IMPACT OF THE NEW IMMIGRATION REGULATIONS ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE & TOURISM

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Jesse Johnston
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1 IMPACT OF THE NEW IMMIGRATION REGULATIONS ON INTERNATIONAL TRADE & TOURISM INAUGURAL INDUSTRY GROWTH & SAFETY CONFERENCE 2014 Presenter: Jack Monedi 5 November

2 In terms of its legal mandate, Home Affairs is responsible for the following laws relating to the cross border movement of persons: Immigration Act, and Refugees Act. Immigration Act, 2002 mandates Minister of Home Affairs to designate a place as a POE, where all persons have to report before they may enter, sojourn or remain within, or depart from the Republic. HOME AFFAIRS MANDATE In order to facilitate movement whilst ensuring that security considerations are satisfied, DHA follows a layered approach in order to manage potential migratory risks 2

3 PORT ENVIRONMENT South Africa shares borders with six countries Botswana Lesotho Mozambique Namibia Swaziland Zimbabwe Travellers enter and depart South Africa through a total of 71 designated ports of entry (POE) which include - 10 Airports, 8 Harbours and 53 land POE. Certain POE are classified as commercial whilst others are non commercial. Movement of persons and goods is managed efficiently and effectively through the participation of other border management stakeholders at ports of entry 3

4 MAP REFLECTING THE LOCATION OF PORTS OF ENTRY 4 4

Mr Smith applies for visa at SA mission Mr Smith departs from airport Visa and permitting system Visa issued after pro-active risk assessment and checks done by officials in Mission and SA using DHA

5 Mr Smith applies for visa at SA mission Mr Smith departs from airport Visa and permitting system Visa issued after pro-active risk assessment and checks done by officials in Mission and SA using DHA system Advance Passenger Processing (APP) Data sent to operational centre and he is cleared to board after various checks Mr Smith presents visa at ORT Mr Smith overstays and Act is applied RSA Border Off-shore Immigration Officer at Port of Entry does firstline checks Mr Smith departs Inspectorate enforces law and monitors updated systems to ensure compliance OPERATIONAL CENTRE Access to data from relevant systems. Analyses, assesses risks against knowledge of countries and traveller. Issues data, reports and alerts. Monitors stop-lists. Liaises with other departments and agencies. Key principles Integrated approach Single view of traveler's status and transactions Professionalised staff Enforcement of laws Keep risks away from SA Immigration Management Requires attention to: Role of SA mission abroad Bilateral and multilateral relations and agreements Immigration issues, trends and strategies Ports of entry and use of biometrics for travellers Cooperation on refugee matters 5

6 TRAVELLER STATISTICS INTERNATIONAL TRAVELLER STATISTICS /14 FINANCIAL YEAR Category Arrival Departure Total Citizens 5,029,682 5,086,055 10,113,757 Foreigners 14,919,420 13,656,189 28,575,609 Grand Total 19,949,102 18,742,244 38,691,346 6

7 INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS: 2013_14 Airport users comprise almost one third (27%) of all travellers: TOP 5 INTERNATIONAL AIRPORTS TOTAL OR Tambo 8,616,278 Cape Town 1,540,166 King Shaka 286,240 Lanseria 59,161 Kruger Mpumalanga 17,534 TOTAL 10,519,379 7

8 Provide for NEW IMMIGRATION REGULATIONS Collection and verification of biometric data; Rationale: Identity management is key to the management of immigration: - Mixed migration flows; - Abuse of asylum system; - Fraudulent marriages; - Poor or no civil registration processes in the Region and abroad. Change in status applications to be lodged in country of origin: Rationale: To curb the abuse of tourist visas whilst intending to settle in SA. Minors to present unabridged birth certificates and written consent from parent not accompanying them when travelling; Rationale: South Africa adopted anti-trafficking law in line with international instruments to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children. 8

9 Provide for NEW IMMIGRATION REGULATIONS Declaration of business deemed to be in the national interest; Rationale: To ease the cost of doing business in South Africa and redirecting economic sectors that have potential for growth Intra-Company Transfer Visa now being issued for 4 years instead of 2 years: Rationale: To give multinational companies enough time to transfer skills to South African citizens Quota and exceptional skills permits have been repealed and instead a critical skills work visa has been introduced: Rationale: To consolidate and rationalize two visas that had same requirements 9

10 FACILITATION MEASURES Nationals of 47 countries do not require visas to visit SA for tourism and business purposes; Visa Facilitation Centres to facilitate front-office operations; Dedicated capacity to deal with large corporate accounts (Mercedes Benz, Volkswagen, Microsoft etc); DHA approved use of mobile boarding passes at airports; Phasing out of non Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTD) as the SA Temporary Passport is not accepted in all countries. 10

11 PRIORITIZATION OF MARKETS IN THE VISA WAIVER PROGRAMME The Department understands that a visa is viewed as a barrier in growing tourism from the identified markets. Visa waivers are aimed at nationals posing a low risk to our national security. DHA is aware of tourism priority markets - BRICS countries. The nationals of these countries (Brazil, Russia and India) require visa to visit South Africa. Visa waiver for ordinary passport holders follows a combination of diplomatic (political), trade and tourism relations (economic) and security concerns. 11

12 PLANNED FACILITATION MEASURES Introduction of e-visas and SADC Univisa; Trusted Traveller Programme Automated Border Control: Pre-enrolled members will not be required to report to Immigration Officer; Infrastructure improvements at POE improved traveller experience Border Management Agency single agency to be created under DHA DHA Modernisation Programme: Smart Card ID will pave the way for introduction of e-passport. 12

13 Thank you 13

Dr Cristiano d Orsi. Entry Accessibility. An analysis of the current entry requirements and the challenges facing the tourism industry

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