British Government to scrap visit visa requirement for South Africans

October 22, 2016
Until 2009 South African visit visa travelers could enter the UK on a visa-free travel status. However, due to the risk and concerns of fraudulent passport and South Africa being a transit point for al-Qaeda to enter the UK, the visa system for South Africans entering the UK was imposed by British Government. 

The Department of Home affairs has been lobbying the UK government to scrap visa requirements for South Africans have come as a blessing for the campaign which is being supported by the South African Chamber of Commerce. 

British Government to scrap visit visa requirement for South Africans

The Royal Commonwealth Society – an international educational charity would be launching their campaign to restore visa-free travel for South Africans on Nov 2nd would be an issue of priority on the agenda of both the governments. 

Tim Hewish, the Royal Commonwealth Society’s director of policy and research, said: "The matter is for both governments to broker.

"Our goal is to show that the public wants a decision sooner rather than later.

"We want to start this grassroots campaign where the 200,000 or so South Africans in the UK can sign up, as well as those South Africans back home who want to visit."

Mayihlome Tshwete, Home Affairs spokesman said that the government would welcome such campaigns and as a matter of fact, that South Africans travelers apply visas for many other countries and that their passport in not held in high regard, they have been making changes for the same.

The agenda of the campaign which is two weeks away would be to restore visa-free travel for South Africans, who otherwise might spend about R7000 towards their visa requirement for a family of four to travel to the UK.

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