DIRCO sheds light on Dalai Lama visa application

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Pretoria - The South African government did not refuse to grant the Dalai Lama a visa, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has clarified.

According to the department, the spiritual leader cancelled his trip to the country while his application was still under consideration.

"The South African government respects the Dalai Lama's personal decision to cancel the trip," DIRCO said.

According to the South African High Commission in New Delhi, on 29 August, the Dalai Lama's office informed the High Commission that they wanted to submit his visa application without the original passport, DIRCO said.

"For a visa application to be considered, it must be accompanied by the original passport of the applicant. The office of the Dalai Lama was informed of this. The original passport was only submitted on 20 September 2011," DIRCO said.

DIRCO also stressed that its foreign policy was independent and decisions were made based on its domestic interests.

"A visa application in any country is subjected to the normal due process and the outcome is communicated to the applicant. The same principle applies in this case," said the department