South Africa has joined the list of countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States offering easy visas to smart, wealthy Nigerians.
The South African Consul General, Bobby Moroe announced this Monday, January 9, 2023, at a roundtable with the Lagos business community.
According to him, South Africa is ready and open for business and has worked to ease the plight of Nigerians seeking visas to enter the country.
Moroe who was represented by Ntakuseni Lambani, head of immigration at the Consulat also disclosed that South Africa will now issue long-term visas of up to ten years to proven Nigerian businessmen.
He said the offer places South Africa ahead of all other countries in Africa.
The Consul General of South Africa also revealed offers that the country has a critical skill work visa for Nigerians.
He said that Nigerians who enter the country and work for up to five years will be given the option to get full resident status.
“I am happy to announce to you that the government of South Africa has been reviewing its visa processes and a lot of improvements are being recorded. Today we can say that henceforth, we will be able to issue 10-year multiple-entry visas to the business community in Nigeria.”
The Consul General also noted that his country was keen to promote investment into South Africa by Nigerians and that visa applications under the country’s investor immigration category will be treated expeditiously.
The Consulate receives about 120 visa applications in Lagos daily, but business leaders have long been complaining about the dehumanizing treatment they suffer while applying for South African visas and it is expected that the new offer will ease that pain.
He also acknowledged that mistakes had been made in the past, but said, “we have been listening and this session with you is a continuation of that process.”
He also insisted that with the commencement of the issuance of visas for as long as three years recently, the feedback has been good.
More added: “It is expected that with the offer of long-term visas, the number of applications will drop, and this should in turn cut the turn-around time for visa application.”