South African residents looking to travel to the United Kingdom (UK) now have the option to apply for their visas at VFS Global centres around the country.
VFS Global announced that it was awarded the contract to provide UK visa services in 142 countries worldwide.
This means that South African travellers can now book appointments to submit their visa applications through the agency at its Visa Application Centres (VAC) located in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth and Pretoria.
The announcement, effective from October 22, comes ahead of peak travel as both countries look forward to Christmas and the festive season.
According to VFS Global, customers applying for a UK visa will be directed to VFS Global to book an appointment to complete their visa application and they will also have the option to choose additional services designed to make the application process easier.
“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,” said VFS.
It also said that they can submit their UK visa applications from the comfort and safety of their homes, offices or any other preferred location with their 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,” said the agency.
Commenting on the launch of the new Centres, Alok Singhal, Head- Sub-Saharan Africa, VFS Global, said, they 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,” said Singhal.
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.