The South African Embassy has been inundated with calls from confused travellers after the country made changes to its visa rules.
Photo: 123rf
From 16 January, New Zealanders will need a three-month holiday visa in order to visit South Africa, the country’s government has said.
The changes are a retaliation, after New Zealand dropped visa-free travel for South Africans.
Air New Zealand has warned travellers who would arrive before that date but would not leave until after that they would be unable to leave the country without the visa.
Flights back to New Zealand before the change were already almost fully booked.
Former Auckland deputy mayor Penny Hulse was expecting to fly to South Africa on 29 December and return on 17 January.
She said Air NZ would not let her fly without the visa and travellers would have to travel to Wellington to get the visa, which could be was costly and difficult at this time of year.
“It’s thrown everything sideways, and the difficulty is not necessarily the visa but the fact that we have to fly to Wellington and obtain a visa face to face.
“And trying to do that a week before Christmas is chaos.”
However, South Africa’s High Commissioner to New Zealand Zodwa Lallie said the country’s Home Office would clarify early next week which travellers needed to obtain a visa.
“If we state that [the visa is required] on and after the 16th of January, then one would not expect that on your return you’d be expected to produce a document you were not required to have before you leave New Zealand,” she said.
“That would be unreasonable in my view.”
Ms Lallie said the January date was decided to avoid disrupting people’s Christmas plans.
Happy New Year from Relocation Africa
17 Reasons Why Every Foreigner Must Visit Kenya Before 2016 Is Over
– Kenyans on Twitter reminisced about some 2016 trends, giving them a hilarious spin.
– They used these reasons to tell foreigners, and clueless people, why they should visit Kenya.
It’s the holidays and everyone is in a relaxed, partying mood. Summer bunnies are jetting in and Team Mafisi are gravitating towards them.
But then there are those who are still shying away but have been keenly following Kenyan news as they think about if they should turn up in Kenya.
Well, here are some of the hilarious reasons why Kenyans are inviting foreigners to visit their country and see wonders only Kenyans can hack:
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South African Visa Change Confuses Travellers
The South African Embassy has been inundated with calls from confused travellers after the country made changes to its visa rules.
Photo: 123rf
From 16 January, New Zealanders will need a three-month holiday visa in order to visit South Africa, the country’s government has said.
The changes are a retaliation, after New Zealand dropped visa-free travel for South Africans.
Air New Zealand has warned travellers who would arrive before that date but would not leave until after that they would be unable to leave the country without the visa.
Flights back to New Zealand before the change were already almost fully booked.
Former Auckland deputy mayor Penny Hulse was expecting to fly to South Africa on 29 December and return on 17 January.
She said Air NZ would not let her fly without the visa and travellers would have to travel to Wellington to get the visa, which could be was costly and difficult at this time of year.
“It’s thrown everything sideways, and the difficulty is not necessarily the visa but the fact that we have to fly to Wellington and obtain a visa face to face.
“And trying to do that a week before Christmas is chaos.”
However, South Africa’s High Commissioner to New Zealand Zodwa Lallie said the country’s Home Office would clarify early next week which travellers needed to obtain a visa.
“If we state that [the visa is required] on and after the 16th of January, then one would not expect that on your return you’d be expected to produce a document you were not required to have before you leave New Zealand,” she said.
“That would be unreasonable in my view.”
Ms Lallie said the January date was decided to avoid disrupting people’s Christmas plans.
Namibia, Zambia Airports Implement New Charges
Airports in Namibia and Zambia have implemented new passenger charges, effective immediately.
The Namibian Airports Company has introduced an Airport Security Charge of NAD71 (R71) per passenger on all flights from all of Namibia’s airports.
The Civil Aviation Authority in Zambia has implemented a new passenger safety charge of US$10 (R137) per passenger for departures from all Zambian airports.
According to Air Namibia’s country manager for South Africa, Margaret de Gois, the new charges will be added to tickets and will appear in the fare breakdown as an additional charge.
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