South Africa introduces new tourist visa laws

September 2014 – Tourists travelling to South Africa and non-South African citizens wanting to live in the country need to be aware that the Government is bringing in new immigration laws, effective from 1 October 2014.

Parents will need to carry their child's full birth certificate

One of these new requirements that affects tourists is that parents travelling with children who are under 18 will need to show immigration officials the child's full birth certificate, or local equivalent, when entering and leaving the country.

This law has been introduced in an effort to clamp down on child trafficking and abduction.

Also from 1 October, people travelling to South Africa on a tourist visa will need to apply for and collect their biometric visa from their local visa processing centre. Previously, travellers were able to have their tourist visas sent to them by post.

Five major new laws for foreigners in South Africa

The South African Home Affairs Department has also introduced five new immigration laws for non-South African citizens wanting to live or extend their visit in the country. These are:

1. Non-South African citizens who are applying for a spouse or partner visa will need to prove that they have been in a relationship with their South African partner for at least two years, prior to applying for the visa.
2. Renewing a South African visa, whether it be a visitor or work permit, must be done 60 days prior to the current visa's expiry date.
3. People applying for a South African business visa will need to submit a letter of recommendation from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) when applying for this type of visa.
4. For intra-company transfer work permits (a visa issued to foreigners being transferred by their own company to an affiliate company in South Africa), employees will need to show that they have been employed by the foreign company for at least 6 months prior to application.
5. People who overstay their visit in South Africa face being banned from entering the country for between one and five years.

To find out more about these new travel visa requirements to South Africa go to the Home Affairs website at www.dha.gov.za.