Some tour operators serving the Indian market are reporting shorter processing times on applications for South African visas, a welcome development for a market that is clawing its way back after heavy losses in recent years.
Vikram Samant of Quantum Travels responded to Tourism Update’s most recent article on the problem, noting that the SA Consulate in Mumbai is issuing visas in five, or even four days.
Renuka Natu, Head of Sales and Marketing India for SST based in Mumbai, told Tourism Update: “The SA Consulate has most certainly turned a new leaf,” said Natu, adding that services had been more efficient since the VFS SA Centre moved to another location in the city. “Agents and direct customers are happy with the turnaround time taken for the SA visa. So long as the system works well, everybody is happy and this will result in more business to the rainbow nation going forward.”
Likewise, Suzanne Benadie, Sales and Marketing Director at Your Africa, reported an improvement. “Currently we are experiencing high volumes of group departures from India, and we have not had any late arrivals or cancellations from clients due to visa delays. This is very positive news and we should see growth and recovery continuing on the upward trend for the Indian market.”
SA Tourism’s Country Manager: India, Hanneli Slabber, said the addition of relief staff at the consulate had been a help. “Currently processing in both centres, Mumbai and New Delhi, is happening in five working days - i.e. hand in on a Monday, receive the next Monday. For any of the outlying areas, an additional two days is required for courier.
“Seen in the light of the recent court findings against an operator – holding the operator responsible for losses when the visa was not released on time – it is of paramount importance that we keep the five-day processing time,” she said.
However, coming as the high season begins to wane, some trade members hold the view that the acceleration of applications came too late to make a real difference to their numbers. Others believe the speedier processing is because the peak of the high season is now over.
Yet other tour operators are still reporting lengthy visa processing times. Craig Drysdale, GM: Global Sales of Thompsons Africa, recently returned from a sales trip to India with James Hassan, Inbound Sales Manager India, Far East and New Business Development. “Every one of our customers told us directly it is taking 15-20 working days to get a visa,” he advised.
Said Hassan: “Feedback I get from my agents in India is that what is said on the consulate website is very different to reality as it still takes around 20 days to process the visa applications. Some are actually getting their visas delivered to the airport on the day of departure.
“The unabridged birth certificate (UBC) has also created confusion, which impacted on Indian travel to SA. At the height of the visa and UBC fiasco of some 12 months ago, our rival destination marketers from Australia, New Zealand and Canada, saw the gap that the SA visa situation had created and had actively engaged with the Indian outbound industry to promote their respective destinations. They had embarked on several road/trade shows across India which led the industry to actively promote these destinations over SA.
“These countries are constantly lowering the barriers to entry in their quest. An example, I’m told, is that Australia processes approved online visa applications within 48 hours for Indian nationals. There has also been some staff turnover in the consulate offices over the past year and there appears to be staff shortages as well, exacerbated by the increase in volumes of visa applications.
“That said, there does seem to be an improvement in processing compared with a year ago, but more can be done to ease the pain of the visa application process in India.”
Frustration has also been expressed that application requirements published by visa processing centre VFS Global, differ for Mumbai (through the SA Consulate) and New Delhi (through the SA High Commission). Group applications through Mumbai, for example, require detailed itineraries with each page signed and stamped.
According to Johan Groenewald, MD of Royal African Discoveries, processing is particularly pedantic when it comes to applicants in locations outside big cities. “Then suddenly the VFS personnel start asking for all sorts of additional, and often impractical, information. We can only assume this is on instruction of the consulate or that correct requirements aren’t properly communicated to VFS personnel.
“They then want a full and detailed itinerary from us that is signed and stamped on every page. Suddenly a one-page visa letter where we confirm all the details including dates of travel and exact hotels booked becomes a nine- to ten-page document that takes considerable extra time. This is at application stage – we don’t even know yet if the group will get their visas. The additional administrative load on my consultants for this is substantial – and that is even before the visa application is submitted.”
In New Delhi, the return of Gideon Christians to Consular Immigration at the High Commission has been welcomed by the travel industry. Christians has always made it his business to meet the trade and make the application process seamless. Following the recent off-loading of passengers from a number of airlines as a result of unabridged birth certificate issues, he has met with the relevant carriers to prevent similar incidents in future.
