FOR DTS OR SECOND LEVEL SCHOOL STUDENTS
As a School Leader you are responsible for five things in regards to visas for the students that you accept:
1. CHECK IF THEY NEED TO APPLY FOR A VISA
After you accept a student, first look up their passport nation on this website
The countries that under the "Ordinary" column say "90 Days" - they don't need to apply for a visa as they will automatically get a 90 day Visa on arrival in South Africa.
The countries that under the "Ordinary" column say "90 Days PA", means 90 days per year. So they don't get the 90 days on reentry like some nations do - so that just means we would need to make a plan for the number of days they have for lecture + debriefing.
The countries that under “Ordinary” column it is blank - they will need to apply for a tourist visa.
2. Communicate with students what they need to do for a visa
If they don’t need a visa
Let them know that on arrival, they should automatically receive a visa, but if something goes wrong, how to get in contact with you. Reiterate to the student that it is vital that upon arrival to South Africa that they state the purpose of their visit is for tourism and to occasionally volunteer with YWAM - but it is vital that they do not say that they are coming to study or volunteer full time, as this could actually get their visa rejected.
If they only get 90 days PA
Get in contact with Training to make a plan for the number of days they have for lecture + debriefing. Then follow up with the students to communicate their options based on the feedback from Training.
For many of these applicants, they usually only get single entry, and it helps to make them aware of this possibility. Which means that when they come for the lecture phase, that is their one season in South Africa, and unfortunately they have to fly home after debriefing somewhere that is not South Africa. These are the exceptions and they often stay at the outreach location to be debriefed, but there are other financial considerations if this happens worth mentioning.
Reiterate to the student that it is vital that upon arrival to South Africa that they state the purpose of their visit is for tourism and to occasionally volunteer with YWAM - but it is vital that they do not say that they are coming to study or volunteer full time, as this could actually get their visa rejected.
if they will need to apply for a tourist visa
First, communicate to the students about how to apply for a Tourist Visa, as well as some considerations for the process that they should be aware of:
For many of these applicants needing to apply for a Tourist Visa, it is due to the countries being flagged by the government, therefore they usually only get single entry, and it helps to make them aware of this possibility. This means that when they come for the lecture phase, that is their one season in South Africa, and unfortunately they have to fly home after debriefing somewhere that is not South Africa. These are the exceptions and they often stay at the outreach location to be debriefed, and there are other financial considerations if this happens worth mentioning.
Reiterate to the student that it is vital that they state the purpose of their visit is for tourism and to occasionally volunteer with YWAM - but it is vital that they do not say that they are coming to study or volunteer full time, as this could actually get their visa rejected.
Direct them to the Student Visa Hub where there will be step by step information about the visa applying process for DTS students. They will be applying for a Multiple Entry Tourist Visa (Port of Entry Visa (Section 11(1)) for 90 days or less)
Next, request a Visa Letter from the Visa Team. This process happens through the website and is the best way for us to have the information that we need to help you. You can email follow up questions to the Visa Team, but do not send anything via Whatsapp or send students to our team members.
if their visa application is rejected
Get in contact with the Visa Team to see what options they may have.
3. COMMUNICATE TO STUDENTS CONSIDERATIONS FOR THEIR TRAVELING DURING COVID
Information about this process can be found to the left and we try to update it often
4. CHECK THEIR VISA ON ARRIVAL
It is vital that as a school leader you check their visa when they receive it, or when they arrive in country, and if anything unusual comes up, get in contact with the Visa Team and the Training Department as soon as possible. Do this by sending an email to the Visa Team, and cc’ing Training (training@ywammuizenberg.org).
Things to look out for :
If a student only gets 30 days (or not enough for the length of lecture phase), they will need to apply for an extension :
Applying for an extension to a Tourist Visa needs to happen within the first 30 days that they are in South Africa, so it is vital that this process is started as soon as possible. Information about how to renew a Tourist Visa can be found in a tab on the left
If a student only gets a Single Entry Visa (versus a Multiple Entry Visa), they will not be able to come back to South Africa for Debriefing :
In this situation, you will need to make a plan with the Training Department for their debriefing to happen elsewhere. There are financial implications to this that will also need to be communicated to the student.
5. SUPPORT STUDENTS THROUGH ANY EXTENSIONS NEEDED
Information about this process can be found to the left