SA to revoke visas to Chinese, Iranians as part of travel ban
Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi says some 8000 visas issued to Chinese citizens in January and February would be revoked as part of the government’s efforts to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Expanding on the decision to impose travel bans, Motsoaledi said on Monday that around 400 visas issued to Iranians in the same period would also no longer be valid.
Out of the country’s 72 ports of entry, 35 will close and the rest will be restricted to limit the number of people coming into the country.
Senior ministers address the media in Pretoria on Monday to unpack the decisions made by cabinet to combat coronavirus.
President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a state of disaster on Sunday.
Airports will remain open but with heightened vigilance and screening and the Saldhana Bay and Mossel Bay seaports will only allow cargo.
"We will close nine border posts with Lesotho, it means five will remain operational, we will close 3 with Mozambique which means only one will operate, with Namibia we will close five and only two will remain operational and we will only have one border post with Zimbabwe, we will never close that one," said Motsoaledi.
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He said some visa's that were issued between January and February will be revoked.
"We issued over 8000 visas to China and over 400 visa's to Iran which will be revoked. The remaining six countries which used to enter the country visa-free, we will now be requesting visa's from them. These include Italy, Germany, France, South Korea, the USA, and the UK."
Motsoaledi said people coming into the country from medium-risk countries such as Portugal will be requested to submit medical certificates indicating that they have tested for the virus.