The Tourism Business Council of South Africa (TBCSA) has welcomed the ratification by Cabinet of changes to unpopular immigration regulations, noting that, while the organisation required additional time to apply its mind to the various amendments – some of which it believed remained ambiguous – the changes represented an important concession by government.

Speaking to Engineering News Online on Friday, TBCSA CEO Matsatsi Ramawela said the organisation viewed the changes “in a positive light”, noting that “great strides” had been made in acknowledging the detrimental impact of earlier changes to visa requirements on tourism in the country.

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) came under fire from the private tourism sector earlier this year after it introduced strict regulations requiring visitors to provide biometric data when applying for visas – a challenge for tourists intending to travel from large countries such as China, which only hosted South African consulates in Beijing and Shanghai.

Further rules implemented in June required parents to carry unabridged birth certificates for their children when travelling to South Africa – a move heavily criticised by the tourism industry and one the Southern African Tourism Services Association believed would cost the domestic tourism industry $540-million in yearly revenue.

Following the public backlash, President Jacob Zuma in August announced the establishment of an inter-Ministerial committee (IMC) on the immigration regulations to investigate the unintended consequences of the new laws.

Having investigated and explored areas that could be adjusted to deal with both the security considerations and the undesirable impact of the legislation, Cabinet on Friday announced that it had, following a meeting on Wednesday, endorsed the committee’s recommendations.

The most significant regulatory change, Ramawela explained, was that, inbound children travelling from visa-exempt countries would no longer require unabridged original birth certificates, but were “strongly advised” to carry proof of the relation and consent from the parent or guardian.

The term “unabridged birth certificate” would also be changed to “birth certificate containing parental details”, while the details of the parents of South African children would be printed in the child’s passport, so that parents would not be required to carry birth certificates. 

Children travelling from countries that required visas would still need to provide original birth certificates or certified copies of required documents.
 
Moreover, the DHA would now accept posted visa applications from those living in countries where there was no South African mission. The biometrics and photos of those travellers would be captured on arrival at ports of entry. 

Pilot biometric sites would soon be established at the OR Tambo International Airport, in Johannesburg, the King Shaka Airport, in Durban and the Cape Town International Airport.

The DHA would, meanwhile, also introduce an Accredited Tourism Company Programme for China, India and Russia, with possible extensions to other visa-requiring countries.
 
It would also increase the number of visa facilitation centres (VHCs) in China, India, the UK, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Ghana, Kenya and Uganda and would fast-track the opening of VHCs in Zimbabwe, the United Arab Emirates and Botswana.
 
“Cabinet endorsed these recommendations and believes these will address the unintended consequences that were raised and also the safety of the children will not in any way be compromised.
 
“Cabinet further endorsed that the DHA should facilitate the legal instrument to implement the recommendations,” it said in a statement.

Ramawela added that the immigration legislation changes would signal a shift in the largely adversarial nature of the relationship between the DHA and the private tourism sector in recent months.

“We see this as an opportunity to start afresh with government and the DHA, as we have been perceived as confrontational in the past. We want to rebuild the relationship, so this is a step in the right direction,” she held.

The TBCSA would, meanwhile, continue to engage with government over what it believed were improvements that could still be made.

“We’ve already picked up on a few gaps in the legislation and a few areas of ambiguity, but we’ve called for a meeting and will discuss our concerns with government once we have had an opportunity to study the changes,” Ramawela said.

Cabinet, meanwhile, extended the life of the IMC to deal with any issues that may arise while implementing the Cabinet decision.

Also welcoming Friday’s Cabinet announcement, Grant Thornton advisory services director Lee-Anne Bac said the changes would make visa requirements for foreign tourists to South Africa far more streamlined and easier to obtain, thereby ensuring a much simpler process for travellers to South Africa.

“We are delighted with the amendments announced today. The additional announcements . . . regarding foreign minors no longer requiring unabridged birth certificates will further assist in simplifying travel requirements, which is encouraging for the local tourism sector. These changes will most definitely assist in getting the industry back on track,” she noted.