Cape Town – Commonwealth citizens, including South Africans, thought they were about to benefit from a “UK free-visa endorsement.” They will be sadly disappointed, as the British High Commission has confirmed the report is completely untrue.
A report was posted to a number of different social media platforms. It received hundreds of shares. The report stated that the visa changes were based on “the assumption of Theresa May as the new British Prime Minister, UK has announced a visa-free entry for all commonwealth citizens.” South Africa is one of 18 African countries. It forms part of the 53-member Commonwealth state.
Isabel Potgieter, spokesperson for the British High Commission says the report is completely untrue.
“We can confirm that no changes have been made to the UK’s visa regime for citizens of Commonwealth countries.”
Potgieter advised that travellers planning to visit the UK should check the correct information. They should check on UK visas and immigration for their individual travel arrangements.
In May the High Commission announced a new online application service called Access UK for South Africans. The simple to use online application service is now live in SA. It was successfully rolled out in China and India earlier in February.
When compared to the old system Visa4UK, the UK home office says Access UK has a shorter application form. The questions are logically ordered and dynamically based. They ask relevant questions related to your previous answers.
-traveller24.news24.com
