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Tourism: Visa waivers not extended to massive Chinese market

Source: Business day, 29/12/2023

Australia has left SA behind in its ease of access for travellers. Visas can be done in different languages and take no time at all.

Say cheese. An SA-Australia matrix study conducted by the South African Tourism Services Association has revealed in 2019, Australia recorded a surge to 10.3 million Chinese tourists, compared to South Africaâ€™s one million.

South Africa is losing out on a potential tourism bonanza from visitors from China because visa red tape and inefficiency at the department of home affairs is strangling this virtually untapped market. The same is true of other countries in Asia, says an expert. The Chinese market is huge, even in global terms ï¿½` and is growing.

Before the Covid pandemic in 2020, 115 million Chinese travelled abroad, yet just 100 000 of them came to South Africa. According to Cape tourism marketing body Wesgro, Chinese tourists spent an estimatedâ€¦ contributing a combined total of $12 billion to the Australian economy

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If you are visiting SA or already here on a visa, take this as a public-interest warning. In 2025, a quiet, but sharp, shift has taken hold inside parts of home affairs adjudication ranks: applications are being refused almost mechanically if they were not submitted at least 60 days before visa expiry.A wave of refusals repeating near-identical wording:The applicant did not submit his/her application no less than 60 days prior to the expiry date of his/her.

The rigid application of this rule, devoid of consideration for mitigating circumstances, raises serious concerns about the fairness and legality of such administrative decisions.

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