South Africa

Visa Information and Lodgement

Lodging a visa application

For the convenience of our clients, the Australian High Commission in Pretoria has entered into an arrangement with a service delivery partner, named VFS Global, to provide visa and certain citizenship application lodgement services. VFS offers greater accessibility and extended opening hours.

Note: VFS can receive applications for Citizenship by Descent, Resumption of Australian Citizenship and Certificates of Evidence of Australian Citizenship. For other citizenship categories please contact the Australian High Commission.

You may lodge your visa or citizenship application, or your request for 'visa evidencing' (where your visa has been granted by an office in Australia) directly with VFS at their offices in Pretoria, Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban. VFS also has an arrangement with TNT Couriers for collection and return of applications and passports to any location in South Africa.

Applicants outside of South Africa can also lodge their applications through VFS using an international courier.
Note:

• VFS charges a fee for its services in addition to the Australian Government visa application charge. The TNT courier service, if used, also involves an additional fee.
• VFS is an application lodgement service and cannot provide advice on Australian immigration law or policy.

See: VFS Australia Visa

By post or courier to the Australian High Commission

Please ensure you have enclosed the appropriate visa charges by bank-issued cheque in South African Rand, made payable to the 'Australian High Commission'.
See: South Africa – Contacts

At the Australian High Commission in person

If you wish to lodge an application in person at the High Commission you must make an appointment.
See: South Africa – Contacts

Please note that due to the high demand for appointments it may be a few weeks before an appointment can be scheduled. However, you can lodge your application at a VFS application centre at any time during business hours without an appointment.

Checklists and supporting documentation

To assist you to submit a complete application that can be processed quickly, the Visa Section of the Australian High Commission in Pretoria has developed checklists which are available for download from the internet. You are strongly encouraged to read checklist information carefully and submit all supporting documentation requested in the appropriate checklist
See: VFS Australia Visa – Checklist

All supporting documentation must be originals, or photocopies certified by a person with legal authority to certify documents in your country of residence. The Visa Section reserves the right to request submission of original documentation, where only certified photocopies have been provided with your initial application.

Please note that original documents will not be returned to you unless you include a written request to have original documents returned, and provide a pre-paid self addressed courier parcel with your application. Due to the unreliability of the postal system in Africa, passports and original documents will not be returned by regular post.

Documents in languages other than English

All supporting documentation must be in English, or accompanied by a certified translation. Any documents submitted in languages other than English which are not accompanied by a certified translation, cannot be taken into consideration in the assessment of your application.

Permanent entry visas

Permanent entry visa applications (except general skilled, employer-nominated, business skills and parent subclasses) from the following countries are lodged, processed and decided in Pretoria: South Africa, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cape Verde, Comoros, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Reunion Islands, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

While permanent entry applications from Zimbabwe or Mauritius and countries bordering on these countries can be lodged in Harare or Port Louis, almost all applicants prefer to lodge their applications direct with Pretoria as this avoids delay in the transfer of documents from the other posts. Such applicants may lodge their applications directly with VFS by post.

Permanent entry visa applications (except General Skilled, Business Skills, Parent subclasses and Refugee and applications under the General Skilled, Business Skills and Parent visa categories are not processed in Pretoria, all enquiries should be directed to the relevant designated processing centre in Australia. For further information, please see the contact details (immediately below), or consult the Australian immigration website.

General Skilled migration applications are lodged and processed at the Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre.
See: Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre

Business Skills applications are lodged and processed at the Perth Business Skills Processing Centre.
See: Perth Business Skills Processing Centre

Contributory Parent and Parent migration applications are lodged and processed at the Parent Visa Centre.
See: Parent Visa Centre

Family (Partner, Other Family and Child) Migration

The following family migration visa applications are processed and decided in the Visa Section of the Australian High Commission Pretoria: Partner, Other Family and Child. Please refer to the VFS website for details about lodgement procedures, fees and checklists. VFS will allocate an interview date and time (if appropriate) at time of lodgement of the application.
See: VFS Australia Visa

Refugee and Humanitarian entry visas (Class XB)

All Refugee and Humanitarian entry visa (Class XB) applications (with the exception of those described below in the link 'Lodging Certain Humanitarian Applications from Africa in Australia') from persons in South Africa, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cape Verde, Comoros, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Reunion Islands, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Togo, Zambia and Zimbabwe are lodged in Pretoria.

Should you wish to lodge an application under the Refugee and Humanitarian Program, further information is available on the Australian immigration website, or you can contact your nearest UNHCR Office.
See: Refugees & Humanitarian

If you have already lodged an application under the Refugee and Humanitarian Program, this office is currently working on all the files for applicants and will be in contact with the applicants or authorised contact persons in due course.

Due to the nature of Refugee and Humanitarian applications, it usually takes six (6) months (or more) before we are able to contact the applicant with feedback, interview requests or requests for further information.

Class XB applications accompanied by a proposal Form 681 need to be lodged in Sydney, Australia.
See: Lodging Certain Humanitarian Applications in Australia from applicants in Africa ( 27KB PDF file)

Temporary entry visas

Temporary entry visa applications from the following countries are lodged, processed and decided in Pretoria: South Africa, Angola, Benin, Botswana, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Lesotho, Liberia, Namibia, Nigeria, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Swaziland and Togo.

Note: Applicants applying for Temporary entry visas and residing in Comoros, Mauritius, Madagascar, Reunion Island and the Seychelles can apply to the Australian High Commission in Port Louis.
See: Australian High Commission, Port Louis, Mauritius

Applicants applying for visitor visas and Student visas and residing in Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe can apply to the Australian Embassy in Harare.
See: Australian Embassy, Harare, Zimbabwe

Pretoria now processes all temporary entry visa applications from Botswana.

416 Special Program applications are lodged and processed at the Hobart Special Program Processing Centre.
See: Hobart Special Program Processing Centre

420 Entertainment sponsorship and visa applications are lodged and processed at the Sydney Entertainment Processing Centre.
See: Sydney Entertainment Processing Centre

Sponsored Family Visitor visa (subclass 679) applications must be lodged by the sponsor at a State or Territory office within Australia.

If you are sponsored by an Australian employer for a Subclass 457 Business (Long Stay) visa, you may lodge your visa application online or at an Australia office of the department. If you are sponsored by an overseas business, you can lodge your visa application with the Australia Immigration Office responsible for applications in your country.
See:
Centres of Excellence
Online Applications

If you are sponsored by an Australian employer, you must lodge your visa application at the same office in Australia where your employer lodged papers to support your application. Please ask your employer at which office they lodged these papers.
See: Contact Us – Australian Offices

Tourist and short stay business visa applications

Please consult the VFS website for visa checklists and application requirements. These checklists explain what documentation and additional information needs to be submitted with your application form in order to ensure quick and efficient assessment of your application. The relevant checklist should be completed and submitted with each visa application form.

Note: An airline ticket is not a visa requirement and does not in itself lead to a visa being granted. You should not make unalterable or non-refundable travel arrangements until you have confirmation you have been granted a visa.
See: VFS Australia Visa- Checklist

Student visa applications

Some South African and Botswanan nationals may apply for streamlined Student visa processing electronically online via the internet. Certain other nationalities subject to Student Assessment Level 1 (AL1) may also be eligible to apply online. If you are a dual-national, your second nationality is Assessment Level 1, and you hold a valid passport for your second nationality, you may also wish to check if you can apply for your Student visa online. All persons applying online must still meet Australian visa health requirements, including HIV testing (see 'HIV testing requirement for Student visa applicants' below).
See: Students

If you are not eligible to apply for a Student visa online, you will need to lodge a traditional paper visa application. For information on lodgement of Student visas applications, please refer to the Australian Immigration website.
See: Students

The Student visa checklist may be downloaded from the VFS website.
See: VFS Australia Visa – Checklist

Certain Student visa applications require a pre-visa assessment (PVA) as part of the application process. A PVA needs to be completed by the assessing officer as part of the visa application processing, after the application is lodged. Once PVA assessment has occurred, an officer will contact you about the next steps in the application process.

HIV testing requirement for Student visa applicants

It is a requirement for all Student visa applicants over 15 years of age from sub-Saharan African countries intending to study in Australia for more than 12 months, to undergo HIV testing as part of the medical assessment process. This requirement also applies to persons lodging Student visa applications electronically via the internet.

Applications for Australian Citizenship by Descent

If you are an Australian citizen and have had a child born overseas, that child may be eligible for Australian Citizenship by Descent.

For further information on Australian citizenship please refer to the Australian citizenship website. This website includes detailed information on Australian Citizenship by Descent, Conferral of Australian Citizenship, New Certificates of Evidence of Australian Citizenship, Renunciation and Resumption of Australian Citizenship. The website also includes information on recent changes to Australian Citizenship Legislation.
See: Citizenship

You may also refer to the VFS website for information on applying for Citizenship by Descent, Resumption of Australian Citizenship and Certificates of Evidence of Australian Citizenship.
See: VFS Australia Visa

Obtaining a visa label for visas granted in Australia

If you have been granted a visa by an Australian office and have been sent an approval letter you may submit your passport/s to the Australian Visa Application Centre to have a visa label placed in your passport. Please ensure that your passport has at least one unused/blank page and include a copy of the approval letter with your passport.

VFS will charge a discounted service fee per passport. Additional courier charges may apply.

The processing times from date of receipt of the passport by the High Commission is usually five working days. If the visa holder needs to travel urgently the High Commission will seek to process the request more quickly.