For years, Nigerians have repeatedly voiced strong complaints about the poor treatment they receive from the South African embassy in Nigeria when applying for visas, citing delays, rejections, and unprofessional service.
According to thisdaylive.com, Many Nigerian visa applicants alleged they are treated with contempt and disrespect, negating the diplomatic rule of engagement as established by the Republic of South Africa government.
The Nigerian government having Africa as focus of its diplomacy, has always maintained a high level of friendship with African countries and over the years, does not act on knee-jack reaction to so many hostile actions meted to Nigerians by other African countries, especially South Africa.
But the media and diplomatic circles are inundated with the reports of hostility by South Africa embassy and its officials in interface with Nigerians who request to travel to their country.
Some of the victims of South Africa Embassy’s highhandedness spoke to THISDAY narrated how they were ill-treated after going through visa request process and making all the necessary payments.
The most shocking is the alleged connivance between the embassy officials and some Nigerians who strut as travel agents and who would plainly tell the applicants that if they do not pay a certain amount of money different from official cost of visa, they would not be given visa.
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Some of these applicants had travel to South Africa in the past for over 20 times and have many other current visas in their passport, including US, UK and Schengen visas, and what seemed so ridiculous are the excuses the embassy gives for denying them visa.
Take the case of a senior official with the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA). Ms. Florence Opia, who, by her work dictate as a former Cabin Crew, Instructor and now inspector, has travelled to over 50 countries and had also travelled to South Africa over 30 times.
But when she recently applied to travel to South Africa in December 2024, she met all the requirements, including hotel booking, which was at Holiday Inn Express Sandton-Woodmeed with reservation confirmation number, 84815913, but after going through the interview process, somebody who claimed that he was a travel agent told her that if she did not pay N1.2 million she would not be given visa.
Opia did not pay and on February 4, 2025, the Department of Home Affairs, Republic of South Africa sent her a letter with title, Notice of Decision Adversely Affecting Right of Person. The letter explained, “With reference to your application for visitor’s visa dated 20 December 2024, you are in terms of provision of section 8 (3) of the Act, hereby notified that the decision is as follows: Refused. The reasons for the decision are the following: Documents lack credibility, insufficient funds, contradictory information, invalid bank statement, travel date no longer valid, no source of income on bank statement, bank statement not convincing, and ‘no guaranteed booking at the hotel’.”
According to her, “The last time I applied for their visa, I applied on December 16 and went through VSF (the company that processes South Africa visa) on December 19, where I submitted my application with my bank statement, letter from my organisation, the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, hotel booking, but they just sent me a letter of rejection, saying that my hotel booking is not guaranteed and they put in bracket, email. Can you imagine the ridiculous response? I paid for the hotel. They usually ask for direct hotel booking because they do not collect booking from hotelbooking.com or any of those search engines. So, I booked the hotel directly. The hotel print-out has all the room rate of all the class of rooms. I did pay on arrival arrangement and that was why they gave me the booking.
“They have the email address and the phone number of the hotel. I filled the visa form; it doesn’t have a space to put the hotel’s email address. All the hotel details are in the hotel booking and they could have confirmed if they wanted. I have been relating with these people for a long time because I have travelled to South Africa too many times; over 30 times. My contacts in South Africa told me that if I wanted my visa to come out, I should pay N1.2 million or they would give me flimsy excuse to reject my request and that was exactly what they did. I didn’t pay because I knew it wasn’t the right thing to do. I asked why I should pay for visa when I have UK, US, Canada visas in my passport and I have so many South Africa visas in my passport. So, with the records I have in terms of travel history and the kind of job I do, I didn’t imagine that my visa could be rejected. How long will they continue to exploit Nigerians and we are all keeping quiet.”
On the allegation that some travel agents engage in illicit deals with the embassy officials by collecting bribes for them and shortlisting the names of those they would give visa, THISDAY spoke to some Nigerians who had travelled to South Africa many times and learnt that those who travel on corporate level with known organisations are easily given visas but those who travel for personal businesses, tourism and personal visits, the applicant must go through those travel agents before they would get visa after they paid a certain amount in bribe.
However, THISDAY spoke to the President of National Association of Nigeria Travel Agents (NANTA), Mr. Yinka Folami, who said that those personnel who connive with VFS and South Africa embassy officials demanding for bribes before visa issuance, may not be registered travel agents and members of NANTA.
“I am not aware of what you said has been happening there but I am sure that those who claimed to be travel agents do not belong to NANTA. In fact, those are not travel agents. Those are touts. You should give them their proper label. They are touts,” Folami said.
But reacting to the feedback from those Nigerians who have sought for South African visas and the shabby way they were treated, the Secretary General of Aviation Round Table (ART), Fidel Olu Ohunayo, told THISDAY that shabby treatment of Nigerian visa applicants by South Africa embassy officials was not new.
He also disclosed that denying Nigerians visa is strategic because when they deny Nigerians visa and give visa to other Africans, Nigerians who travel to South with Nigerian carriers will not have visa to travel with, except few; while other Africans and South Africans will have to travel with South Africa Airways and that explained why Nigerian carriers do not last on that route and despite the epileptic performance of South Africa Airways, they always record high load factor on the Nigerian route.
“So, they stifle Nigeria’s visa requests while other nationals of other countries and South Africans will use South Africa Airways and that will give them strength over our own airlines. And I think that have not changed. South Africa has not shown any brotherly approach when it comes to visa towards Nigeria. And I think it is about time that if diplomacy fails, then we must find a way of squeezing them. If we cannot use visa, then let us use the slots into Lagos as our own weapon. This is not surprising.
“I think there is a need to stifle diplomacy. And once diplomacy does not work, then we must start looking at other modes of sanctions that can be replicated. Because yes, you cannot use a visa as a return policy, because most South Africans will not even come to Nigeria. So, we must find other means of holding them. I recommend tariff on trade, tariff on business, something must be done to reciprocate what they have done or what they have been doing,” Ohunayo said.
Meanwhile, an official of the embassy who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told THISDAY that all the allegations on extortion and bribery by VSF and South Africa Embassy officials are not officially documented and as far as they are concerned, such allegations do not exist.
