Through a number of technology-based initiatives, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) seeks to simplify its e-visa system to make it easier to enter and exit South Africa.
READ: New e-visa system in South Africa to launch in March 2022
The department’s annual performance plan for 2022/2023 includes an upgraded e-visa regime, which includes visa waiver agreements with selected countries such as China, India, and Nigeria, and long-term multiple entry visas, according to BusinessTech.
With the e-visa system, tourists and visitors to South Africa can apply for visas online and receive a virtual visa, streamlining and modernizing the process as well as combating visa fraud.
The DHA is also developing a Biometric Movement Control System (BMCS). The system will collect fingerprint or facial biometric data from travellers entering or leaving South Africa. The data will be put into the existing live data capture platform and sent to 34 entry ports throughout the country.
The system will be rolled out at major airports and land borders, including OR Tambo International Airport, Cape Town International Airport, Maseru Bridge, and Beitbridge.
A pilot program is also under way at Cape Town International designed to improve processing times and maintain security at the borders. E-gates are slated to be expanded to other international airports in the future.
Picture: Pexels
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