Immigration update: South Africa | E-Visas and visa waiver list

Update on e-Visas and Tunisia added to visa waiver list

On 01 December 2019, during a media briefing, the Minister of the Department of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, announced more reforms to the current visa regime.

Announcement

Testing of the E-visa application system as commenced in Kenya, the first tourist who applied for a visitors’ visa on the new e-Visa system arrived in South Africa on 30 November 2019 and more are expected as part of the pilot. In early 2020, China, India and Nigeria will be included in the pilot which will run until March 2020.

The Minister also announced that citizens from Tunisia no longer require visas to visit South Africa for holidays, conferencing and business meetings. South Africa has 83 countries on its visa waiver list. A list of the countries who are exempted from obtaining a visa before arrival to South Africa can be found here.

Background

On 19 September 2018, the South African Government announced that several changes will be made to make it easier for tourists, business people and academia to travel to South Africa. More detail on this announcement is available in our South African Immigration Update published on 25 September 2018. Subsequent announcements regarding this topic was published throughout 2019, most notably detailed in our updates published on 14 February 2018, 15 August 2019 and 29 November 2019.

Impact

This will have a positive impact on Tunisian citizens in that they no longer have to go through the process to secure a visa prior to travel to South Africa for holidays, conferencing or business meetings. Citizens from countries earmarked for the e-Visa rollout will also benefit from quicker processing times and an easier visa application process.

The progress made in the introduction of the e-Visa system and expansion of the list of countries who are exempt from visa for travel to South Africa takes South Africa a step closer to achieving the target of 21 million tourists by 2030, up from 10 million in 2018.

How Santa Fe can assist?

Santa Fe support businesses on any Immigration compliance and advisory issues concerning your expatriate population. We can review current employees’ visas and if it is found that the correct work visa is not in place we will assist with necessary corrective measures or solutions to ensure compliance.

We keep your business updated on ongoing developments on all South African immigration matters and will advise on any changes requiring your attention.

Should you have any questions, please contact:

Terence Rover
Immigration Manager – Africa
Santa Fe Relocation
Johannesburg, South Africa
D: +27 (0) 10 442 8933
M: +27 (0) 72 279 9606
E: Terence.Rover@santaferelo.com

Paolo Longo
Regional Immigration Director –  India, Middle East & Africa
Santa Fe Relocation
Johannesburg, South Africa
D: +27 (0) 10 595 2337
M: +27 (0) 83 677 7949
E: Paolo.longo@santaferelo.com

 

To read more immigration updates, click here

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Our immigration services manage thousands of visa applications every year for a multitude of international companies. Our experienced immigration experts and migration agents handle the immigration process for you and provide simple reporting and guidance on immigration matters.

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Santa Fe Relocation is a Global Mobility company specialising in managing and delivering high-quality relocation services worldwide. Our core competence is providing services that help corporations and their employees as well as individuals and their families to relocate and settle in new places. These services are delivered to a consistently high standard, locally and globally, and managed through our own operations around the world. For more information, visit us at www.santaferelo.com

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