South African High Commission

The most unprofessional and disgusting service I have ever received.1 - The Lady at the reception is highly unhelpful and rude.2 - The website is horrible, and it needs to be secured. Their security certificate is expired. It looks like a website made by a high schooler trying to learn HTML.3 - There is only 1 phone number, which does not work.4 - Good luck getting a reply by email.5- It is 2023, and I can't apply for a tourist visa online is pathetic. I must get a 300 Dollar flight and a 200 Dollar hotel to go and apply for a visa in Canberra. I could have spent this in South Africa, but the country with such high poverty does not want foreigners to spend money locally.6 - It has been a month, and I am still waiting for an update. I don't know where My passport is, and I have realised I should have gone elsewhere for the holidays.

Firstly, I don’t think a lot of people who have positive experiences are reviewing.My partner had to apply for tourist visa (less than 90 days) and we already had made all the confirmed bookings. We were under the impression that we will easily get e-visa (partner is an Indian passport holder - India is one of the 14 countries who can use SA’s e-visa system).However, do not trust the e-visa system, they have an incredible backlog and do not understand the nuances of documents that can be certified in Australia.We realised this quite late and with just under 5 weeks to go for the trip, I reached out to SA high commission over the phone to get an appointment for a paper application.I was told to send an email, asking for appointment and was able to get a response from ‘Chandra’ within 2 days. Though initially she said there are no appointments available until 3rd week of June - which was too late for us. She was very understanding and upon request, was able to accommodate my partner and other 2 friends for an ad-hoc appointment in the next week.We followed the document requirements on the website and the process was seamless. Finding parking at the high commission for visitors was easy and we were done in about 10 mins.They said it will take 10 working days for the visa decision and we received the passport with visa on the 9th working day.Shoutout to Chandra for her professionalism and her help.

Absolutely rude and ill-mannered. The lady who took my call began berating me on my personal life choices in regard to my travel documents which was none of her business! I'm shocked that such customer service exists in Australia. Very unhelpful and dismissive and when called out on her rudeness, her come back was that the office gets pressurised! I can't!! this is outrageous!! SA High Commission do better!! This is Australia!!

Terrible manners. Rude. Couldn't be bothered assisting or hearing what you have to say. Just tells you to go onto the website.

Poor experience. Negative rating if it were allowed. Rude, hostile, no human kindness. Sad to say that robots would do better. Getting a South African passport in Oceania is an absolute harrowing experience. No mercy.Passport fees have increased but service levels have decreased, or are rather have never existed in the first place.

All the operators I have spoken to are the rudest and most disrespectful people. Why in the world they have this audacity to speak to citizens so rudely I can't imagine. When you are calling, expect to be spoken to rudely, unprofessionally, unhelpfully and with such disdain you will feel morbid and depressed that you share a nationality with these horrible people". Zero stars. Need training in customer service

Visited yesterday to the SAHC in Canberra and received excellent and prompt service, phone calls and emails have also been answered and replied quickly. The key is to be well prepared and triple check that you have the required documents prior to arriving at the consulate!

The Indian lady answering the phone has absolutely no empathy or customer service experience. Doesnt seem to like her job very much

Can't get through on the phone, no response to emails and the website is a nightmare to navigate. How on earth can you offer a consular service like this? What purpose does the SAHC serve when the people it is meant to serve are unable to access the service? Very disheartening experience.