It seems there are still problems concerning tourists arriving in South Africa with not enough blank pages in their passports. They then get turned back by Immigration staff at ORTIA, who are only doing their job, causing distress all round. Please ensure your passengers have the following information in good time before they leave.

The official rules are as follows:.

A foreigner coming to South Africa must present a passport with 1x blank Visa page available (there are other pages, headed Endorsements, etc).

There is still a bit of confusion on the part of the airlines, who are (understandably) nervous. If they accept a passenger on a flight into SA, and allow him to check-in, and once he arrives in SA and he is rejected, then airline has to a) fly him back home, and b) gets a US$10 000 fine (apparently).

Thus the fear is that airlines will offload pax sooner rather than later.

As part of this development, the urban legend has developed from 1x empty Visa page, 2x empty visa page, and developed even more to 2x empty visa pages OPPOSITE each other! None of this is true.

So get your facts straight.

From African Link Tours