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The South African Department of Home Affairs has added Ghana to the list of countries that enjoy visa-free access to South Africa. This means Ghanaians do not require a visa to travel to South Africa. The Minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi, disclosed this on Wednesday while presenting the ministry’s budget to the parliament.

Apart from Ghana, the six other countries that have been granted visa-free travel benefits are Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Cuba and Sao Tome and Principe.

“Tourism will soar if we relax visa requirements for entry into South Africa. We know that Tourism is very important for job creation,” Motsoaledi said. “Out of the 193 countries who are members of the United Nations, the Department has granted visa-free status to 75 countries. 16 out of these countries are in our continent and are SADC (South African Development Community) members.”

Nigerians travelling to South Africa require a visa. However, the minister said the process for processing visas in some countries, including Nigeria, will be fast-tracked for citizens of those countries.

“While we are busy tackling the matter of the three countries, we shall this financial year increase two and a half times the number of people who work for Home Affairs to process visas in both China and India. We shall double the number of people who process visas to our country in Nigeria,” he said.

The minister also said electronic visa (e-visa) will be fully introduced across the country by November 2019. “We have already started testing this system at Lanseria airport. This testing will end at the end of October, thereafter, we will roll-out the whole system,” said Motsoaledi.

The e-visa system will allow tourists and visitors coming to South Africa to apply for their visas online. “This regime will place technology at the centre of our operations by making it easy, yet secure, to enter South Africa,” he said.