Corruption changes visa requirements

The UK looks set to change the visa requirements visitors to Britain from South Africa this year because of corruption.

South Africans previously did not require visas to enter the UK but in future visitors will have to apply for a visa. To obtain a visa they will have to provide fingerprints, facial biometrics and travel documents, at a cost of £63.00.
The UK is reported to have imposed the new visa requirements because of corruption in the South African government’s department of Home Affairs. Because of the corruption British immigration experts said that the South African passport was “no longer worth the paper it’s written on”.
The visa requirements will affect the over 250.000 tourists, business people and family members that visit Britain each year.
The move follows a British trial where it was said that at least 6000 illegal Asian immigrants had been smuggled into Britain on South African passports.
A spokesperson for the department of Home Affairs accepted that there were “major issues about the integrity and credibility” of South African passports, but also said that South Africa had met Britain to discuss the review and was attempting to deal with the passport corruption.