René Stegmann

 ‘Not all diplomats understand new visa rules – EWN – 3 June 2015

Provincial officials say the new policy has derailed an Indian tour group’s plans to travel to the country.

CAPE TOWN – Western Cape Economic Development MEC Alan Winde said it has become evident not all South African diplomatic officials stationed abroad understand the new visa regulations.

Provincial officials said the new policy has derailed an Indian tour group’s plans to travel to the country after a child in the group wasn’t granted a visa because of confusion around the unabridged birth certificate requirement.

This is despite the fact that both parents’ details appear on an Indian passport.

Winde said it’s up to Home Affairs to ensure all officials are up to speed with the new rules.

“Home Affairs need to establish that every single one of our embassies and consulates are up to speed, double check that everybody understands what the process is.”

Minors from visa-exempt countries are required to have an unabridged birth certificate when entering the country.

IMPACT ON TOURISM

On Monday, the tourism industry described the new regulations as impractical and an extra burden which will lead to disinvestment.

It affects tourists who want to travel to South Africa as they must now personally visit South African embassies abroad while minors need an unabridged birth certificate.

Single parents will also need to provide affidavits of consent from absent parents when travelling with a child.

The Home Affairs Department’s Mayihlome Tshwete said there have been concerns over unabridged birth certificates, but this has now been resolved.

“We’re able as a government and as home affairs to now read birth certificates that are not translated.”

The South African Tourism Services Association (Satsa), which represents more than 1,000 companies, said it will consult members and decide how to challenge the new regulations.

Satsa’s David Frost said the new regulations mean chaos.

“People in Bulgaria are totally oblivious to this and when they arrive in Frankfurt, South African Airways (SAA) asks them, ‘Where is your birth certificate ‘and they don’t have any. They have a prepaid non-refundable holiday and they’re put on a plane and sent back to Bulgaria.”

He said the tourism industry will suffer severely.

At the same time, some role players in the tourism industry are considering challenging the new visa regulations in the courts.

Frost said, “I think they are making it up as the go along. There is no best practice internationally. We are the only country in the world that is introducing this and you would think if it was such a light bulb moment more sophisticated countries that have been dealing with child trafficking for many years will go down this route. This is actual lunacy.”

René Stegmann

Visa rules may be reviewed – Radebe

Cable Car ImageJune 1 2015 – Sechaba ka’Nkosi Business Report  

INDEPENDENT MEDIA The cable car to the top of Cape Town’s Table Mountain. Tourism has taken a knock with South Africa’s visa regulations. Photo: Adrian de Kock

Johannesburg – The government was considering reviewing the controversial visa regulations, Minister in the Presidency Jeff Radebe said.

Radebe told a World Economic Forum (WEF) pre-briefing in Johannesburg on Friday that the government had been inundated with calls for a review amid fears that the regulations might stifle growth, particularly in the tourism and hospitality industries. He said the government had prioritised the revision of the regulations as a matter of extreme urgency.

“We are looking at all issues that have been raised pertaining the visa regulations,” said Radebe. “Despite the noble intentions of these immigration policies, they have had an unintended consequence which needs to be addressed.”

The WEF begins its three-day 25th forum on Africa in Cape Town from Wednesday to discuss among other issues harnessing the informal economy, migration and combating the rise of terrorism on the continent.

The government’s change of heart on visa regulations comes amid fears that the country and the tourism industry, in particular, stand to lose nearly R7 billion as big markets such as China and India cancel their bookings to South Africa.

Last week reports emerged that Air China had cancelled the launch of direct flights to South Africa over the regulations.

Radebe said the regulations would form part of the government’s reforms on migration policy to ensure that South Africa remained the number one tourist destination in Africa.

Reformed policy

“That matter is on the agenda and we are working very closely with the tourism minister in order to ensure that at the end of the day when we come up with these new reformed immigration policy it will take into account all the concerns that have been raised by the industry,” Radebe said.

“We will make the changes as soon as we can get all the information because it is a matter that we are dealing with as matter of extreme urgency. That is why now we are relooking at the whole matter of visa regulations.”

WEF Head of Africa Elsie Kanza said the meeting should also look at how far Africa had progressed regarding its infrastructure development programmes.

Kanza said the meeting would provide Africa with an opportunity to share with other continents on how the migration policies could be enhanced.

“What we are also seeing is a strong interest in the underlying causes of migration that force people to leave their countries to seek a better life elsewhere,” said Kanza. “If you look at the way people have handled migration, it has to talk to human rights and has to mitigate the impact that these have on people’s movements from one area to the next.”

Kanza said the visa regulation problem in South Africa was an issue that needed more than just addressing the policy, but it also had to look at the full integration of the African continent into one economic powerhouse.

Kanza estimated that such an integration would cost more than R600bn.

“A challenge to fast track integration is the fact that many developing countries actually lack connecting infrastructures, that is why this is a critical topic and that is why we will have a full session on that,” said Kanza.

“Closing the gap on infrastructures will cost about $50 billion (R600bn),” she said.

René Stegmann
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The regulations with respect to minors travelling – South African Immigration

Here is a great document referring to categories of travel and what the requirements at port of entry will be South Africa Regulations in respect with Minors Travelling.  For further information on the matter please contact us tracy@relocationafrica.co.za.Travel with minors

René Stegmann

South African Immigration Regulations are Crippling Language Schools

Click to read the article published in the Cape Argus on how the South African immigration regulations are crippling the Language Schools Language schools.  Email us for all your immigration requirements tracy@relocationafrica.com.