OCTOBER 11, 2016
Some South African ebassies and consulates abroad have begun requiring documents submitted in support of visa applications to be apostilled. The websites of South Africam Embassy in Washington DC and of South African Consulate in New York do not reflect this change yet. We will keep you posted.
Related search terms: "apostille for south africa visa", "apostille for south africa immigration", "is apostille required for south african visa", "certification od documents south africa"
While South Africa has been a member of The Hague Apostille Convention since 1995, it has not until just recently begun requiring documents submitted in its immigration process to be apostilled. The South African Immigration Act, and the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) regulations implemented thereunder, are not specific on the authentication requirements for documents submitted in support of visa applications. In previous practice, the DHA and overseas consular posts accepted original documents and copies of documents, which had been authenticated by the issuing authority, without requiring legalization or an Apostille.
No official announcement has yet been made as to whether this is a formal change in policy and whether apostilled documents will be required for all cases in all consular posts. However, employers and their foreign national employees working in South Africa should anticipate this potential additional step and begin the immigration process several weeks earlier to ensure that business plans are not interrupted in the event that apostilled documents are requested.
