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Cape Town - The Department of Home Affairs has agreed to workshop with Cape Town and Western Cape companies can engage on the effect of the new visa and immigration regulations.
That was after the Western Cape investment promotion agency Wesgro met with Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Fatima Chohan to discuss the effect of visa regulations on tourism, business and the film industry.
At the meeting, the minister agreed that the department would be available for a workshop - to be co-ordinated by Wesgro - for Cape Town and Western Cape companies to engage on the matter.
READ: SA tourism braces for disaster with new visa rules - minister
"As the official tourism, trade and investment promotion agency for Cape Town and the Western Cape, Wesgro takes a particular interest in the effect of the regulatory regime on business, film and tourism in the province," said Wesgro CEO Tim Harris.
“There is a need for the private and public sectors to work together to iron out the issues around the current visa regulations. We welcome the open door approach of the Department of Home Affairs and believe this workshop could prove to be an important step in the right direction."
Wesgro will advise on venue and date - in June - in due course. Cape Town and Western Cape companies wishing to attend this workshop are requested to send their contact details to info@wesgro.co.za.
ALSO READ: SA's new visa rules slam brakes on travel - airline body
UPDATE: Following an intervention by the Red Tape Reduction Unit, a tour group from India is set to arrive in the Western Cape in the next two weeks. The trip was almost cancelled following a bungle after the implementation of the new unabridged birth certificate requirement.
On Friday, a tour operator from India contacted Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities Alan Winde after one of the minors travelling in the group had not been granted a visa. There are 45 people in the tour group.
The unabridged birth certificate requirement for minors travelling into or out of the country came into effect on Monday June 1 2015.
“Our Red Tape Reduction Unit was in touch with the tour operator as well as with officials from the SA consular mission in India. In India, the details of both parents are endorsed in a child’s passport, clearly rendering the passport an ‘equivalent document’ to an unabridged birth certificate," said Winde.
"We communicated this to the tour operator and the officials, sending them the relevant piece of legislation. We were happy to receive word yesterday that the visa had been granted, enabling the trip to go ahead.”
Winde said the incident emphasised the importance of ensuring that all national government officials were trained on the latest legislation.
