Johannesburg - Tourists are flocking back to South Africa`s game
parks, beaches and vineyards as a weaker currency and easing of visa
rules make holidays cheaper and more accessible.


The number of visitors to South Africa from outside the continent
increased by 19% over the five months through May, the Tourism
Ministry said on July 20.


The surging popularity among travellers from markets including the US
and Germany can be largely attributed to a weak rand, according to the
head of Africa`s largest hotels and casinos company, Tsogo Sun
Holdings.


"South Africa is on an absolute fire sale," Tsogo chief executive
officer Marcel Von Aulock said in an interview in Bloomberg`s
Johannesburg office this month. "We`ve always been a cheap destination
relative to international markets," and the falling currency has taken
that to extremes, he said.


South Africa`s international tourism boom represents a rare note of
optimism in an economy hampered by an unemployment rate of 27% and
projected by the SA Reserve Bank not to grow this year amid low
commodity prices and after the worst drought in more than a century.



The rand is the third-worst performer against the dollar among 16
major currencies tracked by Bloomberg over the past 12 months, having
declined 12%, and reached record lows against both the US currency and
euro earlier in 2016. While the currency had firmed to R14.3125
against the dollar as of 08:34 on Tuesday, that`s still weaker than
its level in November.


The government has softened rules introduced in 2014 that required
travellers from countries including China to apply for visas in
person, hurting demand in one of its fastest-growing tourism markets.


For prospective visitors

from China, for example, that meant
an often lengthy and costly trip to either Beijing or Shanghai.


Those restrictions, together with a condition that visitors
accompanied by children must present a detailed birth certificate,
contributed to a slowdown in international tourism arrivals in 2015.



With visas now easier to obtain through tour operators, Chinese
numbers were 50% higher in May than a year earlier, while those from
India increased by 37%, according to the Tourism Ministry.


"Those markets will recover quite quickly, I think, and will continue
to grow," Von Aulock said.


While the birth-certificate rule has been relaxed, the entry
requirements for children remain vague enough to deter some families,
said Mmatsatsi Ramawela, CEO of the Tourism Business Council of South
Africa. And although overseas tourist arrivals in 2016 to date are up
from the past two years, they are still only the highest since 2013,
according to Statistics South Africa data.


Events like the International Aids Conference in Durban this month
have increased the number of visitors, and concerns that terrorist
attacks have made Europe more dangerous are also diverting traffic to
the southern hemisphere, Ramawela said.


City Sightseeing, which operates hop-on-hop-off city tour buses, has
sold more tickets in Cape Town this year and has had to add vehicles
and drivers on some days, according to general manager Paul Nel.


Additional direct flights to the city have helped traffic, he said,
with Emirates adding a third daily service between Cape Town and Dubai
earlier this month. V.1674

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

 V.6133
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

 V.6130
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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

 V.6131
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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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