Cape Town Immigration
Dec 11, 2016, 1:56 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: UK
Programs: BAEC, HHH (Diamond), Le Club (Platinum), Hertz (Gold), Priority Club,
Posts: 101
Cape Town Immigration
My wife and I have just returned from a lovely holiday in South Africa thanks to Avios. However I thought that I must warn future travellers of the new immigration procedures in South Africa.
Having had your passport scanned you have your photo taken. You then have to put your four fingers of your left hand on a screen and reposition them until you get four green lights followed by the four fingers of the right hand. You then place your thumbs on the screen. The whole process takes some time.
We arrived from LGW (in Club) a few minutes ahead of the 747 from LHR. We were one of the first into passport control. By the time we left there were probably 500+ people in the queue.
If you are flying into Cape Town, make sure that you get off and move quickly. A few places in the queue can make a big time difference
Having had your passport scanned you have your photo taken. You then have to put your four fingers of your left hand on a screen and reposition them until you get four green lights followed by the four fingers of the right hand. You then place your thumbs on the screen. The whole process takes some time.
We arrived from LGW (in Club) a few minutes ahead of the 747 from LHR. We were one of the first into passport control. By the time we left there were probably 500+ people in the queue.
If you are flying into Cape Town, make sure that you get off and move quickly. A few places in the queue can make a big time difference
Dec 11, 2016, 6:49 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: London and Zurich
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Lots of discussion at http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/afric...-roll-out.html .
Dec 11, 2016, 8:36 am
#6
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Surrey UK
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Came into JNB on Thursday morning and no biometrics or other people - through in record time. Benefit of QR arriving 10am after the direct flights have cleared
Dec 11, 2016, 8:45 am
#7
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My anecdotal contribution: CPT in November, arriving on QR, just (minutes) after a BA flight. At first they did biometrics but stopped. Had a 15 to 20 min wait. Went rather smoothly. Had I been at the back of the bus, it would have been rather longer. When I was through the line was 10x longer.
Interestingly, they stopped doing the biometrics when I was in the line as they saw the line growing I guess. Or the system was provided by BA and simply gave up.
Interestingly, they stopped doing the biometrics when I was in the line as they saw the line growing I guess. Or the system was provided by BA and simply gave up.
Dec 11, 2016, 3:05 pm
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: London
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I had my biometrics captured on departure from CPT earlier this year. There is one major difference from the US system: the immigration agents in the US operate the biometrics machinery with speed and efficiency.
Fortunately, I've missed this on every other passage through ZA immigration since then.
Fortunately, I've missed this on every other passage through ZA immigration since then.
Dec 11, 2016, 9:54 pm
#9
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Southampton, UK
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Posts: 217
I came through JNB in November on BA, in F, and it took an hour to get through immigration despite the fact they had given up doing the biometric system, although there were plenty of notices about it and how much time it would take.
Dec 11, 2016, 10:28 pm
#10
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For reference only ...
Arrived CPT a week ago around 0750, BA 777 ex-LGW, behind a LH and with a BA ex-LHR already on site. Queue stretched almost to the end of the metal barrier maze. Most booths were open, and doing biometrics. As we reached the front, we were directed to booth #1 which was just manual processing (and took about 30 seconds!). Total time in queue about 45 minutes.
As CW pax, we got on the first bus which did not wait to be filled before heading to Arrivals. Those in Y would undoubtedly have had a much longer delay.
Arrived CPT a week ago around 0750, BA 777 ex-LGW, behind a LH and with a BA ex-LHR already on site. Queue stretched almost to the end of the metal barrier maze. Most booths were open, and doing biometrics. As we reached the front, we were directed to booth #1 which was just manual processing (and took about 30 seconds!). Total time in queue about 45 minutes.
As CW pax, we got on the first bus which did not wait to be filled before heading to Arrivals. Those in Y would undoubtedly have had a much longer delay.
Dec 12, 2016, 4:40 am
#13
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Dec 12, 2016, 4:44 am
#14
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: London, United Kingdom
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Dec 12, 2016, 5:02 am
#15
Join Date: Dec 2011
Location: UK
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