Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber has announced that South Africa will roll out its fully digital Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system for short-term tourist visas by the end of September.
As reported by Tourism Update, the digital visa system will initially cover visits under 90 days and will be a key part of the government’s broader effort to digitise visa processing and border entry.
The system will be managed by the Border Management Authority and will be launched at major international airports, with plans to eventually expand it to all visa categories.
ETA to launch this year
Powered by artificial intelligence, the ETA system promises to deliver faster turnaround times and stronger security.
“The ETA will include world-class cybersecurity systems and live monitoring by AI-powered risk engines,” Schreiber said, as per Tourism Update.
Schreiber also confirmed that the list of eligible nationalities would be announced at the time of the official launch.
“It would be premature to discuss the finer details as this will all be revealed at the go-live launch in September,” he also added.
A recent live demonstration of the system for President Ramaphosa reportedly ran without issues, and final testing is underway ahead of the launch.
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