Home Affairs will Unveil New Visa Regulations Later This Year
The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has announced it will unveil new visa regulations before the end of 2016. The legislative reform will aim to provide a balance between the competing interests of the tourism sector and the need to protect the country’s borders and prevent child trafficking. Stringent visa regulations were introduced to South Africa in 2014… resulting in an […]
The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has announced it will unveil new visa regulations before the end of 2016. The legislative reform will aim to provide a balance between the competing interests of the tourism sector and the need to protect the country’s borders and prevent child trafficking.
Stringent visa regulations were introduced to South Africa in 2014… resulting in an outcry from the tourism industry after these laws were blamed for a sharp decline in tourists to South Africa
Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba said that since the DHA buckled to pressure from the tourism sector to relax the laws last year – the tourism figures have indeed climbed… but so too have child trafficking figures.
Gigaba said 57 children were found in South Africa, after being trafficked from Malawi. He said critics had accused the DHA of “exaggerating” trafficking figures and “killing the economy” but that their concerns were real.
He said that the laws of 2014 will continue to be phased out and by year end the DHA will announce new visa regulations. He invited the tourism sector to talk but not to rush to criticise.