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Oz visas drive agents crazy

01 Feb 2017 - by Debbie Badham
Comments | 0

RECENT changes to Australia’s visa

applications have been creating

major hassles for agents and their

clients. Applications have become

so troublesome that agents say

they totally refuse to handle Oz visa

applications and those from other

countries that are outsourced to visa

application centres.

“Australian visa applications are

driving agents crazy at the moment,”

says Liz Potgieter, travel consultant

for Sure Epcot Travel. She says

it has been taking, on average, a

month to get a visa processed.

What’s more, says Tracy

Teichmann, manager of Sure

Adcocks Travel, travellers will pay

an R800 service fee to spend five

minutes at the application centre,

which is very expensive.

There is a serious need for a

biometrics processing centre in Port

Elizabeth, says Michelle Minnaar,

manager of Harvey World Travel

Plettenberg Bay. She says

she has many clients who

travel between Port Elizabeth

and Australia and that they

have to drive for seven hours

just to reach the visa centre.

As of June 8, 2016, South

Africans were required

to provide biometrics for

Australian visa applications

at one of four application

centres in Cape Town,

Durban, Johannesburg

and Pretoria. Agents were

previously able to apply

online on their clients’ behalf

(see TNW June 22, 2016).

The situation highlights

agents’ growing refusal to

handle visa applications

that have been outsourced

to third parties. Inge

Beadle, manager of

Corporate Travel Services,

says since countries

have been outsourcing

visa applications, the

process has become

slow and cumbersome.

The visa centres always

want something extra in

terms of information or

documentation, she says.

As a result, Inge says her

agency doesn’t handle visas

any more, pointing out that

the tendency for problems to

arise creates the potential

for bad relationships

between agents and their

clients.

“Handling visa applications

is like setting yourself up

for failure,” says Angela

McLoskey, md of Sure

Dynamic Travel.

Jose Cruz, national

executive client services

manager of HRG Rennies

Travel, says it’s becoming

increasingly difficult for

travellers to apply for

visas across the world – a

situation that’s likely to

worsen. He advises agents

to warn clients of the

difficulties surrounding visas

to avoid any backlash when

problems occur. 

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