The British high commission has doubled visa fees for young South Africans wishing to work and travel in the United Kingdom, News24 reported on Wednesday.
It said the fee jumped from R1 483 to R3 030 on April 1.
The UKvisas.gov.uk website, which manages the UK’s visa operations, states: ”Those that benefit from the migration system should help pay for it. This is a widely accepted principle internationally in visa charging.”
It said the increase will also help beef up controls and customer service. Additional revenue will be spent on improving technology and risk-management processes, as well as on marketing and information campaigns.
Thousands of young South Africans apply each year for a UK working-holiday visa, offered to Commonwealth citizens aged between 17 and 30. The visa allows them to travel to the UK for up to two years, and to work for 12 months of that time.
Jan Schavemaker, logistics manager for Visa Express in Cape Town, said the new visa costs, combined with courier costs and visa consulting-company costs, could raise the cost of applying for the visa to about R4 000.
Schavemaker said speculation in the travel industry is that the increase in visa fees is an attempt to decrease the number of applicants and encourage serious applications. — Sapa