The Minister of Home Affairs, in South Africa Mr Aaron Motsoaledi, has hinted that the former apartheid country may add the trio o...
The Minister of Home Affairs, in South Africa Mr Aaron Motsoaledi, has hinted that the
former apartheid country may add the trio of Nigeria, India and China to its
list of
countries that can enter South Africa without a visa.
Last week, at a press conference, the Minister
announced the inclusion of seven countries on the list. These are Qatar, United
Arab Emirates, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Ghana and Sao Tome and
Principe.
Mr Motsoaledi explained that the nations were added
to the list so as to boost tourism in South Africa.
“Tourism will soar if we relax visa requirements for
entry into South Africa. We know that Tourism is very important for job
creation,” he said.
“Out of the 193 countries that are member states of
the United Nations, the Department has granted visa-free status to 75
countries. Of these 16 are in our continent and are SADC members and 59 are
from all over the world,” he added.
He said, “We will immediately enter into discussions
with them about how a visa-free regime will work. We still have some homework
to do for three countries whose combined populations make up close to 30
percent of the world’s population, this is, China, India and Nigeria.
“While we are busy tackling the matter of the three
countries, we shall increase the number
of people who work for Home Affairs to process visas in both China and India
thisyear . We shall increase two times the number of people who process visas
to our country in Nigeria,” the Minister said.
To make things easier for tourists, the deputy
minister of Home Affairs, Njabulo Nzuza, said an e-Visa regime would be fully
introduced in November 2019.
The e-Visa system will allow tourists and visitors
to South African apply for their visas online. These applications will then be
sent to a central adjudication and approval office, while the prospective
visitors “sit at the comfort of their own home”. The new system will also open
South Africa as a desirable destination through the ease of its visa systems,
the deputy minister said, adding that it will have huge tourism growth
implications for the country.
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