+27 (0)82 373 8415 info@sami.co.za Client Area login Assessment Form Visa Renewal Services


News Articles

Malusi Gigaba reveals relaxed visa rules

Source: Sowetan Live, 25/09/2018


The requirements for foreign minors travelling to South Africa are
tobe simplified‚ home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba said at a media
briefing on Tuesday.
An international travel advisory to this end will be issued by the end
of October after consultation with the Immigration Advisory Board.
Cumbersome visa application processes have had a negative effect on
tourism and cabinet has decided that they be amended as part of the
economic stimulus package announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
“The key changes will be that‚ rather than requiring all foreign
national travelling minors to carry documentation proving parental
consent for the travelling minor to travel‚ we will rather strongly
recommend that travellers carry this documentation‚” Gigaba said.
“Our immigration officials will only insist on documentation by
exception �` in high-risk situations �` rather than for all travellers
in line with practice by several other countries. Rather than denying
entry where documentation is absent‚ travellers will be given an
opportunity to prove parental consent. South African minors will still
be required to prove parental consent when leaving our borders.”
Gigaba said these changes would be implemented in time for the festive
season‚ when many people would be travelling with children.
The minister said his department was reviewing the visa regime for
African countries outside the Southern African Development Community
(SADC). Currently 15 of the 16 SADC countries do not require visas to
visit SA‚ with the exception of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Of
SA’s top 10 African tourist markets‚ only Nigeria has a visa
requirement for ordinary passport holders.
Gigaba said negotiations were being finalised to conclude visa waiver
agreements for ordinary passport holders from Algeria‚ Egypt‚ Morocco‚
Sao Tome & Principe‚ Tunisia‚ the Sahrawi-Arab Democratic Republic and
Ghana in Africa; from Saudi Arabia‚ United Arab Emirates‚ Qatar‚ State
of Palestine‚ Iran‚ Lebanon‚ Bahrain‚ Oman and Kuwait in the Middle
East; Belarus and Georgia in Eastern Europe; and Cuba in the Caribbean.
Visa requirements for India and China �` both in the top 10 tourism
markets �` will be simplified as from next month by making provision
for taking biometrics on arrival in SA; allowing visa applications via
courier; and issuing five-year‚ multiple-entry visas.
“We will consider easing similarly travel restrictions for certain
categories of visitors for other countries‚ including Nigeria‚ Kenya
and Uganda‚” Gigaba said.
Another measure to ease the movement of travellers has been the
implementation of a three-year‚ multiple-entry visa for frequent
trusted travellers to SA and a 10-year‚ multiple-entry visa for
business people and academics from Africa.
Business people from China and India will be issued a 10-year‚
multiple-entry visa within five days of application. The critical
skills list will be reviewed by April 2019.
Gigaba said SA was currently finalising the development of a new
biometric movement control system‚ which will be piloted at Cape Town
and Lanseria international airports.
The development of an e-visa was at an advanced stage and would be
piloted in New Zealand by April next year‚ Gigaba said. E-gates will
be piloted at OR Tambo‚ Cape Town and King Shaka international
airports by 2019. This would allow returning South Africans as well as
certain categories of trusted travellers to be processed
electronically rather than having to interact with an immigration officer.


Search

Search

Latest News

  •    This was revealed in the 2025 Easter border operations report, which saw border management authority officials, saps officers and home affairs workers intensify efforts to prevent illegal travel into the country over the holiday period.JOHANNESBURG - Zimbabwean nationals have been identified as the leading individuals attempting to illegally gain entry into South Africa.... Read more...
  •    THE High Court has nullified the re-registration of a birth certificate for a child born out of wedlock, ordering the Registrar-General to strike it from the records.This ruling declared the birth certificate invalid, questioning the legality of attributing paternity to a deceased man decades after his death.The dispute arose from a contested inheritance involving the late Lazarus Mkudu’s estate.Teresiah Mkudu, the applicant, sought a declaratory order to invalidate Ruvimbo Manyonda’s birth certificate, issued nearly 20 years after Mkudu’s death.... Read more...
  •    Residents from 34 countries can now apply for a visa to South Africa online. There are now 34 countries that can apply for a visa to South Africa online, which National Treasury says will help attract more tourists and skills into the country.This was trumpeted in Wednesday`s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) as being one of the key successes of Operation Vulindlela. Operation Vulindlela is a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to assist in the acceleration of critical reforms needed to accelerate the economy.... Read more...
  •    Residents from 34 countries can now apply for a visa to South Africa online. There are now 34 countries that can apply for a visa to South Africa online, which National Treasury says will help attract more tourists and skills into the country.This was trumpeted in Wednesday`s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) as being one of the key successes of Operation Vulindlela. Operation Vulindlela is a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to assist in the acceleration of critical reforms needed to accelerate the economy.... Read more...
  •    Residents from 34 countries can now apply for a visa to South Africa online. There are now 34 countries that can apply for a visa to South Africa online, which National Treasury says will help attract more tourists and skills into the country.This was trumpeted in Wednesday`s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) as being one of the key successes of Operation Vulindlela. Operation Vulindlela is a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to assist in the acceleration of critical reforms needed to accelerate the economy.... Read more...
  •    Residents from 34 countries can now apply for a visa to South Africa online. There are now 34 countries that can apply for a visa to South Africa online, which National Treasury says will help attract more tourists and skills into the country.This was trumpeted in Wednesday`s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) as being one of the key successes of Operation Vulindlela. Operation Vulindlela is a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to assist in the acceleration of critical reforms needed to accelerate the economy.... Read more...
  •    Residents from 34 countries can now apply for a visa to South Africa online. There are now 34 countries that can apply for a visa to South Africa online, which National Treasury says will help attract more tourists and skills into the country.This was trumpeted in Wednesday`s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) as being one of the key successes of Operation Vulindlela. Operation Vulindlela is a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to assist in the acceleration of critical reforms needed to accelerate the economy.... Read more...
  •    Residents from 34 countries can now apply for a visa to South Africa online. There are now 34 countries that can apply for a visa to South Africa online, which National Treasury says will help attract more tourists and skills into the country.This was trumpeted in Wednesday`s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) as being one of the key successes of Operation Vulindlela. Operation Vulindlela is a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to assist in the acceleration of critical reforms needed to accelerate the economy.... Read more...
  •    Residents from 34 countries can now apply for a visa to South Africa online. There are now 34 countries that can apply for a visa to South Africa online, which National Treasury says will help attract more tourists and skills into the country.This was trumpeted in Wednesday`s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) as being one of the key successes of Operation Vulindlela. Operation Vulindlela is a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to assist in the acceleration of critical reforms needed to accelerate the economy.... Read more...
  •    Residents from 34 countries can now apply for a visa to South Africa online. There are now 34 countries that can apply for a visa to South Africa online, which National Treasury says will help attract more tourists and skills into the country.This was trumpeted in Wednesday`s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) as being one of the key successes of Operation Vulindlela. Operation Vulindlela is a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to assist in the acceleration of critical reforms needed to accelerate the economy.... Read more...
South Africa Immigration Company