SA visa changes ‘confusing’

Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba on Tuesday failed to live up to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s promise of drastic changes to SA’s visa requirements, leaders in the tourism industry say.

He effectively retained the requirement for unabridged birth certificates for minors and failed to include crucial tourism markets on the list of countries for which visa requirements would be waived.

In 2015, it was estimated that some controversial visa regulations introduced by Gigaba in 2014 cost the industry R7.5 billion.

Last week, Ramaphosa announced that visa regulations would be relaxed as part of a crucial economic stimulus package.

However, Gigaba avoided the term “unabridged birth certificate” regarding foreign minors entering SA, saying instead of requiring them to carry documents proving parental consent “we will strongly recommend that travellers carry this documentation”.

Immigration officials would only insist on the documentation in high-risk cases, and instead of denying them entrance, travellers would have the opportunity to prove parental consent.

Southern Africa Tourism Services Association’s David Frost called this “an obfuscated message that will only to confuse travellers.

“This heavy-handed and nonsensical policy to combat child trafficking has no place in the modern economy. It should be dealt with through proper policing. We believe the requirement to produce unabridged birth certificates must be eliminated immediately.”

Gigaba also announced that several nationalities would not need visas. But Frost said: “We would have liked to see an immediate visa waiver for visitors from the Middle East and New Zealand” from which there has been a 30% decline in arrivals since visas were introduced.

Gigaba also said longerterm multiple-entry visas would be available to several visitor categories. Tourism Business Council of SA’s Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa welcomed this, but added that SA’s restrictive immigration laws have had a negative impact on tourism.