed.
- A certificate of marriage (where it applies) and the needed information as to whether the couple would be staying for a period of time longer than 30 days.
- A visa charge of N8,600 which does not include service charge. This charge is non-refundable.
- A letter of financial support from the applicants’ employer attached with bank statements spanning a period of 6 months (if the trip is sponsored by the employer) or a document which proves the financial status of the applicant (particularly recent transaction statements from the applicants’ bank).
- A letter which introduces the applicant and which contains details of the applicant including house address and telephone number.
- Two copies of similar passport photographs (45mm by 45mm in size) which were taken on a white background and which shows the applicants’ face clearly.
- A document showing a hotel booking or reservation from a hotel which can be verified. This reservation must not be made through any third party but must be made with the hotel directly.
The Types of South African Visa
In an event where you do not find yourself belonging to one or more of these categories, you can then begin the process of application. But just before you delve into the details of the visa application, it is important that you get to become familiar with the various kinds of visas. This will keep you from making an application for the incorrect category of visa.
Visa for Visitors
This kind of visa is mainly given if you wish to visit a family member of yours or for a short period of time. The validity period of this kind of visa is up to 90 days.
Visitors visa for (Long Stay)
This kind of visa is meant for those applicants who wish to remain in South Africa for a time frame ranging from three months to three years.
Business Visa
This kind of visa is meant for those applicants who are going to South Africa for business. This kind of visa is valid for a period spanning from three years to five years.
Guidelines for Nigerians Applying for Visa to South Africa
The time for application has come, since you have gotten to know about the various visa categories. You can either apply at a VFS Global Office in Abuja, Lagos, or at Port Harcourt.
It is expected that submission of the visa application is made in person to any of the designated application centers.
Each designated application center receives a fixed number of applications in one day. At the moment, Port Harcourt receives just 20 applications, Abuja receives a total of 150 entries, and Lagos receives a total of 230 application entries. I would generally advise that you make your way to the application center very early in the morning in order to beat the long queue there and have your application received in good time.
The offices of VFS Global in Abuja, Lagos, and Port Harcourt are as shown below.
VFS Application Center: Abuja
- Address: No. 38, Lobito Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja.
- Tel.: +234 815 018 8800
- Operational Time: Monday – Friday (08:00 – 15:00 GMT)
VFS Application Center – Lagos
- Address: Plot 110, Admiral Ayinla Way, 3rd Roundabout, Lekki Phase I, Lagos.
- Tel.: +234 815 018 8800
- Operational Time: Monday – Friday (08:00 – 15:00 GMT)
VFS Application Center –Port Harcourt
- Address: Vineyard Shopping Center, 88 Woji Road, GRA, Port Harcourt.
- Tel.: +234 815 018 8800
- Operational Time: Monday – Friday (08:00 – 15:00 GMT)
As a standard, it takes a minimum of six working days for a visa application to be processed. But this deduction is also dependent on a varying number of factors because each application entry is assessed and processed separately.
Once your application has been submitted to the Embassy of South Africa on the date of submission, you will receive a notification via SMS. You can equally follow up your visa application to South Africa online.
When your visa is ready, you will be told to go and collect it at the center where you made the application. You will be required to come along with your receipt (evidence of payment) when you are coming to pick up your visa.
Is South Africa issuing visa now? How to apply for SA visa from Nigeria? How long does it take to process a South African visa? These questions have been answered from the above details.
As a good measure, I have drawn out how much a South African visa costs in Naira and this is dependent on the category of visa chosen. Do well to share this information with family and friends, also, you can bookmark this page as we regularly update the details made in the future.
