South Africa’s new visa rules take effect from 1 December â€` here’s what you need to know

Source: Bustech, 30/11/2018

The Department of Home Affairs has published an amendment to the
Immigration Act which is set to have major implications for
immigrants, tourism and the economy.

The changes â€` which will come into effect from 1 December â€` were first
mooted as part of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s economic stimulus
package revealed in September.

Arguably the biggest change will be the reversal of a rule introduced
by former Home Affairs minister, Malusi Gigaba, which required foreign
minors travelling to South Africa to produce an unabridged birth
certificate before being allowed access into the country.

This birth certificate requirement has been a major point of
controversy, with a 2016 report released by the DA finding that the
rule cost the country as much as R7.5 billion due to lost business
from blocked tourists.
Other changes include:
• Revised rules for spouses entering the country as part of a
permanent homosexual or heterosexual relationship.
• Revised rules for applicants of a general work, business, and
corporate visas.
• Changes for applicants of permanent residency or residency on other
grounds.
More changes expected
While these changes are likely to be welcomed, they form only a small
part of the proposed immigration changes expected to be introduced in
the coming months.
Prior to his resignation former Home Affairs minister, Malusi Gigaba,
said that visitors from India and China will also not have to apply
for visas in person at a South African embassy, while business
travellers from those nations will be issued with 10-year
multiple-entry visas within five days of application.
Other proposed changes include the relaxation of rules for other
countries, with visitors from the UK, US, Germany, France, the
Netherlands, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Russia and Angola expected to
be exempted.
The government also plans to smooth the clearance of travellers
through the busiest border posts, by installing a biometric
movement-control system. The new system is nearing completion, with
several pilot sites already up and running.

Economic impact

Cannon Asset Managers investment analyst, Tlotliso Phakisi, said that
the urgent amendment of South Africa’s stifling visa regime could be
the quick fix needed to drag the country out of the economic doldrums.
“Introduced under Gigaba’s leadership, the tourism industry has been
hamstrung for a number of years by unfriendly visa requirements that
have negatively impacted the number of tourists entering the country,”
he said.
“In particular, the controversial requirement that visitors travelling
with children under the age of 18 years provide their unabridged birth
certificates (UBC) upon entering or exiting has proven especially
damaging to tourism numbers.”
Citing figures from the Tourism Business Council of South Africa
(TBCSA), Phakisi said that over 13,246 travellers were prevented from
entering the country between June 2015 and June 2016 after failing to
meet the UBC requirements â€` losing the country many millions in
potential revenue.
“Despite this, however, tourism has been one of the few sectors in the
country to consistently show promise and resilience in terms of both
job creation and economic growth over the past few years,
demonstrating its potential as the lever needed for turning things
around in the short term,” he said.
“These figures help to underscore the extent to which tourism has
outperformed other key industries in job creation. And when compared
to other countries’ tourism receipts, it becomes clear that tourism
should be an easy win for South Africa, especially given our rich
natural and cultural heritage.”
Phakisi said that New Zealand was able to attract $10 billion in
tourist receipts in 2017, while Singapore, a country that is 0.006%
the size of South Africa in terms of land area, was able to bring in
$20 billion â€` more than twice that of South Africa.
“This highlights that to unlock the potential of tourism to stimulate
our economy, all we have to do is take our thumb off the
administrative pipeline that chokes the industry,” he said.
“And perhaps of even greater importance is that the cost of this
tourism sector stimulus is zero or even negative â€` meaning that it
will free up resources as we reduce administrative and regulatory
requirements.”
“Ultimately Ramaphosa’s stimulus plan and particularly visa reforms
should be welcomed as the quick fix needed to ignite economic growth
and turn the tide on unemployment.”