Home Affairs ‘hard at work’ on visa concessions

File photo:Apleni announced that, in the next three months to a year, his department would print parents' details in their children's passports so that they didn't have to carry birth certificates. Picture: Masi Losi

File photo:Apleni announced that, in the next three months to a year, his department would print parents' details in their children's passports so that they didn't have to carry birth certificates. Picture: Masi Losi

Published Feb 8, 2016

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Johannesburg - Less than a year after the Department of Home Affairs introduced controversial new visa regulations requiring all minors travelling to and from South Africa to carry unabridged birth certificates, the system is to be replaced by an updated passport for minors featuring the printed details of both parents.

This was revealed on Friday by Mkuseli Apleni, director-general of the Department of Home Affairs, after a meeting between his department, the Department of Tourism and the tourism sector on the cabinet concessions of immigration regulations.

Current visa requirements, in force since June last year, were met with an outcry from the tourism sector, which blamed them for damaging tourism.

Apleni announced that, in the next three months to a year, his department would print parents’ details in their children’s passports so that they didn’t have to carry birth certificates.

“In future, what we’re working on is when parents apply for passports for their children, they don’t have to produce the unabridged birth certificates but instead they produce their children’s passports, which will have their details,” said Thabo Mokgola, a spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs.

“There won’t be any need for the unabridged birth certificate to be presented. It’s not the status quo yet, but we’ll make an announcement when we’re ready.”

The department was also actively engaged with the implementation of the proposed review of the regulations regarding the issuing of a travel advisory.

“This is to address the recommendation on the issuing of a strong advisory for travellers accompanied by minors from countries which are visa-exempt to ensure compliance with unabridged birth certificate-related directives,” said Apleni.

His department was “hard at work” to implement these concessions “understanding this to be in the interest of the country, its citizens and other persons”.

It had developed a standardised template for school principals to complete and issue to confirm permission for South African children to travel on school tours, in lieu of individual parental consent forms.

Apleni said they would also consider waiving the need for visitors from China, India and Russia to have a visa.

It was looking at issuing visas on arrival for persons travelling to South Africa having in their passports valid visas for the UK, US and Canada or other countries that apply stringent checks on visitors to their countries, to ease travel for tourists.

After the meeting, David Frost, of the Southern Africa Tourism Services Association, said the concessions met state security and economic growth.

“We need to go back to our members and digest it - what is encouraging is that there has been some very real and strategic and tactical easing of travel facilitation by the Department of Home Affairs. We’re finally now beginning to work together. Hopefully we’ll be able to finally establish a proper task team to work together to solve blockages.”

Previously, the Department of Home Affairs had argued that unabridged birth certificates help deter child trafficking.

Saturday Star

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