South Africa’s Department of Tourism spokesperson, Blessing Manale, has announced the country’s first ever e-visas will be issued in New Zealand in April.
First announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the Union (SONA) address in February this year, the new visas will allow tourists to apply for a visa online. The current system requires tourists to visit a South African embassy to be granted a visa. But, once the new e-visa is granted, tourists can easily print the e-visa at the comfort of their home.
During an interview with BusinessTech, Manale said that the e-visas are currently in the final stages of testing and will be first trialed in New Zealand before getting rolled out for other countries.
“We have been informed that they are currently testing system software, back of the office, data security and integration,” he said.
Manale added that South Africa’s visa regime had previously been one of the constraints for tourism. He said he believes the new e-visas, alongside relaxed visa rules for minors in December, will hopefully help to grow the country’s international tourism industry. The new e-visa system will also likely save people a lot of time as they spend much less time at airports and waiting for administration approval.
“Most countries operate under the principle of reciprocity meaning that if a country gives certain visa privileges, they must be returned,” he said. “However, it is part of the department’s strategy to relax these rules for countries such as New Zealand and Australia because South Africa stands to benefit more from tourists from these countries.”
In addition, Manale said South Africa is also finalising the development of a new biometric movement control system which will be piloted at Cape Town and Lanseria International Airports. Some other improvements include the introduction of long multiple entry visas for frequent and trusted travellers to South Africa, and simplified visa requirements specifically for China and India.
The South African government is aiming to have 21 million tourists visiting the country by 2030, up from 10 million in 2018.
