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NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION NO. 380
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 27 February 2015
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER 4 OF 2015
380. Mr B L Mashile (ANC) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
What lessons have been learned since the implementation of his departmentâs
new immigration regulations in 2014, in view of complaints that they will
affect tourism negatively, with regard to statistics of visitors in the
2013-14 financial year from (a) India, (b) China and (c) Europe?
NW402E
REPLY:
The new immigration regulations are being successfully implemented and its
aim is to strike a balance between safeguarding South Africaâs security and
economic interests, including tourism. In order to address teething
problems linked to its implementation, the Department is working in close
cooperation with a number of stakeholders in the tourism sector.
To address the high volume of visa applications originating especially from
India and China, the Department is working closely with a service provider
and governments of these two countries to open additional visa application
centres, thereby increasing our footprint in these countries so that
applicants would not have to travel great distances to apply.
Further, being aware that some South African citizens and residents might
not be in possession of unabridged birth certificates, the Department took
the decision last year to postpone the coming into force of those
regulations requiring parents or caregivers travelling with children to be
in possession of unabridged birth certificates for their children until
June 2015, in order to give such persons the opportunity to source those
documents.
