Ditto

That's a very weird statement given that visa on arrivals are issued for only 3 months, and holders of long-term visas are already allowed in, I'm not really sure to who this might be relevant.


I'm not sure it's awkward in any way, all those countries have had a big increase of new cases in the last 2 weeks, arguably Spain should have never been considered "low-risk"
Some other countries disappearing from the list makes little sense though, I have a feeling they again forgot some of the columns

T8191

Sadly we cannot afford to pay for 3 month's Visitation Hotel Bills. 😟

I feel sorry for those who are impacted by the piecemeal changes, being drip-fed at fortnightly intervals. Nobody can plan anything under this scenario, which was another reason we just bailed out for this year. We will however be looking at a 2-3 week visitation for Dec 21.

Bastien003

Interesting that they removed Switzerland from the list as the number of cases is increasing exponentially. it light be due to the reciprocity allowed by Switzerland.

I am still a bit confused by the updated guidelines.
if i were to be in Switzerland for 10 days before going to ZA, would I be able to go there as a tourist for 2 weeks mid november?

HGOLI

Same here, I do not visit any other part of SA except for Kruger. I received my final refund today from Sanparks. I also visit Eswatini, however I will also look elsewhere if the situation remains the same after Christmas, as with the best will in the world, I simply cannot take the risk of booking should things change again every 2 weeks or so. Unlike a quick European trip which isn't a big deal rebooking at very short notice, 6k miles or so and a not insignificant amount of money spent on accomm for approx 17/18 days, and having to organise leave from work, is more of a challenge.

acucobol

Two spoonfuls of humble pie being eaten tonight. Based on today’s announcement have cancelled my flight for October 29th. Focusing on my next booked flight on December 10th.

MarkP24

Does it make any sense for a U.S. citizen to book a trip to South Africa for June 2021? Everything would be refundable (allegedly....), but after getting burnt this past summer, I'm not sure I want to go through that again unless I think it's quite likely that it will happen.

KenBoffard

Don’t think anyone can predict - it will depend as much as what happens in the US as in RSA. To date there has not yet been a second surge in SA. The ban on leisure travel remains, but I don’t see that lasting beyond another three months, except for “high-risk” countries.
However, most tickets seem to be fully refundable if you use Miles, and depend on your fare paid if you pay money. I would not commit to a non-refundable ticket (yet)

BLONDIEandDAGWOOD

If I was a betting man, I would say Sept 2021 and the over. I don’t think the US is going to get this virus under control anytime soon. SA will not remove the US from the list until the numbers come down significantly in the US - which clearly will not happen anytime soon. Also Don’t let the news about the vaccine being the solution fool you. A large portion of Americans will refuse to take it straight away or at all, and it will take months to be rolled out to the masses. Even once it is readily available, I don’t think it will be effective in stopping this virus. This virus spreads ridiculously fast, has mutated already, and there are reports that antibodies wear off after a few months. So no, a vaccine is not going to be the solution. The Leaders need to realize that we need to learn to live with the virus for a long time (years). That means testing testing and testing. However, 9 months into this, American travellers are still unable to find PCR COVID testing that will guarantee the results with 72 hours. That’s embarrassing and tells you all you need to know why the US are in such a hole.

superpointsLXflyer

It makes no sense to remove Switzerland from the "high risk" list when we have some of the highest numbers per 100'000 and a positivity rate of 10-15% (!) for multiple days in a row. And then they put Germany on the list? Even though we could enter South Africa now they have lost all credibility.

Postdoc

I'm wondering whether unsuccessful applications get a response. It's been 16 days and we've heard nothing .

fishz

From yesterday's announcement posted in the link above "In response to these numbers, the Department of Home Affairs has increased the capacity of people managing the email account to ensure speedier responses and we will try our best to ensure that responses are communicated within 24 hours."

It seems they intend to respond.
​

T8191

The following may help to lever open some Borders, if Nations will accept this testing process.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-54604100

thijsseh

Yes, but it will depend on this LAMP test to be accepted.

Now if the UK will accept a LAMP test done on arrival at LHR when I get back (from SA) in December (so that I would avoid 14 days quarantine), that would be great! It's sort of disingenuous / hypocritical to say it is good enough for passengers leaving to go to HKG but not for those returning.

Also, £80 is still relatively expensive. I have recently booked a 24 hour service PCR test for £170, the 48 hour service would have been £145. But it is inconvenient as I have to drive to the testing place (which is 35 minutes away). Having said that, I would happily pay the £80 (*2) on arrival....

Ditto

Each government have a different opinion on how to "mitigate" the risk of passengers importing COVID, some prefer (self-)isolation as even a PCR test is not 100% reliable
Having testing facilities in place at the airport to accommodate for the requirements of foreign governments is by no way hypocritical

BlueEgg

A bit unrelated to South Africa. How would the LAMP test help UK travelers going to HKG in the near future? One would still need a PCR test on arrival in HKG and wait for the results at the airport or in a hotel. On proving to be negative for the test, one would then proceed to a booked hotel to be quarantined in a hotel room for 14 days.