Indian tourist, first victim of the new DoHA system

Mbasa Gqokoma
01 June 2015

Western Cape MEC of Economic Opportunities Alan Winde today said a group of international tourists from India, have become the first reported casualties of the new unabridged birth certificate requirement.

The new immigration regulations which have come into effect today, stipulates if children are traveling in or out of South Africa, they need to have an unabridged birth certificate.

Ministerial Spokesperson Bronwynne Jooste said MEC Winde received correspondence from a tour operator in India that one of the children travelling in the party was incorrectly denied a visa.

The Red Tape Reduction Unit is currently assisting the tour operator.

“It is about 45 people in this group and the average spend of an international tourist is R5 000 rand. This means if this group decided to cancel their visit to the Western Cape, our tourism industry would have lost R200 000 rand”, Jooste added.