Pretoria – The tourism sector in South Africa has expressed satisfaction with the amendments made in the immigration regulations by the Department of Home Affairs to ensure that tourists travel with ease.
The industry had raised concerns over the immigration regulations introduced by the Department of Home Affairs last year. Some of the regulations required parents or guardians travelling with minors to produce an unabridged birth certificate at ports of entry. At the time, tourism stakeholders said this would impact negatively on tourism.
Addressing the media in Pretoria on Friday, Home Affairs Director-General Mkuseli Apleni said his department remains committed to easing the implementation of the amended immigration legislation and regulations.
“We are hard at work to fully implement these concessions, understanding this to be in the interest of the country, its citizens and other persons.
“The general consensus is that we are indeed on course, with notable progress being made,” he said.
David Frost, the Chief Executive Officer of the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association (SATSA), commended Home Affairs over progress made to implement the concessions that Cabinet made last year to ease the implementation of the amended immigration legislation and regulations.
“I want to commend the Department of Home Affairs for the work done. This is an incredible process,” he said.
Frost said the new developments will end the differences that existed between the sector and the Department of Home Affairs.
In a bid to address concerns raised by the tourism sector, Cabinet appointed an Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) to look at the concerns and come up with recommendations on how best to proceed in the best interests of all.
A briefing session with key stakeholders was held in December in Sandton, where the concessions were clarified, and timelines clearly outlined to ensure there was no confusion on the process.
The actions that were to be taken in the immediate phase, within the first three months that followed the Cabinet decision, were to:
- implement the capturing of biometrics at ports of entry, starting with a pilot at OR Tambo, King Shaka and Cape Town airports;
- look at introducing an Accredited Tourism Company Programme for countries like China, India and Russia;
- Consider a long-term multiple entry visa for a period exceeding three months and up to three years for frequent travellers for business meetings, business people and academics;
- ensure that principals issue letters confirming permission for children to travel on school tours, and
- extend the validity of the parental consent affidavit to six months.
The implementation and capturing of biometrics at ports of entry took off successfully at OR Tambo International Airport, King Shaka International Airport and Cape Town International Airport.
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba launched this pilot project, on biometric capturing at OR Tambo International Airport on 15 December 2015.
This was after the Department of Home Affairs had developed, in November 2015, electronic Movement Control System (eMCS) Biometric fingerprint capability at ports of entry.
The pilot was implemented at Lanseria (using two counters initially, and currently five counters), King Shaka (five counters), Cape Town (four counters initially, currently eight) and OR Tambo (eight counters in the Transit Area).
From January 2016, training has been provided to immigration officials by the Department’s Learning Academy, to ensure efficient use and management of the system. – SAnews.gov.za
