NetherlandsWorldwide

Applying for a Schengen visa for the Netherlands in South Africa

If you will be visiting the Netherlands for a maximum of 90 days – for a holiday, to do business or to see family, for example – you can apply for a Schengen visa. Follow the steps below to apply in South Africa.

Step 1: Check before applying

Before starting your application, check whether you need a visa for the Netherlands and, if so, where you can apply for it.

Not everyone needs a visa to visit the Netherlands. If you’re unsure what applies to you, check whether you need a visa to visit the Netherlands.

Don’t need a visa?

If you don’t need a visa for the Netherlands, see what documents you do need to travel to the Netherlands.

Check what you need to travel to the Netherlands

To apply for a Schengen visa in South Africa go to the VFS Global application centre in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg or Pretoria. You can submit an application there if you live in one of the following places:

  • South Africa
  • Botswana
  • Lesotho
  • Réunion

If you live somewhere else, go to the page Applying for a Schengen visa and select the country where you live to find out where to submit your application. If you still want to submit your application in South Africa, first check if that’s possible.

Check whether you can apply for a visa outside your country of residence

I want to visit more than one Schengen country

If you want to visit another Schengen country besides the Netherlands, check whether you should apply for a visa for the Netherlands or the other country.

Find out which Schengen country you should apply for a visa for

Step 2: Gather the documents you need

You need several documents to apply for a Schengen visa. Which ones you need depends on your purpose of travel.

On the VFS Global website you’ll find a checklist with the documents you need based on your purpose of travel.

Find out which documents you need

Family member of an EU/EEA national or Swiss national?

If you are travelling with a family member who is a national of an EU/EEA member state or Switzerland, or you’re travelling to visit that family member, you may be eligible for free Schengen visa facilitation.

Find out whether you are eligible for visa facilitation

Step 3: Make an appointment

Once you have all the documents you need for your Schengen visa application, make an appointment at VFS Global. You can apply for your visa up to 6 months ahead of your trip. Apply no later than 45 days before your trip.

Make an appointment online at VFS Global in South Africa

  • Avoid unnecessary costs and book your appointment yourself. Do not make an appointment through an intermediary.
  • If you are applying for visas for multiple people, make a separate appointment for each person.
Attention: Appointments are currently limited. As soon as possible, the agenda will be opened again for new appointments. Keep checking the website of VFS Global.

You must appear in person at your appointment to submit your application, even if you’re under 18.

Exception

You don’t need to appear in person to submit your application if:

  • you have applied in person for a Schengen visa within the past 5 years (59 months), and:
  • you submitted a photo with that application, and:
  • your fingerprints were taken for that application (only applies if you are 12 or older).

If you meet all 3 conditions, you can have someone else submit your application for you. The appointment must be under the name of the person submitting your application.

If you are not certain whether VFS Global has your fingerprints on record, you should submit your application in person. VFS Global cannot check this for you.

To change or cancel your appointment, contact VFS Global in South Africa.

Step 4: Go to your appointment

Go to your appointment at VFS Global, and bring all the documents on your checklist from step 2 with you, plus the checklist itself.

See the address of VFS Global in South Africa

At your appointment you:

  • submit the documents that are on your checklist, together with your passport
  • provide your fingerprints (only if you are 12 or older)
  • answer questions about your trip
  • pay the visa fees
  • indicate whether you want to collect your passport (with visa affixed) or have it sent to you
  • receive a reference number to track the status of your application

Applicants from Botswana

If you live in Botswana, you don't need to leave your passport at the application center. You can return home with your passport after submitting your application.

After returning home, send your passport back via courier to the VFS Office where you applied. The application center will need your passport to process your visa application.

See the overview of consular fees in South Africa to find out how much a visa costs and what forms of payment are accepted. In some situations you are not required to pay.

Find out in which situations you do not need to pay the visa fee

You will always need to pay service costs to VFS Global.

You’ll usually find out within 15 calendar days whether your application was successful. Sometimes it can take longer and may take up to 45 calendar days.

Find out more about processing times for a visa application

When you submit your application you’ll receive a reference number from VFS Global that you can use to track the status of your application online.

Step 5: Collect your passport or have it sent to you

You will receive an email once your application has been processed. The email won’t say whether your application was successful. You can collect your passport or have it sent to you. If your application was approved, the visa will be affixed to a page in your passport.

If you choose to have your passport sent to you, you’ll discuss at your appointment how to arrange this.

Applicants from Botswana

Arrange a courier to collect your passport from the VFS Global office where you submitted your application and to take it back to you in Botswana.

If you choose to collect your passport, you’ll discuss at your appointment when you can collect it. You can also have someone else collect your passport for you.

If you collect your passport yourself, bring the following with you:

  • a valid form of ID
  • the proof of payment provided by VFS Global

If someone else collects your passport for you, they must bring the following with them:

  • a valid form of ID
  • a signed letter from you authorising them to collect your passport
  • the proof of payment provided by VFS Global

Check whether the information on your visa is correct. Your name and the visa’s validity period, for example.

Find out more about the information on your visa

If any of the information is incorrect or you can’t use the visa, for example because the period of validity is later than the dates of the plane tickets in your application, contact the Dutch embassy in Pretoria as soon as possible.

If there’s a mistake on your visa, the airline may not let you board your flight or you may be refused entry into the Schengen area.

Email the Dutch embassy

If your application wasn’t approved, you’ll receive a letter stating why. If you disagree with this decision, you have several options.

Find out what you can do if your visa application was refused

Step 6: Prepare for your trip

With your Schengen visa you can travel to the Netherlands or another Schengen country. The visa allows you to stay in the Schengen area for a maximum of 90 days in any 180-day period. Your visa will be valid for a specific period, which may also be shorter than 90 days.

You must show the visa upon departure and arrival. Border control may also ask you for other documents. Find out what other documents you need in the checklist for travelling to the Netherlands.

Check what you need for travel to the Netherlands

Contact

Do you have a question about making an appointment at VFS Global or about the status of your application?

Contact VFS Global in South Africa

Do you have a question about something else?

Contact NetherlandsWorldwide