Johannesburg – VFS Global (www.VFSGlobal.com) has announced that residents of South Africa wanting to travel to the UK can now book appointments to submit their visa applications through new state-of-the-art visa application centres located in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria.
Effective 22 October 2024, customers applying for a UK visa will be directed to VFS Global to book an appointment to complete their visa application.
Customers will also have the option to choose additional services designed to make the application process easier.
Commenting on the launch of the new centres, Alok Singhal, Head- Sub-Saharan Africa, VFS Global, said: “We are excited to embark on this new journey with UK Visas and Immigration here in South Africa.
“We have enjoyed a long-standing partnership with UK Visas and Immigration since 2003 and look forward to now bringing travellers from South Africa our best-in-class services.”
UK visa customers can now choose from a range of optional services offered by VFS Global to provide enhanced comfort and convenience.
These include document upload assistance, Prime Time for application submission outside of business hours, SMS notifications, document checking service, and courier return of the passport once a decision has been made.
Customers can also submit their UK visa applications from the comfort and safety of their home, office, or any other preferred location with our On Demand Mobile Visa service.
VFS Global’s Keep My Passport While Applying service allows customers to keep their passports once their application is submitted and biometrics have been enrolled.
Customer will only need to re-submit their passport when a decision is reached.
The services can be booked in advance on https://apo-opa.co/4f4Yw1G or at the Visa Application Centre at the time of the appointment.
These services are completely optional and have no bearing on the processing timeline and outcomes of visa applications.
As a partner to the UK Visas and Immigration since 2003, VFS Global offered visa services in 58 countries before the new contract and has now been awarded the contract to provide UK visa services in 142 countries worldwide.
In the African region, VFS Global will provide Visa Application Centres for the UK in 31 countries, from October 2024.
UK Visa Application Centres in South Africa
Cape Town: 2 Long Street, 9th floor, nr 2 on Long Street, 8001
Port Elizabeth: Greyville House, 3rd Floor, Greyville House Building, Corner of Ring Road, Caper Road & Greyville Road, Greenacres
Durban: Glass House, 309 Umhlanga Rocks Drive, Umhlanga
Johannesburg: Rivonia Village, 3rd, Cnr Rivonia Boulevard and Mutual Road, Sandton, 2128
Pretoria: The Podium at Menlyn – 4th Floor, 43 Ingersol Rd, Lynnwood Glen, 0081
Website: https://apo-opa.co/4f4Yw1G
Business hours: 8 AM to 5 PM (Mon to Fri, except public holidays)
Application submission: 9 AM to 4 PM (Mon to Fri, except public holidays)
Passport collection: 12 PM to 3 PM (Mon to Fri, except public holidays)
Primetime submission and collection: 8 AM to 9 AM & 4 PM to 5 PM (Mon to Fri, except public holidays)
