Pretoria – Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has announced that South Africa now requires Pakistani and Bangladeshi travellers to apply for transit visas if they intend to pass through South Africa.
“This means that travellers using ordinary passports issued by Bangladesh and Pakistan authorities are required to apply for a visa when transiting through South Africa to other countries.
“The decision was informed by recent incidents wherein passengers from the two countries were caught attempting to enter South Africa illegally by sneaking in through fire hydrant passages at the airport,” Motsoaledi said.
He said there was a growing trend of Pakistani and Bangladeshi nationals who pretend to be in transit, via South Africa, dropping off at airports and finding ways to enter the country illegally.
Some, he said, proceeded to neighbouring countries and found ways to sneak into South Africa through land borders.
“In so doing, they evade immigration and other law enforcement officers at the port of entry, thus undermining the security and the sovereignty of the state. So unfortunately, we have got to ask them to apply for transit visas,” said Motsoaledi.
“The reintroduction of the transit visa is one of the strong interventions we are making in our ongoing efforts to strengthen entry requirements at our airports. It also underscores our resolve to stop people from undermining our systems.”
The minister said the Department of International Relations and Co-operation had notified the governments of Bangladesh and Pakistan of the changes.
In June, a video went viral showing eight foreign nationals who were caught in the OR Tambo International Airport’s fire hydrant tunnel system. They were attempting to enter South Africa illegally.
At the time, Motsoaledi, said four of the men were Bangladeshi nationals and four were Pakistani.
IOL