Visa Guide: How To Apply For South Africa Visa In Nigeria

South Africa visa is required for all Nigerians who intend visiting the republic for holiday, business or schooling. A lot of Nigerians like to visit the country because of its top notch tourist attractions, business opportunities and further studies opportunities.

There are various types of South Africa visa which are:

1. Visit/Tourism Visa: This visa is for holiday seekers, travellers visiting family and friends and they are issued for a maximum of three months. Short term visit visas do not allow the applicant to switch into a longer term South African immigration service.
2. Student Visa: A student visa allows the candidate to study and also engage in limited employment, The visa is issued for temporary residence and candidates must return to their country of residency upon expiry.
3. Long Term Visa: This visa is issued to candidate who have been gainfully employed in a South African company. It is also issued to people who intend migrating to South Africa.

For the purpose of this article, we will be discussing on how to get a South Africa tourism visa.

 

South Africa Visa Requirement

• Ecowas passport having a validity of a minimum of 30 days after the expiry of your intended visit.
• Two color passport on white background.
• A completed BI-84 form.
• Documentation stating the purpose and duration of your visit.
• 6 months bank statement to show proof of financial means.
• Payment of prescribed visa fee.
• If you have children (minors) travelling with you, you will need to provide the following additional documents: Proof of guardianship or Consent from the guardian in the case of an unaccompanied minor.
• Self-introduction letter with physical address and phone number.
• A yellow-fever vaccination certificate.
• Introduction/Recommendation letter from your Employer.
• A return or onward ticket if you are travelling by air which can be booked here.
• Hotel reservation/bookings which can be booked here.

To get a complete checklist of all documents needed to apply, please click here

How To Apply For South Africa Visa

Step 1

Complete the visa application form by providing accurate information in all the required fields. You can download the form here

Step 2

Make a clear copy of all the original documents, previous UK, US, Canada, Japan and Schengen visas and three clear copies of passport data page.

Step 3

Pay your visa application fee and services fee at the bank teller counter at the Visa Application Centre.

Step 4

Applicants are required to submit their applications personally at the VFS South Africa Visa Application centres in Lagos and Abuja respectively.

South Africa Visa Submission And Collection

On average, over 150 applications are attended to daily in Abuja and 200 in Lagos at the South Africa Application centre. The centres are usually open for business between 8am to 3pm daily.

It is very important that you get there early so that you can be among the first set of people who will be attended to.

Visa processing takes 6 working days after submission although sometimes it takes longer time due to verification purposes and administrative reasons.

You will be alerted via SMS when your application is ready for collection. Collection time is between 11am-3pm on daily basis.

In other to ensure your collection goes on seamlessly, you are required to bring the receipt you where given when you submitted.

 

You can track your application online by entering your ‘Reference Number’ and your ‘Date of Birth’ and you will know if it is time for collection.

South Africa Embassy Address in Nigeria

South Africa High Commission, Abuja
71 Usuma Street, Maitama, Abuja

South Africa High Commission, Lagos
24 Molade Okoya Thomas Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

VFS Global Office Addresses

South Africa Visa Application Centre, Lagos
Plot 110, Admiral Ayinla Way, Opposite Treasure Garden Estate
Third Roundabout, Lekki Phase I, Lagos

South Africa Visa Application Centre, Abuja.
No. 38, Lobito Crescent, Wuse 2, Abuja.

Do you have any question regarding how to get a South Africa visa or any travel related question, kindly ask and we will reply.