Free South African visas for football fans

July 20 2009 by Mark Johnstone

Get your World Cup 2010 South Africa visa

The South African government has given the go-ahead for ‘event visas’ to be granted to football fans travelling to the country for the 2010 World Cup.

The South African visas will be available free to anyone who can prove they hold a valid ticket to any tournament match.

South Africa's Department of Home Affairs aim to ensure an efficient flow of visitors for the FIFA World Cup 2010, which will also include an Event Visa for the World Football Championship. They have assured that the new visa will not compromise security across the country or at matches.

The Events Visa was successfully piloted at the Confederations Cup earlier this year.

In addition to the Event Visas, the Department of Home Affairs also plans to speed up the visa application process via their “advanced passenger processing” system.

Also it has been announced that there will be immigration officials at some of the foreign airports to process South African visa applicants, including airports in Holland, UK, India, Hong Kong and Dubai.

The Department of Home Affairs has assured that there will be enough South African immigration officials to manage the huge number of visitors expected to attend one of the biggest sporting spectacles in 2010.

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