Kiwis living in Australia need a visa to visit South Africa

South African Airways has issued a warning about the need for New Zealand passport holders living in Australia to obtain a visa before visiting South Africa.

According to Tim Clyde-Smith, SAA’s Country Manager for Australasia, the new visa rules came into force on January 16 this year.

“While the majority of New Zealand passport holders do get the necessary documentation and obtain their visas, we are seeing quite a few incidents when people are unaware of the requirements,” Tim said.

“The new rules apply to all diplomatic, official and ordinary passport holders of New Zealand. If they do not have a visa, an airline cannot check them in for their flight to South Africa, meaning added expense and inconvenience, not only to the traveler but also to the travel consultant and their agency,” he said.

Further information on visa requirements for New Zealand passport holders and required documentation for any persons under the age of 18 years travelling to South Africa can be found at dha.gov.za to find out about supporting documents.

For travel agents, details on both document requirements are in Timatic located in GDS.

Alternatively, the South African High Commission in Canberra can be contacted on 02 6272 7300.

“SAA is urging our travel partners in particular to ensure their customers know the new rules. Even if the tickets were issued before its introduction on 16 January, please be professional about your relationship with the customer and inform them of the new requirements to avoid the heartache they will experience at check-in,” Tim concluded.

For more information on SAA flights and reservations please visit flysaa.com.