Capago: Two-week wait for premium appointments

Capago Johannesburg has confirmed that there is currently a two-week waiting period for premium appointments for French and Italian visa applications.

Visa companies canvassed by eTNW said clients looking to book premium appointments (at an additional cost) had been unable to secure them due to the high volumes of visa applications the centre is currently processing.

A spokesperson for Visalogix explained that the annual peak season for Schengen visa applications (consisting of leisure travellers looking to vacation in Europe during the summer months) had come to an end. “In the absence of this, the current influx of applications for France and Italy could be attributed to corporate travellers who are rounding up their international trips for the year, or corporate incentive trips (which often take place in September) and comprise group visa applications – a process that quickly saturates a visa centre’s appointment schedule.”

The spokesperson added, however, that processing times for French and Italian visas were still on track. “The last one I submitted came back within a week.”

Visazone confirmed that the Cape Town premium appointments were unaffected.

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