An accredited tourism company programme, allowing accredited travel agents and tour operators to make visa applications for their clients, is expected to be rolled out in China with immediate effect, Department of Home Affairs Director General, Mkuseli Apleni, told industry stakeholders on Thursday.

Arrivals from China have shown significant decline since the introduction of new immigration regulations that required Chinese nationals to make visa applications in person, although the decline is also ascribed to the outbreak of Ebola in West Africa. Before the new regulations, accredited Chinese agents were able to make visa applications for their clients, which will allow the system to be re-implemented immediately.

The biometrics and photos of these travellers will be taken on arrival.

According to Apleni, the programme will also be rolled out in India and Russia. However, he said the tourism sectors in these countries were not as well-regulated as China and the Department of Tourism had therefore been requested to define the criteria on how to progress with this objective.

Apleni added that other concessions announced by the Inter-ministerial Committee in October that had been implemented included the issuance of long-term multiple-entry visas for a period exceeding three months and up to three years and the development of biometric capacity at SA’s major international airports.