The South African Department of Home Affairs has granted visa-free status to 75 countries among the 193 countries who are member states of the United Nations. Ghana and Qatar already had visa on arrival arrangements with South Africa. South Africans can visit 99 countries around the globe visa-free. This move will boost the South African tourism sector, which is a major foreign exchange earner. E-visa will make it easier for tourists to visit, and for companies to acquire employees with critical skills.
Seven more countries were added to South Africa’s visa-free list. Two, among them, are African nations – Ghana and Sao Tome and Principe. Three countries from the Gulf region – Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also figure in the list. The only South Pacific nation on the list is New Zealand. São Tomé and Principe is an island nation in the South Atlantic off the west coast of Africa. These were former colonies of Portugal and gained independence in 1975 and are oil-rich.
The online electronic visa for South Africa is expected to be launched in November 2019. Not only the tourism sector but also the inflow of foreign direct investment will get catalyzed with this move. South African president Cyril Ramaphosa praised the implementation of the new system in the State of the Nation Address and said that it would lead to a ‘renewal of the country’s brand’ and double tourist arrivals to achieve 21 million tourists by 2030. According to him, eVisa system is a ‘world-class visa regime’ which would place a significant focus on key markets. The eVisa is expected to increase the efficiency and convenience of the visa application process and will allow frequent foreign visitors to obtain 10-year South African visas within five days of submitting their application, replacing the current cumbersome visa processes, which are considered inefficient by many businessmen in the country. Anybody from the designated approved countries require only valid passport to apply online for the e-visa and can fill-up the form in five minutes time to get the approved visa through e-mail.
