Demystifying UK visas
CONFUSION still
remains about
when South African
passport holders require a
UK transit visa, despite the
comprehensive guidelines
online.
In a recent interview,
Lorna Feldtmann, regional
business manager
Africa for UK Visa and
Immigration International,
explained the difference
between a Direct Airside
Visa and a Visitor in Transit
Visa, and exceptions to
the rules.
The Direct Airside Visa
is for travellers passing
through a UK airport on
the way to another country,
with luggage checked
from origin to the final
destination point. It costs
£34 (R607). The exemption
applies to SA nationals
whose final destination is
the US, Canada, Australia
or New Zealand and who
hold a visa for those
countries.
A Visitor in Transit Visa
costs £62 (R1 107) and
is required by South
African passport holders
who are travelling via the
UK en-route to another
country. These passengers
will pass through UK
immigration, collect and
recheck luggage, landing in
one airport and departing
from another. The rules
to be applied for this
visa are that the onward
journey must be by air, the
passenger must hold a
valid onward air ticket, they
must have a visa for their
onward destination and the
flight must leave by 23h59
the day after arrival.
There are some situations
where a South African
passport holder will not
require a Visitor in Transit
Visa and this is where
much of the confusion
lies. According to Lorna, if
the passenger has a valid
Canadian or US visa in
their passport and either
of those countries is their
final destination, they can
land at Heathrow and
depart from another airport
before midnight on the next
day, without requiring a
Visitor in Transit Visa.
Transit visas are usually
valid for six months and
allow for multiple entries,
so passengers can do the
same journey in reverse on
the same criteria.
Passengers can apply
online for visas, making
use of the online guide.
After paying the fee, they
can select an appointment
time at a visa application
centre (VAC) for biometric
processing. VACs are run by
TLS Contract, the UK Visa
and Immigration Services’
commercial partner. The
global standard for visas
is 15 working days. There
are five local VACs, in
Johannesburg, Pretoria,
Cape Town, Durban and
Port Elizabeth.
Top tips when applying for visas
Be aware that you may not
get an appointment within
24 hours but you are
guaranteed one within
five days.
y The 15 working days
required for a visa to be
processed starts when
the application is
submitted at VAC.
y Apply up to three months
ahead of travel date and
advise the VAC if your
client is planning another
trip to the UK within a
short time as the visa
date can be postponed
to start just before first
travel date.
y There are options for
unplanned travel where a
visa is urgently required.
The Priority Visa service
guarantees front-of-queue
processing for a faster
application and decision.
The Super Priority
Visa service delivers a
decision within 24 hours
and return of passport
the next working day.
Although open to all
travellers, these services
need to be applied for in
Johannesburg or Pretoria.
There is an additional fee
for both services and the
terms and conditions are
on the website.
y Frequent travellers can
apply for a two-, five- or
10-year visa. Online
guidance is available on
the gov.uk website.
y It is important that
accurate, honest
information is submitted
on an application.
Applicants’ personal
contact information
should be used when
an agent is providing
digital assistance. This
is because the VAC will
use the listed contact
information to contact the
applicant if necessary, as
well as to advise, via text
or email, when the visa is
ready for collection.
The visa application
outcome will be affected
if falsified information
is picked up. It is also
imperative that applicants
divulge information
related to previous trips
to the UK, as something
like an unpaid bill at the
NHS could affect the
application outcome.
y TLS Contact offers
additional services for
large groups and walk-in
applications. The walkin
service enables an
applicant to submit an
online application at a VAC
without an appointment.
There is also an option to
submit an application but
retain a passport for other
travel while the UK visa
application is in progress.
Keep the budget in mind
SCENARIO: A three-week
honeymoon in the UK and
Ireland in February. The
couple wanted the cheapest
flights to London, one week’s
accommodation in a three-star
hotel in London with breakfast,
flights to Dublin and two weeks’
hire of a small car in Ireland.
Airport transfers in London
were not required as the couple
would use the Tube. As they
hadn’t visited Ireland before
and weren’t sure how easy it
was to book accommodation
as they went along, they
wanted guidance on the
itinerary and B&B options. No
budget was set. All agencies
were contacted via email from
their company websites, on a
Friday afternoon.
Bedford Centre
My original request to
Pentravel Port Elizabeth was
diverted to Tumi Mbhele at
the Bedford Centre branch
as I had previously requested
a quotation from her;
Pentravel’s system is set to
direct all quotation requests
within a specified time to
the same agent. Tumi tried
to call me on the same day
to discuss my open-ended
request, but as she couldn’t
reach me she called again
the following Monday. She
sent a very comprehensive
quotation through on the
same day. She took into
consideration the budget
we discussed on the phone,
as well as the fact that we
weren’t entirely sure of our
itinerary.
Her quotation included
a centrally located threestar
hotel in London, with
breakfast, close to one of
the Tube stations.
The Ireland portion included
a small car with unlimited
mileage and insurance. In
addition, she proposed threestar
accommodation in a list
of counties with information
on why we should visit each
one. She also suggested the
number of nights we should
spend in each county to
minimise time on the road.
The route she chose was
one of the most popular and
economical. Tumi advised
that if the quotation was too
costly, there were shorter
options she could suggest.
She included a list of
London excursions for us to
consider and although she
didn’t check whether we had
visas for the UK or what
passports we were travelling
on, the quotation did mention
that UK visas are required
by South African passport
holders. She promised to call
in a day or so to give us time
to discuss the quotation.
Tumi’s manner was
pleasant and engaging and
she was genuinely excited
about helping us to plan the
best honeymoon.
XL Bay Travel, Port Elizabeth
I pulled the email address
of one of the staff members
from this agency’s website
and sent my request through.
A different agent in the
branch responded, requesting
my phone number so that
she could call me to consult.
As the email came through
on the weekend I did not
respond immediately. The
agent sent another email
through late morning on the
Monday, again requesting
my contact number, along
with some recommendations
for the Ireland portion. She
suggested I read up about
Ireland and sent a link to the
Lonely Planet website. She
also suggested we decide
what kind of trip we wanted
– for example adventure or
cultural.
I elaborated a little on
the initial request when I
sent my number through,
and mentioned that I would
consult with my sister closer
to our departure in February
as she had spent a lot of
time in Ireland. The agent
reverted with information on
a ‘Go As You Please Ireland’
B&B programme. I followed
up a couple of days later to
ask whether she had been
able to prepare a quotation
for us and she immediately
called me, advising that
she had not done anything
more as she was expecting
me to come back to her
after my discussions with
my sister. She also let me
know that she had spoken
to the supplier and they
would be able to secure the
2017 rates for the ‘go as
you please’ programme if we
booked and paid immediately.
Although she offered to send
a quotation through, I said
she should rather wait as we
were considering quotes from
two other agents.
She did subsequently follow
up with a quotation for a selfdrive
holiday in Ireland but
excluding the London portion.
A separate email had options
of things to do in London.
I felt there had been a bit of
miscommunication and she
could have sent a quotation
through without my additional
feedback. The quotation I
did receive also missed the
brief of starting in London
for a week and then going to
Ireland. There was no enquiry
about our passports or
whether we had valid visas.
Flight Centre, Menlyn
My email request received
the website-generated
automatic response from
Flight Centre, which was
quickly followed up by a
phone call from one of
the agents. Unfortunately
I missed the call and she
called me back on the
Monday morning. The
agent was very pleasant
on the phone, clearly
knowledgeable and asked
whether we wanted direct
flights or an option via
another port. She had not
visited Ireland herself,
but promised to speak
to an expert in order to
compile the best itinerary
and quotation for us. She
didn’t ask about passports
or visa status and I never
received a quotation from
her.
Tumi’s top three things to do in Ireland:
1.Guinness Storehouse
in Dublin
2.Cliffs of Moher in
County Clare
3.Ring of Kerry in
County Kerry
Take a note
The purpose of the Naked Agent is to assess the experience from only a sales skills perspective and
not the effectiveness of the travel agency. TNW believes that sales skills are increasingly important
to travel agents and, in many cases, improvement in selling skills is the easiest way to increase the
prosperity of the agency and its consultants.
Top selling tips
OPERATORS agree that
the UK and Ireland offer
travellers a taste of everything,
from modern, urban life to
timeless traditions. Eclectic
and cosmopolitan cities like
London and Dublin are definite
stopover points. While there
are shared cultures between
the countries, each offers a
unique flavour.
According to coach tour
operator, Trafalgar, a guided
holiday is one of the best
ways to get around the UK and
Ireland as it provides a doorto-door
service for travellers,
removing the stress of daily
travel planning.
Md, Theresa Szejwallo,
says proof is to be found
in Feefo ratings. “Feefo is
an independent customer
review platform that Trafalgar
subscribes to, and reviews
are from genuine Trafalgar
customers who have rated
their guided holiday with
absolute honesty. These
unedited, un-curated reviews
are placed on our website,
warts and all. Showing them
to clients is a great tool for
agents to use when selling a
guided holiday. We believe in
complete transparency and
happily have the good with
the bad. We can report that
we consistently receive an
average customer rating
of 97%.”
Trafalgar also recommends
booking and paying online and
knowing what clients really
want to ensure sale of the
best package. The company
will shift to e-documents for all
clients from next year.
Travellers heading to
Scotland from South Africa
can now do so with increased
ease on Virgin Atlantic,
thanks to the airline’s
codeshare with Flybe. Darrin
Thomas, marketing and
communications manager,
says close co-operation
between the two airlines
makes for seamless
connections. Travellers receive
one boarding pass and
their bags are checked from
South Africa to Edinburgh or
Aberdeen.
Annemarie Lexow, Travel
Vision sales and marketing
manager, says getting
around London is really easy,
particularly with an Oyster
Card, a smartcard that can
be used for travel on buses,
trains, the Underground,
trams, Docklands Light
Railway and other services.
She suggests that travellers
should be advised to always
keep an umbrella handy in the
UK’s unpredictable climate.
She also points out that as
Northern Ireland is part of the
UK, South Africans will need
a visa to visit, but not for the
Republic, which is visa free for
South Africans.
Save your clients money with these!
“WE CURRENTLY have our
2018 trips on preview,”
says Trafalgar’s Theresa
Szejwallo. “By booking
before we officially launch
the 2018 sales season,
agents can offer their clients
a 2018 Trafalgar guided
holiday at 2017 pricing, and
still take 10% off.”
A R3 000 deposit
guarantees a seat and final
payment is due by January
29, 2018.
Travel Vision sells an
eight-day ‘Scotland on
Film’ self-drive package
for movie buffs. It starts
in Edinburgh and ends in
Glasgow. Annemarie Lexow
says: “Travellers get to visit
the sites where movies like
Skyfall, World War Z and the
Harry Potter movies were
filmed. They can enjoy a
train ride on the famous
Jacobite Steam Train that
featured in the Harry Potter
movies.” The package
sells from R9 830pps and
includes seven nights’
accommodation in three-star
hotels, return tickets on the
train and a hop-on, hop-off
city tour of Edinburgh.
Cosmos Holidays’ ‘Irish
Explorer’, departs on
December 7, is currently
selling at R12 580pps
with a saving of R3 150pp.
“The trip starts and ends in
London and includes nine
days in Ireland, return flights
from Johannesburg and
all transfers,” says Janine
Pienaar.
What’s on offer
“THERE are many similarities
to South Africa that make
self-drive packages easy and
popular,” says Annemarie
Lexow of Travel Vision.
She recommends a six-day
‘England’s Gardens’ tour for
garden enthusiasts planning
on visiting the Chelsea Flower
Show in 2018. “People don’t
have to drive too far out of
London to visit places like
Godinton House in Royal
Tunbridge Wells and Hampton
Court Palace in the London
area.” Travel Vision sells the
tour from R8 399pps, including
five nights’ accommodation in
four-star hotels, breakfast daily
and entrance fees to sites.
Air France KLM recently
announced the creation of
single global joint venture
with Delta Air Lines and
Virgin Atlantic, at the
same time strengthening
its partnership with China
Eastern Airlines. These
partnerships offer customers
access to extensive
distribution networks.
The airline took delivery of
its tenth B787 Dreamliner
last month and is expecting
delivery of another in
January. Passengers on the
Dreamliners have access to
WiFi during their flight.
Janine Pienaar, sales and
marketing manager of the
Globus Family of Brands, says
Globus offers two coaching
brands – Cosmos Holidays and
Globus Holidays. Both brands
offer a range of tours to the
UK and Ireland.
Trafalgar’s Theresa Szejwallo
believes that every corner
of the UK and Ireland offers
travellers something special.
“From the brilliant Edinburgh
Tattoo in Scotland to the
pouring of Guinness at the
Old Storehouse in Dublin,
there is so much to see and
do.” She says Trafalgar’s
Insider Experiences truly
bring the destinations to
life. “For example, in Ireland
our guests stay in the 13th
century Ashford Castle on
the shores of Lough Corrib
when they travel on our
‘Iconic Ireland and Ashford
Castle’ tour.”
London Explorer is an
eight-day exploration of
London and its outskirts,
and has proved to be
exceptionally successful
since it was launched last
year.
Next year, the company
will include VizEats, an
innovative and immersive
meal-sharing platform, on
this tour. VizEats hosts are
trained chefs and home
cooks, offering regional
specialities and traditional
cuisine in unique locations
with a relaxed ambience.
Virgin Atlantic’s Darrin Thomas
says the airline is the first in
Europe to offer WiFi across
its entire fleet, at least a year
ahead of other European
long-haul carriers. “Millions
of customers travelling with
Virgin Atlantic will be able to
email, browse and socialise
at 35 000 feet from as
little as £2,99 (R52) for the
full duration of the flight on
the A330, A340 and B747
aircraft.”
WiFi on B787s in the fleet is
available from £4,99 (R87) for
40MB or £14,99 (R260) for
150MB of data.
Virgin Atlantic is celebrating
the launch of the WiFi service
with a series of fun events,
including a live comedy set
on some flights. Darrin says
the events are already taking
place and will be coming to
the Johannesburg route in
future. Rather than a planned
schedule of events, they
are more of aVirgin Atlantic’s Darrin Thomas
says the airline is the first in
Europe to offer WiFi across
its entire fleet, at least a year
ahead of other European
long-haul carriers. “Millions
of customers travelling with
Virgin Atlantic will be able to
email, browse and socialise
at 35 000 feet from as
little as £2,99 (R52) for the
full duration of the flight on
the A330, A340 and B747
aircraft.”
WiFi on B787s in the fleet is
available from £4,99 (R87) for
40MB or £14,99 (R260) for
150MB of data.
Virgin Atlantic is celebrating
the launch of the WiFi service
with a series of fun events,
including a live comedy set
on some flights. Darrin says
the events are already taking
place and will be coming to
the Johannesburg route in
future. Rather than a planned
schedule of events, they
are more of a surprise for
passengers.
Turkish Airlines offers
daily flights from Istanbul
into Heathrow and
Gatwick airports as well
as Birmingham and
Manchester in the UK.
Dublin is also served with
a daily connection.
Kenan Ince, the airline’s
gm in South Africa,
says the carrier recently
extended its stopover
service to transfer
passengers arriving in
Istanbul from South
Africa. Passengers with
20 and more hours’
overlay in Istanbul are now
entitled to complimentary
accommodation in the city.
Economy-class passengers
receive a voucher for a
one-night stay in a fourstar
hotel and businessclass
passengers are
entitled to two nights in a
five-star hotel.
For the upcoming high season,
British Airways customers in
Africa will benefit from extra
capacity on some routes,
new lounges and enhanced
catering. From October to
March 2018, BA will operate
an all-A380 service from
Johannesburg, adding 680
seats a week. The airline will
increase its daily CPT-LHR
schedule with double-daily
B747 flights over the 2017/18
Southern hemisphere summer.
It will also add three weekly
B777 services to Gatwick
from November. Sue Petrie,
BA commercial manager
Southern Africa, says: “We’ve
been working towards doubledaily
A380 services to
Johannesburg since it became
one of the first routes to get
the new aircraft three years
ago. The additional capacity,
particularly in the premium
cabins, will be welcome news
for our customers. “We’re
also pleased to confirm the
expanded schedule to Cape
Town.” Customers on domestic
flights in the UK can use the
new Premium Transfer Drive
service at Heathrow, which
aims to ensure that customers
make tight flight connections.
Earlier this year, BA opened
The First Wing at Heathrow
Terminal 5, an exclusive checkin
area for First, Gold Executive
Club and oneworld Emerald
customers.
