Home Affairs withdraws 90-day visa exemption granted to Palestinian travellers carrying ordinary passports

The Department of Home Affairs has withdrawn the 90-day visa exemption granted to Palestinian travellers carrying ordinary passports.

The decision follows investigations and recommendations by national intelligence structures, which found there was a deliberate and ongoing abuse of the 90-day visa exemption.

In November, the arrival of two charter flights transporting Palestinians raised red flags when it was discovered that they had one-way tickets into South Africa and lacked the necessary documentation.

“Investigations into the recent arrival of two charter flights transporting Palestinian passport holders revealed systematic abuse of this exemption, with travel designed not for the purposes of tourism or short stays as intended, but to relocate Palestinians from Gaza. Rather than using ordinary commercial flights, entire airplanes were chartered not by the travellers themselves, but by intermediaries,” said Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber

Schreiber said the South African government believes more Palestinians were expected to land in the countryin what has been described as an attempt to relocate them from the Gaza Strip in the ongoing territorial dispute.

“In the wake of the withdrawal of the visa exemption, the department will duly process any asylum applications submitted by the travellers who arrived on the two charter flights, while upholding the terms of the 90-day exemption for those who do not seek asylum. Going forward, visa applications from bona fide Palestinian travellers will be processed accordingly to enable them to visit South Africa, while any further attempts at abuse will be rejected.”