With the announcement of the move to level 1 by President Cyril Ramaphosa this past week, international travel will be permitted under the regulations stipulated by the government regulations.
According to the statement released by the Vice-Chancellor, Dr Mabizela regarding level 1, international students that are outside the borders of South Africa will be given priority when permits are being issued out. Travelling for students will be permitted from the 1st of October 2020 and travellers will need to produce a negative COVID-19 test result not older than 72 hours from the time of departure. Travellers who have not done a COVID-19 test prior to their departure will be required to remain in mandatory quarantine at their own cost.
All travellers will be screened on arrival and those presenting with symptoms will be required to remain in quarantine until a repeat COVID-19 test is conducted. All travellers will be asked to install the “COVID Alert South Africa” mobile app. Travel from countries that exhibit high COVID-19 infection and transmission rates will be strictly regulated. Upon arrival in Makhanda, all students will be required to follow the protocol outlined by the university on the return of students to campus.
Collection of VISAs from VFS which were requested before lockdown in Port Elizabeth will resume as it was under level 2 and these can only be done by appointment. To schedule a collection appointment, please follow this link: https://www.vfsglobal.com/dha/southafrica/.
As of 22 September 2020, all visa services resumed and all categories of temporary residence visas will be accepted. Other immigration services will be phased in over a period of time.
Relevant information for visa renewals:
• Medical Certificate B1 – 811, as well as Radiological report B1-806, must not be older than 6 months by the time you make the application for a visa renewal. If you did these in February 2020 and the appointment for the visa could not happen due to lockdown, you have to do new updated ones.
• You must be in possession of a valid passport
• The supporting documentation that will be required will be the same as before and should be recent
• If your visa expired during the lockdown period(note this timeframe), you will be able to apply for a Visa renewal without presenting a Letter of Good Cause
• If you had an appointment date that could not be kept due to the Lockdown period, you will possibly be able to reschedule that appointment before end September 2020.
If there are any questions or queries, please do not hesitate to email the SRC International Affairs Councillor, Beverly Chanaiwa at srcinternational@ru.ac.za or contact the International Office at internationaloffice@ru.ac.za
Contact:
Secretary-General, Shanti Khosa
046 603 7083
Issued: 23 September 2020