The maximum duration for this Visa is 3 months. If a longer stay is required the applicant must apply in advance abroad or he can extend the visitor’s Visa locally, confirming the purpose of stay.

A valid return air / bus ticket, proof of sufficient financial means, the application fee andmust be accompany an application for extension. Pease note that a visitor’s Visa can only be extended once for a maximum of 3 months.

Please be aware that all extensions and changes need to be applied for 30 days before expiry of the current Visa. Missing the cut-off date without demonstration of good cause (e.g. illness, accident) will mean that you have to leave South Africa.

Countries exempt from South African visas:
The exemptions pertain to ordinary, diplomatic and official passport holders. Official visits (on invitation of the South African Government) and accreditation for holders of diplomatic and official passport holders are not dealt with here.

Visas are not required by citizens of the following countries for the periods and subject to the conditions indicated:
Holders of South African passports, travel documents and documents for travel purposes.

Holders of passports of The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland including the British Islands Bailiwick of Guernsey and Jersey, Isle of Mann and Virgin Islands as well as the Republic of Ireland are totally exempt from South African visa control and thus do not require visas for any purpose regulated by visas.

Please Note:
Angola: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Antigua and Barbuda: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits
Argentina: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 90 days and transits

Australia: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits
Austria: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

Barbados: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Belgium: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits
Belize: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Benin: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits
Bolivia: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Botswana: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Brazil: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 90 days and transits

Canada: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits
Cape Verde: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Chile: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 90 days and transits

Costa Rica: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Cyprus: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits. Diplomatic and official passport holders visiting the RSA for holiday purposes are exempt for 90 days.

Czech Republic: Holders of diplomatic and official passports for holiday visits not exceeding 90 days and transits

Denmark: Bona fide holiday and business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

Ecuador: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 90 days and transits
Egypt: Holders of diplomatic and official passports for holiday visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Finland: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

France: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

Gabon: Bona fide holiday & business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Germany: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

Greece: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

Guyana: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Hong Kong: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits This exemption is only with regard to holders of Hong Kong British National - Overseas (BNO) passports, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passports and Hong Kong Certificates of Identity.

Hungary: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits Diplomatic and official passport holders visiting the RSA for holiday purposes are exempt for 120 days.

Iceland: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits
Israel: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 90 days and transits

Italy: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

Jamaica: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 90 days and transits

Japan: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

Jordan: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Lesotho: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Liechtenstein: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

Luxemburg: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

Macau: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits This exemption is only with regard to holders of Macau Special Administrative Region passports (MSAR).

Malaysia: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Maldives: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Malta: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 90 days and transits Malta: Holders of diplomatic and official passports for holiday visits not exceeding 90 days and transits

Mauritius: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Mexico: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Morocco: Holders of diplomatic and official passports for holiday visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Namibia: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Netherlands (Kingdom of the): Bona fide holiday and business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

New Zealand: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

Norway: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

Paraguay: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 90 days and transits

Peru: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Poland: Holders of diplomatic and official passports for holiday visits not exceeding 90 days and transits

Portugal: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

Romania: Holders of diplomatic and official passports for holiday visits not exceeding 120 days and transits

San Marino: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 90 days and transits

Seychelles: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Singapore: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Slovak Republic: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

South Korea: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Spain: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits
St Helena: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 90 days and transits

St Vincent & the Grenadines: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 90 days and transits
Swaziland: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 90 days and transits

Sweden: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

Switzerland: Bona fide holiday & business visits only (period unspecified) and transits

Thailand: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Tunisia: Holders of diplomatic and official passports for holiday visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Turkey: Bona fide holiday & business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

United States of America: Bona fide holiday and business visits only (period unspecified) and transits
Uruguay: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 90 days and transits

Venezuala: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 90 days and transits

Zambia: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits

Zimbabwe: Bona fide holiday and business visits not exceeding 30 days and transits. Only government officials, including police on cross border investigation
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John Miller was raised in Washington, DC. With a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and a Master of City and Regional Planning, he has had a 40-year career in urban development and local government in developing countries. He lives in the Western Cape and is active with the Wilderness Ratepayers and Residents Association.
My recent encounter with Home Affairs offers a nuanced view, equal parts disconcerting and optimistic.

In recent times, as South Africans look to the Government of National Unity for signs of progress, it’s encouraging to see that at least one ministry – Home Affairs – is beginning to deliver tangible results. In particular, we are led to believe that the old green ID books are being phased out in favour of new Smart ID cards.

Even as we hear that good news, government promises are met with scepticism: some in the media and many residents claim the improvements are illusory and that systemic inefficiencies persist.

My recent encounter with Home Affairs offers a nuanced view, equal parts disconcerting and optimistic. Several months ago, reassured by public statements, I booked a 9am appointment online at my local branch, in George, Western Cape. Upon arrival, I was directed to a short queue of about 10 people with appointments, while a second queue – nearly 10 times as long along the sidewalk — accommodated walk-ins. I felt quite chuffed that I had booked ahead; so far, so good.

At the entrance, those of us with bookings were handed a clipboard bearing a printed list. We were asked to find and cross out our names to confirm attendance. While a practical system in theory, the font was so tiny that I had genuine difficulty locating my name. My eyesight is perfectly serviceable; the issue was the microscopic print.

Inside, I handed my green ID book to the official who checked his screen and returned my book to me. No, he explained, I was not yet eligible to apply for a Smart ID because I wasn’t born in South Africa. But, but… the public announcements!

No, my ID book and Permanent Resident certificate weren’t enough — yet. He offered two choices. I could — right then and there and for a fee — apply for a new green ID book somehow different from my current one, and once with that in hand, I could then return later, maybe two months, maybe four, for the Smart ID; or I could skip that step and wait to receive a text message confirming my eligibility for the Smart ID. I chose the latter.

Smooth, until…
The text never arrived but I kept tabs on public updates. A few months later, the ministry announced that non-citizen Permanent Residents could now apply for the Smart ID. That’s me.

The online application process was smooth and straightforward — until the very last step. I was prompted to sign and enter the location where I was signing. But there was no functionality to do this electronically no matter how I hovered my cursor. I couldn’t sign nor input a location.

I submitted it anyway, albeit with trepidation. Rejected. I tried again. Rejected. I saved, logged out, returned hours later, and without making any changes tried once more. This time, inexplicably, my application was accepted. Within minutes, I received a confirmation email and text instructing me to bring my green ID book and Permanent Resident certificate to Home Affairs. Right as rain!

Naturally, I booked a fresh appointment. I arrived at 9.45am for a 10am slot, with no sidewalk queues at all, for neither the booked nor the walk-ins. The clipboard and its impossible font size returned. Once again, I strained to locate and strike through my name.

I approached the same officer from my earlier visit. He noted the time, 9.45am, and asked me to wait until 10am. I pointed out that no one else was waiting, so please… He politely insisted that I take a seat. But, I said, there’s no one here, can’t you help me now? No, please take a seat. So I sat a mere three metres away, watching him do absolutely nothing for the next fourteen minutes. Uh-oh.

I approached his desk at 9.59am. He found my record in the system, and handed me ticket number 70, directing me to the biometrics desk. Onward.
The biometrics officer was also unoccupied and signalled that I would need to wait until my number 70 was formally called. Dutifully as ever, I sat in one of the many empty chairs not 10 metres from his desk. Sure enough, two minutes later, number 70. I provided fingerprints and a signature; into the booth for a photo. Done within five minutes.

He told me to wait again until my number 70 came up for verification. Within minutes, I was seated with a new officer. Wow, this is now going very well.
She asked to take my fingerprints. I pointed across the room to the biometrics chap and said I had just come from there so all was well. No, she said, I must verify that you are you. I can only presume that this was a precaution to ensure I hadn’t changed identities in the 20m walk and four-minute wait. Okay, fine.

The scan of my fingerprints produced an amber status, not green, not red. She asked me to try again. This time it turned red. I was sent back to redo the biometrics. The entire process was repeated, and once again I was instructed to wait until my number 70 was called. Operational challenges, as it is said.

I found a seat close to the same officer, who had by then stepped away, possibly for a tea break. Twenty minutes later, she returned and number 70 was called.
Again: amber, then red! She called over her manager and explained the issue. The manager authorised an override with her fingerprint. Then the officer used her own fingerprint to regain access to her computer. Bureaucratic ballet done and dusted.

The officer now asked for my original Permanent Resident certificate. I handed it over, protected from wear and tear in the plastic sleeve I store it in. She asked if I had the original. I said yes, that’s it, in your hand.

With nary a glance, she made copies of both my certificate and ID book. As she reviewed my online application. I braced myself for a rejection or at least a request to sign, thinking back to the signature I’d never been able to provide online. She said not a word and must have used my signature from the biometrics officer. No issue, all in order.

She informed me that I’d receive a notification in about six months to collect my Smart ID. It could be sooner, she added, but delays were likely given the newness of the system. Within the hour, I received confirmation of the day’s progress via text and email. Pretty good.

Weeks, not months
And then — who needs six months? Less than five weeks later, I received a text and email telling me that my card was ready. One said my “replacement ID”, the other said “ID reissue”, but I pretended not to be concerned about the slight difference and the absence of the word “Smart” that Home Affairs has so loudly proclaimed.

Another 10am appointment, another tiny font, immediately at the reception chap’s counter. Looked at his computer, gave me a number and sent me upstairs for ID collections. Up I go, into a smaller room with desks for three agents.
I was second in the queue, and within five minutes I was at the desk of the only agent working, the very same one who weeks before couldn’t verify my fingerprints downstairs. Up here, with a different fingerprint scanner, I figured this was going to be easy.
No such luck. Several attempts. My fingerprints were not accepted. It seems that though fingerprints don’t age, scanning machines can’t handle old man skin — that’s mine.

She escorts me downstairs to a counter to await someone to override the system. Fifteen minutes later, my excitement drained by my impatience, along comes a young agent who slowly makes things happen; logging into the computer at that desk took another five minutes. But then it happened — I signed in a few places, he copied a few documents, and my Smart ID was in my hand!

All good! But not fully the end of the story.
As he handed me my old green ID book, he said I should keep it in a safe place. I said I’d rather just throw it away. No, he repeated, keep it in a safe place. Once at home I read the letter from Home Affairs that accompanied the card.

It said, and I quote: “… and replaces the green barcoded identity document which should be handed in at the Department of Home Affairs when issued with a Smart ID Card”. But wait, the agent just gave it to me, told me to safeguard it, what’s a guy to do now? Just smile.

On the card itself is printed “Date of Issue 30 May 2025”. That was a mere two weeks after my application was accepted, not the six months I was warned about, thank you. But if it was issued on 30 May, why did it take three weeks to tell me it was ready for collection? Just asking for a friend.

So I now am relishing the last round of a rousing ride — an experience at once off-putting and ultimately positive. While much remains to be improved, my cautious optimism remains intact. Perhaps this is what progress looks like in South Africa: slow, uneven, but moving forward nonetheless.

Frequently Asked Questions
There is no doubt that the expungement laws in South Africa can be confusing and convoluted. Our goal at CRR is to provide a one stop resource for South African expungement information.

As you browse through the site you will find a wealth of knowledge about what exactly expungement is, what the process of expungement entails, and whether your particular situation is eligible for expungement. Here is a list of the most common frequently asked questions about removing a criminal record:

• Do I qualify to remove my criminal record?

• Is it legal to remove my criminal record?

• What is expungement?

• Why is an expungement firm essential?

• Why is expungement important?

• Who is eligible for the standard 10 year expungement?

• What if I have multiple convictions?

• What can I expect from CRR?

• What are the benefits of getting my criminal record expunged?

• How many applications are successful?

• What if I have already applied?

• How long does it take?

• Is there a way to speed up the expungement process?

• I don't qualify for the standard 10 year expungement, what other options do I have?

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Our dynamic team of immigration consultants provide specialist advice on temporary residence visas, permanent residence permits, appeals on rejected applications, undesirable declaration waivers, V-listing and legal immigration services. Get in touch with us if you’d like a professional yet personal experience provided by our experienced consultants.

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Alternatively , please contact us on :
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Whatsapp Tel No : +27 (0) 82 373 8415

Tel No office : +27 (0) 82 373 8415 ( Whatsapp )
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How can we help you?
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How can we help you , please email us to info@samigration.com whatsapp me on:
+27 82 373 8415, where are you now? check our website : www.samigration.com

Please rate us by clinking on this links :
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https://g.page/SAMigration?gm

Sa Migration
https://g.page/Sami-HQ?we
Alternatively , please contact us on :
Sa Migration International

Whatsapp Tel No : +27 (0) 82 373 8415

Tel No office : +27 (0) 82 373 8415 ( Whatsapp )
Tel No admin : +27 (0) 64 126 3073
Tel No sales : +27 (0) 74 0366127
Fax No : 086 579 0155

www.samigration.com

How can we help you?
Please email us to info@samigration.com
Whatsapp message us on: +27 82 373 8415

Where are you now?
Check our website : www.samigration.com

Please rate us by clinking on this links :
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