New South African child visa regulations not in effect yet

The South African Government have announced that they will be reviewing the controversial South African child visa laws, however, according to a statement released by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) – the laws are not legally in place yet.

A statement on the DHA’s website states:

“Cabinet has mandated DHA to put in place the necessary legal instruments to give effect to this decision. The status quo will remain until such time the DHA has provided a legal instrument for this category of travelers. In the meantime, travelers are encouraged to comply.”

No date has been set by the DHA to determine when the approved changes will be implemented.

If you would like to have the freedom to explore the area you are visiting independently, you might want to look into car hire South Africa for the perfect set of wheels.

Proposed changes need clarification

Andre Van Kets, a co-founder of car rental company Drive South Africa and creator of the South African Child Visa Checklist app, welcomes the proposed visa changes but says that there are a few grey areas that need clarification.

“The change in regulations are welcomed, especially the biometric changes. However, the child visa changes are still unclear at this stage,” says Van Kets.

Drive South Africa’s Child Visa Checklist helps travelers determine exactly which travel documents they’ll need when traveling in our out of South Africa with their children by answering three simple questions.

The web-app removes the fear and uncertainty faced by parents trying to work out exactly which documents they need when traveling with their youngsters.

Van Kets says that as soon as the changes have been clarified by the DHA, they’ll make sure that the South African Child Visa Checklist app is up to date as well.

“We’ve already started working on preparing that app to accommodate these potential changes. As soon as they’re clarified by Home Affairs and they’re implemented, so will our app be updated.”

Since the laws have been implemented on 1 June 2015, the South African Child Visa Checklist has been used over 23,000 times by travelers and travel agents from 136 countries, including the United Kingdom, Australia, France and Germany.

https://www.drivesouthafrica.com/child-visa-checklist/