Lamola, Schreiber addressing Ireland’s new visa regulations for South Africans - DIRCO
On Monday, the Irish minister for justice, Helen McEntee, announced that nationals travelling from South Africa and Botswana would no longer have visa-free entry into that country.
FILE: Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola. Picture: GCIS
JOHANNESBURG - International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola said that he’d already discussed Ireland’s new visa regulations for South Africans with his Home Affairs counterpart, Leon Schreiber.
On Monday, the Irish minister for justice, Helen McEntee, announced that nationals travelling from South Africa and Botswana would no longer have visa-free entry into that country.
She said the amendment would align Ireland with both the Schengen area and the UK’s visa requirements.
In recent years, her country has seen a significant number of international protection applications, which are referred to as refugee status in South Africa.
An application for a new visa will cost between R1,200 and R2,000.
"We can confirm that the minister of International Relations and Cooperation has engaged his counterpart at the Department of Home Affairs Minister Schreiber and the government is keen on urgently addressing the issue, to make sure matters raised by the Republic of Ireland are addressed studiously," said Lamola's spokesperson, Chrispin Phiri.