Last week, more and more South African travellers were reporting on social media that some South African passport-holders departing on Ryanair flights to Ireland and the UK were being blocked and made to undergo an Afrikaans test in order to be allowed through immigration.
Passengers have said on social media and on radio, that when they asked why they were being made to write an Afrikaans test, they were told that it was due to the prevalence of fake South African passports, and the test was designed to see whether a passport-holder was really a South African.
A South African attorney who was subjected to the test, told radio station PowerFM that she had informed the border officials that fewer than 10% of South Africans even speak Afrikaans, but this was shrugged off and she was told if she had a problem, she could raise it with the immigration office.
At least one passenger reported on social media that she could not pass the test and she and her child were turned away from their flight.
According to News24, Dirco spokesperson Lunga Ngqengelele said the department was aware of the reports and was “concerned” and was consulting with its counterparts to deal with the issue.
Ryanair confirmed to News24 that the quiz was of its own devising, telling the website on Friday, June 3, that it had a responsibility to ensure that passengers were correctly documented for travel to their destination, in terms of Section 40 of the UK Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.
"Due to the recent increase in passengers attempting to travel on fraudulent South African passports, our handling agents may request passengers travelling on a South African passport, and who are flagged during procedural security profiling, to complete a simple questionnaire, as an additional safety assessment to confirm whether they are correctly documented before travel," Ryanair told News24. "As language proficiency is the least intrusive further safety assessment method, this questionnaire is conducted through Afrikaans, one of South Africa's most prevalent official languages."
Second Secretary for the Embassy of Ireland in South Africa, Paul Evans, told MyBroadband that Irish authorities did not require a language proficiency or general knowledge test, but must be able to satisfy the Immigration Officer at the Port of Entry that they have a valid reason for entering Ireland. He told MyBroadband that passengers may also be requested by airline staff at check-in to provide additional documentation to support their case.
This is at the discretion of the airline and includes, but is not limited to:
*Return ticket
*Proof of accommodation
*Bank statements showing they have sufficient funds for the duration of the stay
*Passport must be valid for six months before the date of return, and must have two blank pages
*Medical/travel insurance.
