In a move geared at putting pressure on the home affairs and tourism departments, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has launched an online petition, pushing for legislation to introduce electronic visas (e-visas) for tourists visiting SA.
According to the party's shadow tourism minister James Vos, its move aims to save local jobs that would be threatened by the country's new immigration regulations.
The Department of Home Affairs' (DHA's) regulations issued in May, indicate visa applications need to be made by applicants in person, while people requiring to change the status of their visa from short-stay to long-stay would not be able to do so in SA, but only at embassies abroad.
The DA disapproved of the regulations in its recent statement, citing a study commissioned by the Tourism and Business Council of SA, which says the country "may lose 270 000 international tourists and in turn lose 21 000 jobs annually due to the regulation - costing R9.7 billion".
"For some time now, government has defended the planned introduction of new visa regulations requiring biometric visas for visitors to South Africa," the DA's statement read.
"Visitors to SA are required to apply for their visas in person which is an additional and unnecessary travel expense for those who do not live near South African embassies, consulates and visa centres - or worse, live in countries without these facilities at all.
"Reports from China, one of South Africa's largest tourism markets, confirmed that marketing packages relating to South African tourist destinations will come to an end by 1 October this year due to this added difficulty." The party said this would deal a hefty blow to the tourism industry, and have negative effects on employment prospects.
DHA modernisation
Although the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) had not responded to ITWeb at the time of publication, its recent modernisation efforts have so far brought the visa application process online, through a partnership with VFS Global.
The UK-based company has been tasked with automating the application processes, developing a solution for biometric intake in line with SA's new immigration regulations, and managing a dedicated call centre. The company has also established 11 visa facilitation centres across SA's nine provinces as part of its work with the DHA.
The DA's statement pointed to government's National Development Plan, adding that it identifies tourism as a "key job driver" for the economy. "Currently, tourism supports one in every 12 jobs in SA.
"We believe the introduction of electronic visas will not only provide a real means for protecting jobs in tourism, but present significant advantages by cutting turnaround times for the issuing of travel documentation, and are in fact more secure than existing permits."
The party says e-visas have proven to be "highly effective" in comparable countries such as Turkey. The petition targets locals and expatriates to "register their disapproval of these destructive new regulations, and to express support for our proposal to institute electronic visas.
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