Carrie Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 *sigh*So...we booked our LSD... gave it over a month to get our tourist visa... and.... *smacks of SA efficiency* we booked our visa on the 112th February... and there is still no progress on our application... We've just lost our bookings (along with the prices we booked at) and are now facing a much larger bill than originally anticipated... We are supposed to travel in less than a week and we don't have our visasI am sooooooooo tired of inefficiency... especially when I call the Austrialian High Commission and get a South African on the other end of the phone.... am I looooooosing it???... is anyone else struggling like this....do I need to take the 'blue' pill ???? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nilo Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Shame foncussed, the same thing happened to Adele and them. They were supposed to fly on Sunday and have now had to change to Monday because of the visa only being granted late friday afternoon.Our uncle has the same problem!!Australian High Com said no less than 2 months now!!! AFRICA o AFRICA!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DKH Posted March 8, 2008 Report Share Posted March 8, 2008 Jislaaik, its bad!Hopefully these frustrations will soon be distant memories when you stand next to the Sydney Opera House!Good luck,DKH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 I am waiting 9 weeks now .....In the old S.A a good old fashioned ' SNOTKLAP ' would have sorted this out immediately !! I need the frieken blue pill please ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewe Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 NO!!!!! I read this post just before bedtime......... not good. It is now 2:33 am and I can not sleep.I planned to hand in our Application for travel visa only tomorrow since they advised us it will take 12 to 15 working days.We are leaving 24 April for our LSD. To make it worse I need our passports back because we write IELTS in Maputo 12 April. Even worse my DH was nagging me for the last 3 weeks to do it and clever me was telling him that it was not the first priority. NOT GOOD. Any advice???????Any Help?????????Any one who knows anybody that can help??????? I do not think blue pills will help.................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zorba Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 NO!!!!! I planned to hand in our Application for travel visa only tomorrow since they advised us it will take 12 to 15 working days.Hi,We went over in August last year. Were also told 12 - 15 working days. Yeah, right! We put the applications in way ahead of time and only got them back about a week before take-off. We were advised NOT to pay for airfares before visa approval, so we had the travel agent breathing down our necks for the payment...We eventually went in and paid for the fares after seeing online that the visas were approved. So everything worked out eventually. BUT, I must say that I nearly drove myself insane checking the online status every 15 minutes during those last few days! Good luck and have a gr8 trip! zorba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 We cancelled our annual two weeks in Knysna so that we could go on this LSD... now it looks like we are going to do neither...I called the Australian High Commission to enquire how our application was doing... oh dear... mistake.... I'm sure my passport is at the bottom of the pile now.One thing she did tell me was that the passports were scanned into the system at four every afternoon... so at least it's stopped me checking the VFS site every five minutes...*huge sigh*Wonder how many blue pills its gonna take before I feel better? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewe Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Only thing left to do is to hand it in and pray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overthemoon Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Hi there foncusedAre you travelling on SA passports? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueB Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 I don't know if you have job interviews lined up, but a business visa seems to be processed quicker than a holiday visa. Ours were processed last year Nov in about 2 weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Yes, Overthemoon, good old SA Passports!As far as job interviews are concerned... I wanted to wait until our dates were confirmed before we set up actual interviews... and now I'm glad that I did that... telling your prospective employers that you are struggling to get a tourist visa doesn't send the right message IMO... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overthemoon Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Oh dear, I never realised it took so long, as the travel agent was able to stamp ours when we collected our tickets, but thankfully that is EU passports.Good luck, the whole process is stressfull enough without these added bumps in the road. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 So.... I just logged on to the VFS Visa Tracking Website... and saw..."Passport has been forwarded to the Australian Visa Application Centre by the Australian High Commission 10/3/2008"Anyone know how long it will take for the passport to get from the Australian High Commission to VFS?Aaaaargh...... the pressure!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nilo Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Adele got her visa granted on friday afternoon and they sent it to VFS this morning. She already collected her passports about an hour or so ago. They open the bags at 9 in the morning so I would say they will have it by tomorrow or latest wednesday. When's your flight??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 When's your flight???We fly out of SA on Saturday.Can we take it that our visa has been approved? Or is it safer to wait and see it before we go ahead and make final payments etc?If I am this stressed over a 676... I can't imagine how I am going to be over the 175 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nilo Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Foncussed can't you phone them to make sure?I think Adele's at the airport already, booking in!! Yeah!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewe Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Foncused So happy for you. How many days did you wait?I handed our applications in today and spoke to a few regulars (working for travel agents) according to them 20 working days. I asked Sareh who was processing my application and she said 12 days, so I asked her again and she admitted 20 working days.If you now reply 20 days then I will sleep tonight. I am still praying........I am still cooking DH favourite meal...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 If you now reply 20 days then I will sleep tonight. I am still praying........I am still cooking DH favourite meal...... Well... today was my day 20! So... lets hope and pray yours will be the same! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monty Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 What is the website adress that I can log onto to check my application status ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 What is the website adress that I can log onto to check my application status ?http://www.vfs-au.co.za/track.htmlYou need to enter your passport number and your reference number (you find your ref number on your 'till slip' received from VFS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoneRose Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Hi Talk about frustration I applied for my passport on the 29 January. I followed up on the application every week. So did I phoned last week and monday and they told me my pasport is in the printing!!! Yippppeee I thought just to be remembered I live in South Africa!!!!!! On Friday morning I phoned with the hope that my pasport will be send out already!!! Only to be informed that my fingerprints is damaged I need to give my fingerprints again !!! I drove to Pta to home affairs head office and after been endangered in CBD of Pretoria what look more like city in Zimbabwe. After been send from counter to counter is my fingerprints taken!!! This is not where it end !! I phoned this afternoon to be informed they need new photos!!!! Can you believe it I need to go and do this whole process from start tommorow ! If you are already threw this process and on the other side in a 1st world country be happy happy and if you want to complain just remember South African Public Service!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted March 10, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 Listening to 702 the other day...Guy phoned in and told the story... He was in Switzerland with a work colleague... This chap told our SA friend that he had to collect his passport... our SA friend groaned at the thought but went along anyway... they arrived at their 'home affairs' and, to the story tellers absolute horror, the Swiss friend advised that he had to put in an application for a new passport...They joined a queue... got to the assistant... and he put in his application...The assistant looked him up on the system... accessed the photograph and details they had online.... AND PRINTED THE PASSPORT THERE AND THEN!!!!Ten minutes... from start to finish....and in todays 'computerised' world... is this really too much to expect??*seriously considering going into wholesale distribution of 'little blue pills'* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewe Posted March 11, 2008 Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 20 days looks like the magic number I have 23 days before we need to leave for IELTS in Maputo...and 32 days before our LS (D)....Now the wait..... can I place a order for that "blue" pills? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie Posted March 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2008 So.. this morning I RUSHED off to VFS to collect my passports... I eventually received them at 13h30.... SCREAMED off to the travel agent... only to find that our provisional flight to Perth had been cancelled by Quantos Airlines this morning!!!!AAAAAAAaaaaaaargh !!!!So... the LSD has been moved to next month...and I am on my way to Knysna on Friday to go and lick my wounds... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythryl Posted March 12, 2008 Report Share Posted March 12, 2008 Here's a shocker for the rest of usFriend of mine is from the Czech republic...now remember this is the former war torn country...I was complaining about my police clearance certs. He laughed and logged into the Czech republic home affairs website...entered his ID number and a few other details, entered CC # and viola! Police clearance certificate prints off on the office printer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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