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Calls for e-visa system go unanswered

Simnikiwe Mzekandaba
By Simnikiwe Mzekandaba, IT in government editor
Johannesburg, 30 Jul 2015
Introduction of e-visas by the department is still an ongoing process.
Introduction of e-visas by the department is still an ongoing process.

The Democratic Alliance's (DA's) calls for the introduction of electronic visas (e-visas) for tourists visiting SA have gone unanswered, according to an official.

Last year, the DA launched a petition pushing for legislation to introduce e-visas; however, there has been no progress on the Department of Home Affairs' (DHA's) front to introduce an electronic visa system.

The party's shadow minister of tourism, James Vos, says unless the government implements an e-visa system and biometrics on arrival, it will be unable to achieve its tourism-related targets of more than 15 million foreign visitor arrivals annually by 2017.

According to the regulations by the DHA, visa applications need to be made by applicants in person, while people requiring to change the status of their visa from short-stay to long-stay would not be able to do so in SA, but only at embassies abroad.

"We've been calling for an e-visa system but they [DHA] have never take it up," says an official from the DA.

Meanwhile, last year home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba said the department would launch its visa application processes online, and e-visas would form a key part of the ongoing modernisation of the department.

However, it seems the e-visa system is yet to be launched.

DHA spokesman Thabo Mokgola says an e-visa system is one of the initiatives the department is working towards. "It has not been launched," he says.

Ministers at loggerheads

Meanwhile, a public spat over introduction of new visa rules has caused tension between tourism minister, Derek Hanekom, and Gigaba.

In June, the DHA introduced new child visa regulations with the aim of preventing child trafficking and child-custody disputes between divorced and separated parents.

The new regulations require South Africans and foreign nationals travelling with children under the age of 18 to present unabridged birth certificates.

According to Hanekom, the new visa requirements are hurting the tourism industry.

Hanekom told 702's John Robbie yesterday that the newly implemented visa regulations have had a huge impact on the industry.

"The figures for the first quarter show a worrying decline. There has been a considerable drop in tourism and this is worrying," said Hanekom.

We need to find a better way of curbing trafficking, he noted. "Trafficking is a problem; it probably was exaggerated as some of the figures were not very accurate."

We support the efforts of the DHA to combat child trafficking, to secure our country's borders but we need to find a better way of doing it, he explained.

Gigaba in turn slammed Hanekom for going outside normal Cabinet procedures, saying no one "should undermine" its processes.

The tourism industry is waiting to hear if Cabinet will change the new visa regulations.

No hijacking of e-visas

Further calls for an e-visa system can be expected following the hijacking of a courier vehicle transporting UK visa applications containing passports and supporting documents, earlier this week.

Isabel Potgieter, spokesperson for the British High Commission, confirmed a vehicle with UK visa application documents was hijacked.

Potgieter did not disclose the number of visa applicants affected as a result of the hijacking.

"We take the safety and protection of data for visa applications very seriously," she says.

Regarding whether a case has been opened with the South African Police Service, Potgieter could not give further details.

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