TRAVEL agents submitting Indian visa
applications for South Africans are
now required to do so through VFS
Global.
MR Sajeev, public information
officer of the High Commission
in Pretoria, told TNW the visa
service had been moved from BLS
International to VFS Global from
October 1, with all application
processes remaining the same. “The
High Commission published a tender
for the contract and VFS Global won
and will be fulfilling the outsourcing
contract for consular, passport and
visa services for the next four years.”
Visa application centres for
VFS Global are in Parktown in
Johannesburg; in Essenwood in
Durban and Strand Street in Cape
Town.
Visas for South Africans remain
free, but when applying through
the visa company, travellers will
be required to pay a service fee of
R117, says new operations manager
of VFS Global in Parktown, Valen
Govender.
Although an e-visa service is
available for SA tourists to India,
Valen says the e-Tourist Visa (eTV)
cannot be used in all instances.
Travellers going on a cruise around
India would need to apply through
VFS because they would need a
multiple-entry visa, he says.
According to the Indian High
Commission’s website, the eTV is
valid for 30 days and is allowed for a
maximum of two visits in a calendar
year. It is only valid for single entry
through 16 designated airports
including Ahmedabad, Bengaluru,
Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad and
Mumbai. “However, [SA travellers]
can exit from any of the authorised
Immigration Check Posts in India,”
the website says
India picks new South Africa visa company
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