The South African government is considering introducing a new long-term multiple-entry visa to boost tourism, says the National Treasury.

This will be part of efforts to accelerate immigration reforms which will in the long run also reduce the cost of doing business. Immigration reforms to speed visa processing and boost tourism are under consideration,” the Treasury says.

These include a long-term multiple entry visa that would be available to frequent travellers, business people and academics, and visas on arrival for some categories of travellers, says the Treasury as the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) was tabled in Parliament here by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan Wednesday.

Since January, 10-year multiple-entry business visas have been available to visitors from Brazil, Russia, India and China.

The announcement by the Treasury was part of highlighting measures that are under consideration to strengthen the country’s policy certainty in immigration, mining and communications.

Policy uncertainty in any economy undermines confidence, with consequences for investment and job creation. Accordingly, government is taking steps to strengthen policy certainty in several key areas, according to the MTBPS.

Source: Nam News Network