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Visas

Travel requirements

Please note that anyone travelling to South Africa must have two consecutive blank pages in their passport, which lie side by side when the passport is open (i.e. left and a right hand page). Passports must also be valid for at least six months. Passengers travelling to South Africa with passports which do not comply with these requirements will either be stopped from boarding the aircraft or risk deportation on arrival in South Africa.

Travelling with a minor

Should you be travelling to South Africa with a minor please read here about the new travel requirements. https://www.flysaa.com/jo/en/Documents/PlanAndBook/Summary_iro_Minors_V4.pdf

"Birth Certificate requirement

Our officials have been inundated with enquiries from those travelling with children, regarding the requirement for birth certificates. The birth certificate, or unabridged birth certificate, is required for all children, below 18, travelling in or out of South Africa, except where a visa had been issued to a minor, as this would have been provided for as part of the visa application process.

Where a birth certificate has been applied for and cannot be produced or be obtained at the time of travel, an official letter stating this fact can be obtained from the nearest Home Affairs office before travelling through a port of entry.

From 1 November 2016, we now refer to this document as a birth certificate, as there is no longer need to distinguish between the old abridged and new unabridged birth certificate issued from 2013.

This is in addition to the requirement for valid passports, and visas where applicable, as well as affidavits confirming parental consent to such travel in the event that one parent is not travelling.

We encourage citizens to apply for birth certificates when they apply for child passports. Going-forward, details of parents will be printed in the passports, so that parents whose particulars are printed would not be required to take along birth certificates when travelling with their children."

Minister Malusi Gigaba

8 December 2016

(http://www.dha.gov.za/index.php/statements-speeches/908-statement-by-home-affairs-minister-malusi-gigaba-on-2016-festive-season-plans-and-office-hours-extention-ortia-08-december-2016)

Visas

Check the visa requirements for your country carefully. For many countries you need to apply for your visa in person. While visas are not required for citizens of some European countries and many other countries, a valid passport is required. A list of countries that currently do not require a visa can be found at the South African Government website. (http://www.home-affairs.gov.za/index.php/immigration-services/apply-for-a-south-african-visa)

Participants requiring a visa for entry into South Africa are strongly advised to make their applications in their home countries at least six months before their intended date of travel. For more information please contact your nearest embassy or South African Consulate or consult your travel agency.

Delegates wishing to travel to South Africa's neighbouring countries and back to South Africa are advised to apply for a multiple-entry visa. Passengers travelling to South Africa are required to have a minimum of two blank pages in their passport to enable the issuance of an entry visa. If there is insufficient space in the passport, entry will be denied and the passenger is likely to be detained pending return to their country of origin. Perhaps this is the time to renew those almost-full passports!

Travel Assistance
If you would like assistance with travel bookings, feel free to contact Naomi Jansen, Travel Consultant at Global Travel Alliance.

Tel: +27 021 833 7100
Fax: +27 (0) 86 5194 842
Email: naomi@gtasa.co.za
Website: www.gtasa.co.za

Global Travel Alliance is a membership-based travel club in South Africa. We provide a complete range of travel requirements and our staff complement boasts more than 300 years of experience in the South African travel industry.