“Just Marry Mavis”: Canadian Man Stunned by 6-Month Visitor Visa Wait for SA Girlfriend To Visit

• Canadian expat Daniel, who lives in South Africa, shared a video calling out the lengthy Canadian visitor visa wait times for South Africans
• Official Canadian immigration data showed South Africans face an estimated 178 to 185 days — nearly six months — to receive a visitor visa
• Daniel also highlighted how neighbouring African countries face even longer waits, with Eswatini topping the list at over 800 days

A Canadian expat living in South Africa got a rude awakening when he looked into how long it would take his South African girlfriend to visit him in Canada. Daniel, known online as Daniel in Africa, shared his frustration in a Facebook reel posted on 29 October 2026, and it struck a nerve with viewers who know the struggle all too well.

The trigger was simple. Daniel was heading back to Canada for a month and wanted Mavis, his South African girlfriend, to join him. He quickly discovered that while he could obtain a South African visa in roughly 20 minutes, Mavis faces an estimated wait of between 178 and 185 days for a Canadian visitor visa, nearly six months, making the trip impossible.

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African countries face the longest Canadian visa waits

What started as a personal grievance turned into a wider investigation. Daniel looked into Canadian immigration processing times across different regions and found a dramatic gap between African nations and the rest of the world. Countries such as China and the Philippines have waiting times of around 20 and 25 days, respectively, while Southern and Eastern African countries sit at the end of the scale.

Zambia clocks in at 336 days, Botswana at 567 days, and Eswatini at a staggering 804 days, more than two years. Daniel questioned what was happening at the Canadian immigration office responsible for processing Southern African applications and invited viewers with immigration experience to weigh in.

Watch Daniel break down the numbers in his Facebook video here.

Mzansi reacts to Daniel's visa frustration

South Africans and expats in the comments section had plenty to say:

@Jonathan Hubble said: "

"Yes, unfortunately, it does take that long. I have many clients still waiting on that particular visa; at one stage it took even longer!"

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@Ashleigh Fincham joked:

"Just marry Mavis 😅."

@George Machun offered a different perspective:

"Try getting a resident visa in SA if you are an American. It takes years, literally."

@Bianca Abrahams weighed in:

"It's more to do with fraudulent documents than anything else. Our visa-free list is also so small, it's ridiculous."

@Taxx Chaks wrote:

"Canada prefers all other countries and cares less about Africa. That has been its stance for years."

Other articles about visas

• Thailand has cut the visa-free stay for South African passport holders from 60 days to 30 days under revised immigration rules aimed at curbing overstays and tourist privilege abuse.
• The United States of America published an updated list of 42 countries eligible for its Visa Waiver Programme, allowing their citizens to travel visa-free for up to 90 days, while excluding all African nations, including South Africa.
• Briefly News reported that proposed US visa rules requiring travellers to submit five years of social media history and sensitive personal data have sparked massive global outrage.

Source: Briefly News