Visa regulations: Where is the review President Zuma promised?
22 May 2015
In 10 days’ time the new visa regulations will come into effect, which will have disastrous effects on our tourism industry. This is despite the fact that the review of visa regulations President Zuma “prioritised” in his SONA has yet to be convened.
President Zuma has once again blown a lot of hot air into the parliamentary chamber, in an attempt to pacify the tourism industry, yet has not delivered on his commitment. I will therefore personally be attending the Home Affairs Portfolio Committee next week Tuesday, to argue that the implementation of these regulations must be suspended until a review is instituted by way of a special task team.
The new visa regulations, which are set to apply from 1 June 2015, will require parents entering South Africa to provide an unabridged birth certificate of all travelling children. In addition, South Africans and foreigners have to provide details of the child's father and mother. This applies even when both parents are travelling with their children.
When children are travelling with guardians, these adults are required to produce affidavits from parents proving permission for the children to travel.