South Africa considering ‘tit-for-tat’ visas for British diplomats
South Africa’s Ministry of Home Affairs might introduce visas for British officials travelling to South Africa, but will spare other UK visitors for now
Diplomats and officials from the United Kingdom might soon need to fill in a visa application to enter South Africa, according to Home Affairs Minister Naledi Pandor. This comes after her recent hints that it could be time to ‘consider reciprocity’ for Britons as far as visas were concerned.
Pandor told Parliament in May that government was considering visas for all visitors from the United Kingdom, but she announced in a written reply to a question in Parliament on Wednesday that for the time being, this would be limited to officials and diplomats, should the plan go ahead.
“The Republic of South Africa intends to introduce visa requirements for diplomatic and official passport holders of the United Kingdom,” Pandor said in response to a question from DA MP Manny de Freitas, who asked what her department had done “in respect of the decision of the United Kingdom on the requirement of visas for South African citizens entering the UK”.
The British High Commission in South Africa said that the matter was still under discussion: “We are in constant discussions with the South Africans on these issues and it remains a priority for us and South Africa to protect our borders.”
Since 2009 all South Africans, including state officials, have needed a visa in order to enter the United Kingdom.
Because the British government cancelled South Africa’s visa-free status due to concerns about corruption, the Department of Home Affairs invested in costly redesign of South African passports, which introduced new security features and a stricter issuing process. The Department of Home Affairs has taken “drastic steps” over the last five years to root out corruption and redesign the security features of passports, Home Affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni said.
But the UK did not change its requirements after the improvements.
Pandor said in May, “We had been given a promise that following the London Olympics, there would be a focus on whether this visa requirement can be lifted. There hasn’t been any movement and I think the time has come for us to consider reciprocity.”
For the last five years thousands of South Africans have had to pay for costly visas to come on business trips, holidays or to visit family here. Diplomatic and official passport holders also need visas. It costs about R1,180 for a short-term visitor’s visa.
