South Africa to open up e-visas to 20 more countries

South Africa will expand its electronic visa processing platform (e-visas) to a further 20 nationalities in the months ahead.

South Africa is a country that generally welcomes visitors and grants visa-free entry to a number of nationalities.

However, there are some foreign nationals that do require visas to pass through the country’s borders.

ENTRY TO SA

A number of visitors wish to travel to South Africa but are often deterred by lengthy visa delays and arduous visa application processes. This has resulted in South Africa’s tourism sector losing income.

With visa processing having been an issue for a number of nationals that require visas for entry to South Africa, SA’s Department of Home Affairs rolled out an electronic visa platform for several nationalities in March last year.

This made travel to SA more convenient for a handful of nations that require visas to enter the country.

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E-VISAS FOR SA

Launched last year, South Africa’s e-visa platform offers e-visas to only a few nationalities.

South Africa’s e-Visa system is currently in place for nationals from 14 countries: Kenya, Cameroon, Iran, Egypt, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Mexico, India, China, Nigeria and Uganda.

This service is only available for these nationalities but they are required to enter South Africa through Johannesburg’s OR Tambo International Airport.

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EXPANSION OF PLATFORM

According to Businesstech, South Africa’s e-Visa system will be expanded in the coming months, to allow electronic visas to be made available to an additional 20 countries.

The 20 nationalities that will be added to South Africa’s e-visa programme in the coming financial year include:

• Albania
• Algeria
• Belarus
• Bulgaria
• Cuba
• Comoros
• Congo
• Croatia
• Ghana
• Guinea
• Indonesia
• Ivory Coast
• Lithuania
• Liberia
• Mali
• Morocco
• Niger
• Romania
• Senegal
• Slovak Republic

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