Multiple South African visas approved for Nigerian officials

November 17 2009 by Liam Clifford

New deal between the nations of South Africa and Nigeria concerning visa arrangements.

South Africa has approved a three-year multiple South African visa for people from Nigeria who hold official or diplomatic passports, according to newspaper reports made yesterday.

South Africa’s Deputy President Klagema Motlanthe announcd the decision to approve the South African visas in Nigeria at the weekend. The announcement was made to mark the 10th anniversary of the Nigeria-South Africa Bi-National Commission.

Motlanthe expanded, “the South Africa Home Affairs Department is conducting a review of the whole spectrum. In the interim, the South Africa Government has agreed that we will, with immediate effect, offer three year multiple visas to holders of official and diplomatic passports in order to allow time for the review to be completed.”

The approval is being seen as a stop-gap that can be used for official visits in preparation for the approval of the visa waiver programme between the two nations. The visa waiver scheme was announced several weeks ago but is yet to be passed as a review of the South African immigration system is still pending.

Motlanthe added, “we are quite optimistic and confident that before our next bi-national meeting, we should be able to address the issue to finality.”

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