I’ve been waiting to write a South African visa post for nearly a decade.
Since 2010 I’ve been granted four long-term South African visas of various types, with many three-month tourist visas in between. I’ve been rejected multiple times for different visas. I’ve spent many thousands of dollars on immigration consultants, application fees, flights, medical exams, criminal background checks, postage, passport fees, and printer cartridges. I’ve cursed and raged and cried rivers of tears. I’ve considered giving up. I’ve aggravated friends, family members, and multiple ex-boyfriends with unrelenting angst and hand-wringing.