South Africa’s tourism industry – including associations such as FEDHASA, SATSA, TBCSA, and the NFTGA – have long been lobbying for visa reform as the much-lauded e-visa systems continue to fail and there have been consistent complaints of excessive visa application delays, rudeness and visa denials
Other countries are leading the way in introducing digital nomad visas or simplifying their visa application processes while South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs (DHA) – which manages the visa system – seems to be putting more barriers in place.
This includes the lucrative ‘swallows’ market (aka ‘Sun Chasers’) who visit for up to 180 days and are a golden goose for South Africa’s economy and indeed its tourism sector, which is the third-highest GDP earner for the country and enjoys a deep and vast supply chain creating job opportunities.
On December 21, the DHA snuck in its latest instruction demanding visitors who have not received visa renewals by February…
