New visa regulations deferred
Unabridged birth certificates are not needed yet in order to apply for a travel visa.
ZULULANDERS planning on travelling abroad with their children can breath a sigh of relief after Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba’s announcement that the new immigration regulations, due to come in to effect on 1 October, have been deferred until end May 2015.
The new immigration regulations require South African travellers to apply for unabridged birth certificates to travel internationally with their children under the age of 18.
The Association of Southern African Travel Agents (ASATA) has welcomed Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba’s announcement.
The deferment comes following months of fervent lobbying by ASATA and its trade association partners in South Africa, including meetings with both the Minister and Deputy Minister, letters to the Ministry and opinion pieces in the press, to raise awareness of the negative impact these new immigration regulations would have on the travel and tourism sectors and the shortfalls in the ability of Home Affairs to meet their own objectives regarding various amendments to the Immigration Act.
Blessing in disguise
According to WW Travel, Nicola Stone the deferment is a blessing in disguise. ‘The new immigration regulations, if they had been implemented in October, would have had a negative impact on tourism in the country. It would make it more difficult for foreigners who want to visit our country to get it and harder for South Africans and their families to get out. This may deter tourists from visiting our country, making them change their plans to go somewhere else, where it is a lot easy for them to gain entry.’
Since the regulations were announced in May, ASATA has been working relentlessly to drive engagement with the Ministry and the outbound travel sector to ensure better understanding of the issues, practical implications and minimal confusion and disruption to the travelling public.
‘We are grateful to have had the opportunity to address our concerns with Minister Gigaba regarding the impact of these new immigration regulations and pleased that these concerns have been heard and reacted to in this way.’
‘We look forward to engaging with the department over the next few months to find a suitable solution for all parties involved, including the appointment of a joint government industry task team that will work to fully understand the objectives, identify international best practice and how these should be implemented effectively for SA. We also need to devise and roll-out a global public awareness and information campaign,’ explained ASATA CEO Otto de Vries.
