Department of Home Affairs minister, Aaron Motsoaledi has granted visa-free status to nationals from four new countries.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs from today, 15 August 2019, travellers from Qatar<\/strong>, Saudi Arabia<\/strong>, United Arab Emirates<\/strong> and New Zealand<\/strong> will no longer require a visa to visit South Africa for holidays, conferencing and business meeting visits,” Motsoaledi said.<\/p>\n “We took this decision unilaterally but we are engaging these countries to see how they can relax entry requirements for our citizens.<\/p>\n “I am glad to say that Qatar has already waived visa requirements for South Africans and this will enable our people to attend Qatar FIFA World Cup 2022 easier,” he said.<\/p>\n Motsoaledi said his department would implement visa waivers for Ghana, Cuba and Principe and Sao Tome after negotiations with these countries have been concluded.<\/p>\n Home Affairs is scheduled to complete these negotiations by the end of August 2019 and the implementation will follow soon thereafter, he said.<\/p>\n “The Department of Home Affairs has an important contribution to make in growing tourism and by extension growing the economy and creating jobs.<\/p>\n “We are constantly reviewing our operations to ensure that we relax entry requirements without compromising our responsibility towards the safety and security of our citizens.”<\/p>\n Reciprocal agreements<\/strong><\/p>\n In July, a spokesperson told BusinessTech that the Department of Home Affairs will also enter into talks with their counterparts in a number of countries to allow visa-free access for South African travellers.<\/p>\n While countries such as Qatar and Ghana already have visa-free or visa on arrival agreements with South Africa, it would be considered a serious boon if South Africans could travel visa-free to countries such as the UAE and New Zealand.<\/p>\n Department spokesperson Siya Qoza said that Home Affairs was currently in talks with these countries on two main issues.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have entered negotiations with these countries with the first priority being an implementation date for visa-free access to South Africa.<\/p>\n \u201cOnce this has been confirmed, our second priority is reciprocity.\u201d<\/p>\n Qoza said that initial conversations held with these countries have been positive, with talks expected to be concluded by September.<\/p>\n He added that Home Affairs may expand these negotiations to other countries.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are consistently looking at which countries would be of a trade and tourism benefit to South Africa,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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