South Africa eVisas, DHA incompetence - thoughts?

[chagade6]

I applied for an eVisa for SA on 20th of November and I never got it until now (was supposed to fly on the 7th of Dec to visit boyfriend for a month, so ended up canceling the trip.). Romanian citizen here. When I saw this year that they opened this system I was ecstatic, and the first phone calls my SA bf made to the DHA were encouraging and promising. But to no avail..as the time drew closer to my flight the DHA people kept saying that their system is clogged and they have no ETA and that "they'll escalate me" (spoiler: some claimed to escalate me while not having doing it, according to some of the callers that answered later on). The second last time we called 5th of Dec they even said their system is down. My visa is still "awaiting adjudication" for me having no way to modify it. The make a payment is stuck at 0 ZAR (I'm guessing no payment needed), without a green tick - to which the DHA customer service said is OK and normal... The last call that went through was on the 6th of Dec after which they blocked my boyfriend's number! We called a maximum of 6 or 7 times, no more than once a day, only to inquire about status so we knew should we cancel AirBnbs in time for refund together with car rentals and restaurant reservations... For Romanian citizens the only alternative is physical embassy all the way in Berlin, Germany which clearly is now my only option. I've lost 1200€ of my flight ticket and 175€ translating my 3 month bank statement?

[Deacon]

It sounds incredibly frustrating to go through such a bureaucratic ordeal with the South African visa system, especially when it disrupts plans and causes financial losses. It's unfortunate that the promised assistance didn't materialize, leaving you with no option but to cancel your trip. This experience highlights the importance of efficient and reliable government services, much like the challenges faced by many with the SASSA SRD R350 Grant, where delays and system issues impact those in need of support.