South Africa is moving to scrap paper-based visa applications with the launch of a new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system, revealed on Thursday by home affairs minister Leon Schreiber at a tourism industry conference.
The online platform will allow travellers to apply for visas, submit biometrics and receive approvals in real time, replacing lengthy manual processes.
The ETA will be tied to a new Electronic Movement Control System (EMCS 2.0), which will use facial recognition at ports of entry. OR Tambo and Cape Town International airports will be the first sites to implement the upgrade.
Testing begins at the end of September, with the first phase in October targeting G20 delegates from China, India, Indonesia and Mexico. Tourists from those countries will be added in the second phase after November’s G20 leaders’ summit. The system will later expand to all visa-requiring countries and eventually other visa categories.
Government says the system will cut queues, strengthen security and remove longstanding visa bottlenecks that have hindered tourism growth.
Automated entry-and-exit, based on facial recognition, will be rolled out to all ports of entry, home affairs said.
Tourism potential
“The ETA is set to eliminate visa barriers that have suppressed South Africa’s tourism potential for many years, while simultaneously revolutionising the security of our immigration processes,” Schreiber said in a statement.
Read: Home affairs, Sars ink digital pact
“Our Trusted Tour Operator Scheme pilot has already brought in more than 35 000 additional tourists from China and India in just seven months, and the ETA has the potential to turbocharge these numbers in 2026.” – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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