South Africa to soon implement a new visa scheme for Indians; all details here

Planning a trip to South Africa soon? Well, it’s all set to become easier from next year. As per the latest news reports, South Africa has announced the launch of a new initiative to boost the number of incoming travellers from India and China. The new initiative, called the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS), which will be tasked in doing so.

As per the reports, the said initiative is all set to run from 2025. This TTOS is expected to streamline the visa process, and will help in providing a significant boost in job creation in South Africa.

Reportedly, the TTOS has been designed to address issues that have been creating roadblocks for South Africa’s tourism sector and hampering its growth in becoming a top tourism destination. If one goes by the records, currently, Indian tourists make up just 3.9% of international visitors to South Africa, which is deemed as an insignificant number. To sort this issue, the Department of Home Affairs will work in collaboration with the Department of Tourism, the Presidency, and Operation Vulindlela, and try to make the tourism market more accessible for tourists from India and China, and push the growth numbers.

The yet-to-be launched initiative has been designed keeping in mind the success of the Trusted Employer Scheme (TES), which helped in simplifying the visa processing for those businesses that are seeking to attract critical skills. Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber proposed a similar approach to improve efficiency for non-visa-exempt countries like India and China.

With regard to how this initiative will work, it has been informed that those tour operators selected from India and China will be invited to register with the Department of Home Affairs. These operators, once approved, will be responsible for overseeing tourists in their groups. They will also take the responsibility for their travel.

In response, the Department will be handling the task of fast-tracking group visa applications, which will mark the first time such a system has been used for tourists. There will be a dedicated team working to handle the visa applications, to ensure swift processing, and eliminate all the restrictions that have been previously hampering tourism from these markets.

With regard to this, Minister Schreiber added that there will be economic benefits from this initiative, noting that the tourism sector will likely see significant growth if this initiative turns into a success, which will eventually lead to job creation for South Africans.

Originally Published at TIMESOFINDIA