By October 2019 you would need an e-visa if you are interested in traveling to South Africa. This is because South Africa has concluded all plans to reform its current visa regime.
“We’re now at the stage where we’re doing functional testing, once that’s done we’ll do a proper pilot with a few countries,” said South Africa’s Home Affairs acting director-general Thulani Mavuso.“Once that’s completed we’ll go into production.”
With this, South Africa said it is targeting people with highly sought after skills who will boost investment in the country.
“They [e-Visas] provide predictability, people will be able to stay longer in South Africa; people will be able to study etc. The realisation of the visa regime will literally allow us to double our tourism numbers internationally,” said South Africa’s Department of Tourism spokesperson Blessing Manale.
The Implication of This
Currently, all visitors to South Africa have to spend several hours or days at several South African missions overseas in order to get visas or at the port of entry into South Africa. This is even made worse because the port of entry visas are not issued on arrival at South African ports of entry to foreigners who are subject to South African visa control — such foreigners arriving without visas shall be refused entry into the Republic of South Africa and placed on return flights.
But all that is about to change. With an e-Visa which can, of course, be obtained easily anywhere with an internet connection and which saves time that you would otherwise spend on visa applications at South African foreign missions or at the ports of entry into South Africa (if you are eligible), access to South or denial from visiting South Africa can be stamped right from the comfort of your home.
Manale was merely saying what was obvious. South Africa’s visa regime had previously been one of the constraints for tourism, and the roll-out of the e-visas will be beneficial for both tourists and for the local economy. The system will also save people a lot of time as they spend much less time at airports and waiting for administration approval.
It Doesn’t Stop At e-VISA, New e-Gates Are Coming
With e-Visa follows e-gates. South Africa’s Home Affairs is also planning to pilot new e-gates at a number of South African airports in 2019.
The gates will first be piloted at Cape Town International Airport and will form part of the implementation of the Biometric Movement Control System (BMCS).
A further rollout will be done in a phased approach, with OR Tambo, and King Shaka International airports to follow.
Eight of the top ten countries who visit South Africa come from states that don’t need visas to enter the country. More than two-thirds of all the country’s visitors come from these ten countries. Source: Statistics South Africa
“The broad objective of the project is the facilitation of movement of low-risk travellers through a self-service solution, hence freeing capacity for the assessment of high-risk categories by an immigration officer,” the spokesperson said.
“In line with the risk-based approach to managing migration, the first phase will focus on South African passport holders (excluding minors).”
Charles Rapulu Udoh
Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based Lawyer with special focus on Business Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Entertainment and Technology Law. He is also an award-winning writer. Working for notable organizations so far has exposed him to some of industry best practices in business, finance strategies, law, dispute resolution, and data analytics both in Nigeria and across the world.