The US’s decision to end routine visa processing in Durban is adding another layer of complexity for South African travellers, particularly those making last-minute business trips.
With applicants now required to use the US consulates in Johannesburg or Cape Town, corporates will need to factor domestic travel into the visa process, while allowing more time to secure an appointment.
“The closure is likely to have the greatest impact on frequent business travellers and applicants requiring urgent travel, making early planning essential,” said Anitta Mtsweni, Head of Visa Division at Visaline.
For KwaZulu-Natal-based clients, the change would add another layer of frustration, said Linda Edwards, MD of XL Turners Travel. “It was already tricky trying to get a visa appointment but now it’s going to be further complicated with having to fly to another province.”
Additional admin
“Applicants will now need to either fly or drive to the Consulates in either Cape Town or Johannesburg to attend their interview. This could come with an overnight stay and other expenses,” said Andrea Bonalumi, Owner of Visa Box.
Stefan van der Merwe, CEO of Sure Travel, said this could lead to a drop in travel to the US. “Travelling to Cape Town or Johannesburg for an appointment will add domestic travel costs, time away from work and additional logistical considerations for corporates.”
Edwards said XL Turners Travel was advising clients to allow a two- to three-month lead time and avoid committing to travel dates before securing an appointment.
“Unless the traveller has a visa in place, we would recommend actual travel dates be delayed until at least the visa appointment is booked. Notification of the new visa process for our KZN-based clients has gone out to make them aware and plan accordingly,” said Edwards.
Appointment availability
Industry experts are also concerned that shifting Durban applicants to the two remaining consulates could put additional pressure on appointment availability.
“This will reduce Cape Town and Johannesburg appointment availability even more. As a result, corporates will need to build longer lead times for applications,” said Van der Merwe.
Bonalumi said there was already little flexibility for travellers needing to secure an urgent appointment.
“Acquiring urgent appointments has always been difficult. There are very few scenarios where one would be granted an expedited appointment for business – the urgency has to be unavoidable along with other requirements – so the general wait times will continue.”
She hopes the two remaining US consulates will make sufficient personnel provisions for applicants who would normally have applied in Kwa Zulu-Natal.
Visaline is recommending applying at least three to four months before travel to allow for appointment availability and processing. “We recommend applying well in advance and ensuring their US visas remain valid to avoid last-minute applications,” said Mtsweni.
Planning ahead
The long validity of US visas could help ease the impact but travellers should be more proactive about applying for new visas.
“Unlike Schengen and a lot of other countries, a US visa is generally given for a 10-year validity so this does ease the frustration to not have to apply for each visit to the US,” said Edwards.
Van der Merwe said: “TMCs will need to be more proactive by checking visa validity earlier and encouraging frequent US travellers to keep their visas current rather than waiting for a trip to arise.”
