UK Couple’s Dream Trip to South Africa Turns Into Bureaucratic Immigration Nightmare

An elderly couple from London sailed right into a bureaucratic nightmare when their ship docked in Cape Town last week, and – thanks to a bureaucratic error – they were banned from entering South Africa for five years.

The couple – Joan (88) and Alexander Klein (93) – were on a Crystal Cruise, sailing from Mauritius to Cape Town.

Their daughter, Michelle Humphreys, turned to social media for help, explaining that when the ship docked in Cape Town, on 23 December, “the immigration officer declared that their passports had not been exit stamped on their last stay in South Africa in December 2014, when embarking on a cruise from Cape Town to Singapore!

“As there was no exit stamp, the immigration officer has accused my parents of illegally remaining in S. Africa for the last 649 days & has issued them with a Declaration of Foreigner as an undesirable person, effectively banning them from entering the country for 5 years effective immediately!!”

Michelle says the immigration officer refused to look at more than 10 visa stamps in their passports for countries they have passed through in the last 2 years, which prove irrevocably that they have not been illegally residing in S. Africa.

“This is a preposterous suggestion for immigration to make & it has caused them unnecessary distress when they are far away from their family and friends in a foreign country, on what is suppose to be a trip of a lifetime, & which has turned into a bureaucratic nightmare!

“The staff on their cruise have been working tirelessly with the immigration authorities in Cape Town to overturn the ban but so far they have refused to see sense and are insisting my parents appeal the ban which could take 6-12 months!

“Unfortunately due to the Christmas and New Year holiday period we have very little time to turn this situation around, leaving my elderly parents with very few options as due to the ban, they are not permitted to disembark the ship in Cape Town when their cruise ends on January 7th 2018!”

Michelle points out that the South African immigration authorities in Cape Town have “now made two gross mistakes – by firstly not exit stamping my parents passports back in 2014, and now issuing them with a ban for the very same thing!”

She asked social media users to help her and her parents overturn the ban by sharing her post, particularly if you are in SA.

UPDATE: In an update on 1 January 2018, Michelle told SAPeople that they have consulted with immigration lawyer, Gary Eisenberg, who has advised that it could take months to lift the ban; and so her parents will not be able to fly home from Cape Town on 7 January as booked.

The Kleins will now disembark in Namibia on 3 January 2018 – which is part of the second part of their cruise, around southern Africa – and fly home via Amsterdam to London.

“Not ideal, and costing a fortune as it’s peak time… but it’s the only option as my parents can’t set foot on SA soil,” says Michelle.

An appeal has been submitted for the five-year ban.

Michelle thanked everyone for their response to her post, and says she has been “overwhelmed with the kindness from friends, family and so many people we don’t know who have offered their help and support for my parents! The power of social media!”