Many tourists to South Africa will be able to travel to South Africa without a visa and will receive either a 30-day or 90-day visa (stamp in their Passport) on their arrival in the country. Tourists from non-visa exempt countries will first have to receive a visa for South Africa before travelling to South Africa. The visa application can be done either by submitting an e-visa application or by submitting a visa application at the South African Embassy in their country of nationality or residence.

Once the person is in South Africa they may also then apply to extend their Visitors Visa for a maximum period of a further 90-days. Only one extension is allowed per visit to South Africa. If the person was issued with a 90-day visa then the extension application should ideally be submitted while the person still has at least 60 days left on their visa. If the visa was issued for 30 days then the extension application should ideally be submitted while there is still 7 days left on the visa. In the event of there being less than 60 days or 7 days left on the visa then the extension application can still be submitted, but the applicant must request condonation for late submission of the application. This is only applicable if the visa is still valid and accordingly any visa extension application must be done before the expiry date of the visa.

Please do not hesitate to contact us should you require assistance with the extension of your tourist visa.