No, your South Africa visa hasn't been cancelled. Despite videos of flag-waving marches and shops being shuttered in Johannesburg and Durban, the South African Consulate in Lagos says Nigerians are still getting visas - if your paperwork is right.

Here’s what’s really happening, as reported by cbinews.tv:

The Official Word;

South Africa’s Consul General in Lagos, Prof. Bobby Moroe, has rubbished reports that visa issuance to Nigerians has been suspended because of the ongoing anti-migrant protests back home.

Speaking on the sidelines of a round-table discussion organised by the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) on South Africa’s Xenophobia in Comparative Perspective, Moroe was pretty blunt.

“Visas continue to be issued in spite of the ongoing protests and Nigerians are still visiting the country for tourism and other legitimate purposes,” he said.

He added that there would be no discrimination against Nigerian travellers.

“We wish to make it clear again that Nigerians under these circumstances faced today will never be discriminated against. No basis will justify why your visa is rejected except that you, for one reason or another, may not have provided the requirements of the visa.”

In other words - meet the requirements, get the visa. Fail to, you won’t. The protests have nothing to do with it.

There’s also a New System Coming

Moroe also revealed that South Africa is rolling out an Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) to modernise the whole process.

The idea is to cut down the paperwork and let you apply straight from your mobile phone - more convenient, more secure, more efficient. It’s part of Pretoria’s push to digitise travel authorisation.

But Why the Panic? The Bigger Picture

If you’ve been following SA-Nigeria relations, you’ll know why this rumour spread so fast.

South Africa is currently in the grip of its biggest anti-migrant wave in years. A little-known group called March and March gave undocumented foreigners until 30 June to leave the country and has been organising weekly Thursday protests across the country.

On 1 July alone, more than 900 people were arrested as nationwide marches turned violent in places, with shops looted and at least one person shot dead.

It’s not new. Xenophobia has been a recurring wound in post-apartheid South Africa. In 2008, at least 62 people were killed, and there were major flare-ups again in 2015, 2019 and 2021. Nigerians have often been targeted - with attacks reported in 2008, 2015, 2017 and 2019.

The drivers are familiar: South Africa has one of the world’s highest unemployment rates at over 32%, and many protesters blame foreign nationals for job scarcity and crime. President Cyril Ramaphosa has now vowed a crackdown, while Nigeria, Ghana, Malawi and Mozambique have started repatriating some citizens.

So, while the streets in SA are tense, the consulate in Lagos insists the visa counter is still open.

Credit: Original report by cbinews.tv

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