Home Affairs to curb visa fraud

PEOPLE wanting to travel to South Africa from certain countries will no longer be able to apply for visas from Pretoria and must - from April 1 - lodge their visa applications in countries that have South African representation. According to Home Affairs spokesman, Manase Nakwela, the department took the decision for security reasons as visas were being posted to the applicants, and were not being affixed to their passports by authorised personnel, which resulted in some cases of fraud. He says the countries affected include: Bangladesh, Congo, Lebanon, Burundi, Cameroon, Madagascar, Rwanda, Sri Lanka and Yugoslavia. The department further noted that airlines who conveyed people to South Africa without the required visas would have to pay a penalty of R5 000 a person in terms of the Aliens Control Regulations and would also have to return the passengers to their destination of origin. The department added that the new regulations were made in consultation with the Department of Foreign Affairs, and was in line with international practices. (Miguel de Sousa)