By Fakir Hassen, IANS
Pretoria : Indian nationals will no longer require transit visas while travelling through South Africa to other countries in the SADC (Southern African Development Community) region.
Indian businesspersons attending the IBSA (India-Brazil-South Africa) Summit here have welcomed the news that the host country has taken firm steps to resolve the issue of visas for Indian nationals.
Ambassador Jerry Matjila of the South African Department of Foreign Affairs, who is spearheading the IBSA initiative here, said Wednesday there had been great movement on steps to streamline the visa regime for greater efficiency as India increases trade and investment in South Africa.
“Indeed, we have moved since the (last IBSA Summit in) Brasilia. For example, the Indians (were) also complaining about transit visas. This has now been abolished, for South Africa or indeed any other SADC country.
“Secondly, they also complained about the duration of work permits for South Africa. We have now increased this from two to four years.”
However, Matjila cautioned that the streamlined system should not be abused to inconvenience genuine business players.
“There are about 4,500 Indians seeking political asylum (in South Africa). Some have applied to South Africa for business reasons and eventually apply for political asylum. So we clearly have to (both India and South Africa) ensure that bona fide businesses are not inconvenienced.
“At the same time, we have an interest to ensure that people do not misuse the opportunity to get visas quickly to come and overstay in South Africa.”
Matjila said the South African government had also noted the complaint about the turnaround time for visas being issued at its missions in both Mumbai and New Delhi: “We are now increasing capacities to deal with the visa regime.”
The Indian Consulate-General in Johannesburg, faced with similar complaints, has already implemented a 24-hour turnaround plan that has been lauded by South African businesspersons.