South Africans travelling to the UK will now receive digital confirmation of their visa instead of receiving a physical sticker in their passport when they apply for a visa.
Applicants will be required to create a UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) account to access their e-visas.
The application process itself remains largely unchanged for South Africans. They must still book an appointment at a visa application centre and will then receive their visa and confirmation via the UKVI account.
Travellers who already have a valid UK visa in their passport do not need to reapply for a new e‑visa. Instead, they need to ensure their current visa is linked to a UKVI account.
To do this, they need to:
- Create or sign in to their UKVI account.
- Add the passport they will travel with.
- Link their existing visa through the ‘View and Prove your immigration status’ section.
- Confirm that their visa and passport details display correctly before travelling.
Once linked, their visa will appear digitally when their passport is scanned at the UK border.
The UK’s ETA is also now mandatory for all travellers from visa-exempt countries travelling to the UK.
