TRAVEL agents are still
receiving conflicting
information regarding
Spanish visas.
Last month, agents
reported that consultants at
the BLS Application Centre
in Pretoria were advising
that a new requirement
had been introduced for SA
minors, requiring that their
Unabridged Birth Certificates
be stamped specifically by
Home Affairs, certified within
a six-month period, as part
of their visa application. BLS
consultants confirmed this
new requirement to TNW.
However, the Spanish
Consulate has subsequently
told TNW that there is no
new requirement and that
the Consulate will still
accept copies of UBCs
certified by the police. The
Consulate told TNW that
agents should ignore the
information communicated
by BLS.
Spousal visas
The Spanish Consulate
has also clarified new
requirements around
spousal visas, confirming
that travellers applying
for a Spanish visa as the
spouse of an EU passport
holder would now need to
prove their marriage was
registered in the same EU
country as their spouse’s
passport. They would do
this by obtaining a marriage
certificate from that country.
Previously, an SA
unabridged marriage
certificate and a copy of the
spouse’s EU passport had
been sufficient to prove the
marriage. Meanwhile, agents
have reported that BLS is
advising applicants that
this is not a requirement,
resulting in applications
being denied.
Liam Flett, owner of
Simply Visa, says BLS
providing conflicting
information only causes
unnecessary chaos among
both visa companies and
agents. He says BLS is
equally difficult when it
comes to application lead
times: “The consultants
refuse to help you if your
appointment is not at least
15 days before date of
travel, irrelevant of how
busy they are.” As a result,
Liam says visa companies
are having to go directly
to the Spanish Consulate
to get last-minute
applications for business
purposes processed
quicker.
For more information
on visas, see Travelinfo.
