22 Mar E-Visas seek to increase tourism, but fails to address quality in the adjudication process itself

South Africa is about to join the modern age of visa processing, with “E-Visas”, set to roll out the beginning of next year.

What exactly does this mean for the current immigration process foreigners go through in order to enter South Africa, as a tourist, worker or retired person? It remains to be seen.

What we do know, however, is that an applicant will first be able to upload their documents to an online platform, where the documents will then be reviewed by Home Affairs. An applicant will still need to avail themselves to a submission center or home affairs official, so that the documents can be verified and biometrics captured.

Once approved, a “qr code” will be sent to the applicant with an approved application and scanned upon arrival in the country.

Whether or not this will alleviate waiting times for processing of applications is yet to be seen.

This does not address the problems with quality of adjudication, however. Thus the question of  quality of adjudication still remains. The electronic submission of documents also leaves room for fraud, as does the issuing of qr codes and potential scams, as recently seen in China.

Listen to Cape Talk for more information and discussion on E-visas and their potential positive affect on tourism HERE.