{"id":870056,"date":"2026-08-13T11:41:08","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T09:41:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=870056"},"modified":"2026-08-13T11:41:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T09:41:11","slug":"ramaphosa-opens-the-floodgates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/870056\/ramaphosa-opens-the-floodgates\/","title":{"rendered":"Ramaphosa opens the floodgates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africa\u2019s new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system has launched, with President Cyril Ramaphosa promising faster processing times for travellers, tighter security, and a wider channel to economic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ETA system is an economic initiative designed to attract more tourists, investors, business travellers, and skilled professionals while enhancing border security.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new system acts as a digital travel permit, allowing eligible travellers to travel without a traditional visa and is intended to expedite boarding times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It will enable travellers to complete applications and biometrics online, allowing them to fast-track through traditional immigration queues at the airport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This digital immigration system was officially introduced at OR Tambo International Airport following a pilot programme for travellers from China, India, Indonesia, and Mexico, ahead of South Africa’s G20 presidency. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said that the ETA system has processed 216,204 applications so far, identifying and rejecting 6,126 fraudulent submissions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travellers using the ETA will have their faces verified when leaving the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If a traveller is not recorded as having left within the authorised period, the department will warn them that they risk overstaying and may face prosecution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schreiber said that the next step is to integrate the ETA and the Electronic Movement Control System 2.0 (eMCS) with electronic airport gates. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This integration aims to reduce reliance on manual passport stamping and allow both South African citizens and foreign travellers using the ETA to be processed through e-gates using facial recognition technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ETA is currently available at OR Tambo International Airport, Cape Town International Airport, King Shaka International Airport, and Lanseria International Airport. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government has announced plans to expand this technology to land and seaports across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Schreiber said that the ETA will enable legitimate travellers entering South Africa for up to 90 days to apply digitally for a further 90-day extension, as permitted under the Immigration Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He added that this extension facility could boost tourism revenues by allowing visitors to remain in the country without having to navigate the process of the previous extension process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Opening the floogates for economic growth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Ramaphosa said that the ETA is a key system underpinning not only the DHA’s digital transformation programme, but also a cornerstone of his administration’s goal of boosting economic growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new technology is part of a major update to the immigration system, featuring better biometrics and an improved Electronic Movement Control System (eMCS 2.0). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president said the digital system is designed to make travel to and from South Africa quicker, easier, and safer for legitimate travellers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis reform will enhance South Africa\u2019s competitiveness as a destination for tourism, business and investment, while supporting more efficient and secure border management,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramaphosa added that the ETA should be regarded as an economic intervention, not just an immigration reform.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Visa reform is not simply an immigration reform. It is an economic reform. It is a jobs reform,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He connected the ETA to the government’s broader structural reform initiative, Operation Vulindlela.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This initiative aims to eliminate barriers to economic growth in important sectors, including electricity, telecommunications, freight, rail, ports, and water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that immigration reform is necessary because businesses have often complained that South Africa’s visa system makes it challenging for executives, managers, and specialists to enter the country. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The president explained that the ETA will help address these challenges while also enhancing the government’s ability to manage migration effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ETA will also tackle issues related to illegal immigration and border security.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said the technology will enable the government to gather more information about travellers before they arrive in South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This will enhance the government\u2019s ability to identify individuals who attempt to exploit the immigration system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ramaphosa said the government is now preparing to expand the system to additional countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, digital processing will extend beyond visitor authorisations to include work visas, study visas and other immigration services, he added.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

South Africa\u2019s new Electronic Travel Authorisation system has launched, with President Cyril Ramaphosa promising faster processing times for travellers, tighter security, and a wider channel to economic growth.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":870143,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2087837074334384310","_sma_facebook_post_id":"191437357620492_2174840633336336","_sma_instagram_post_id":"18085200233215883","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[1293,26088],"class_list":["post-870056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-cyril-ramaphosa","tag-electronic-travel-authorisation"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870056","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870056"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870056\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":870147,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870056\/revisions\/870147"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/870143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870056"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870056"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870056"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}