South Africa set to launch new digital visa system in September

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber announced that South Africa will launch its fully digital Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system for short-term tourist visas by the end of September.

According to Tourism Update, the digital visa system will initially apply to visits under 90 days and forms part of the government’s wider plan to digitise visa processing and border control.

The Border Management Authority will oversee the system, which will first roll out at major international airports before expanding to cover all visa categories.

ETA to launch this year

Powered by artificial intelligence, the ETA system promises to deliver faster turnaround times and stronger security.

“The ETA will include world-class cybersecurity systems and live monitoring by AI-powered risk engines,” Schreiber said, as per Tourism Update.

Schreiber also confirmed that the list of eligible nationalities would be announced at the time of the official launch.

“It would be premature to discuss the finer details as this will all be revealed at the go-live launch in September,” he also added.

Officials recently conducted a live demonstration of the system for President Ramaphosa, which reportedly ran smoothly, and they are now completing final testing before the launch.