South Africa - entry restrictions and rules [merged thread]
May 18, 2021, 3:30 pm
#1126
Join Date: Mar 2021
Location: New York, NY
Programs: Marriott Lifetime, IHG Spire Elite
Posts: 8
Hi jeffers ! We're headed there in June and had the same concern. Frankly, the weather is more of a concern to me than the openness. Most places are open, though not 100%. We were easily able to get reservations at top restaurants, and a benefit is that many hotels are cheaper than usual.
Last edited by dz1031; May 18, 2021 at 3:32 pm Reason: adding tag for original post
May 18, 2021, 4:03 pm
#1127
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Raleigh-Durham
Programs: HH Diamond; Marriott Gold; AA Platinum
Posts: 758
Hi all! Has anyone traveled Tanzania to South Africa lately? We are scheduled to go from Kilimanjaro to Johannesburg on June 15, and I have a question about the testing/entry requirements. We are scheduled to take our COVID test mid-day on June 12, with our departure at 5pm June 15. Since Tanzania takes the full 72 hrs to turn PCR tests around, we have to take the test just over 72 hrs ahead of time. Additionally, I'm concerned about the medical provider signature, since Tanzania's tests are all government run, but that doesn't appear to be a criteria anymore. Appreciate any responses!
May 19, 2021, 9:21 am
#1128
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: JNB
Programs: Flying Blue, Miles and Smiles, Hhonors, ICHotels
Posts: 1,307
Was in Tanzania last week. Did the test in Johannesburg, got the results the next day. Upon arrival in DAR did the quick test - US$ 25 cash only. So, two tests in three days. When we left, we were advised to go to a portal to book a test. Also advised to go to a Public Hospital. US$ 100 per test - private facilities charge a "handling and admin fee" over and above that.
You then get an SMS the next day - you need a local number - and if Negative, they will send you a confirmation. If Positive, no document will be sent to you.
At the airport on departure, you report to a desk, they cross check your passport number with your Covid test result, and you are good to go.
For South Africa, you can go online to complete a form, or, accept a form to complete at the airport.
Arrival in JNB is a shambles with the "person" asking for a printout of my on-line application. Words were exchanged and I left. I did not have the option to print out the SA declaration, so that is something they need to solve.
You then get an SMS the next day - you need a local number - and if Negative, they will send you a confirmation. If Positive, no document will be sent to you.
At the airport on departure, you report to a desk, they cross check your passport number with your Covid test result, and you are good to go.
For South Africa, you can go online to complete a form, or, accept a form to complete at the airport.
Arrival in JNB is a shambles with the "person" asking for a printout of my on-line application. Words were exchanged and I left. I did not have the option to print out the SA declaration, so that is something they need to solve.
May 30, 2021, 4:30 pm
#1129
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: LON
Programs: BAEC
Posts: 3,918
Following a recent uptick in cases, South Africa is facing a third wave of infections and the government has today announced new restrictions starting Mon 31 May 2021.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/...icter-lockdown
More info and advice at https://www.gov.za/Coronavirus
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/...icter-lockdown
President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that South Africa is to reimpose stricter measures against COVID-19 fearing the whole country will soon face a third wave of the pandemic. Four of the nation’s nine provinces, including Gauteng which includes Johannesburg and Pretoria and has the biggest population, are already battling a third wave of infections, Ramaphosa said on Sunday.
The restrictions, starting on Monday, will force non-essential establishments like restaurants, bars and fitness centres to close by 10pm local time (20:00 GMT) as the curfew will be extended by an hour to start at 11pm and end at 4am. Gatherings, including political and faith events, will be limited to 250 people outdoors and 100 indoors. Authorities did stop short of reimposing some strict measures, such as limits on people’s movements during the day and a ban on the sales of alcohol and tobacco products, that were in place at times last year.
May 31, 2021, 10:36 am
#1130
Join Date: Oct 2006
Programs: Priority Club Platinum, Skywards Gold, BAEC Silver, SAA Voyager
Posts: 246
I am currently in RSA (Johannesburg) having arrived on Sunday morning. The only real difference is the (slightly) longer curfew, 23:00 - 04:00 which for many (and certainly me) makes no difference at all. Everything you would want to visit remains open, such as restaurants, spas, malls etc. Strangely, I did see large queues at several banks this morning in a major shopping mall in Soweto. Apart from that, no difference. Will be heading to Cape Town on tomorrow (Tuesday) morning and hopefully all will be well there.
On a side issue. Entering RSA at JNB on Sunday morning was a breeze. Quick temperature check, collection of the paper health form and 1 second check of the PCR test result, then to immigration and stamped in. Far more fuss and pantomime checking in at LHR on Saturday afternoon!
On a side issue. Entering RSA at JNB on Sunday morning was a breeze. Quick temperature check, collection of the paper health form and 1 second check of the PCR test result, then to immigration and stamped in. Far more fuss and pantomime checking in at LHR on Saturday afternoon!
May 31, 2021, 11:31 am
#1131
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: CPT,AMS
Posts: 4,412
Jun 3, 2021, 11:49 pm
#1132
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Belgium
Posts: 270
Might need some help here!
TLDR: Need info about the testing at CPT airport!
Belgian citizen, spending a month in South Africa, and decided pretty last minute to fly to Namibia for 10 days to find some better weather. Did a drive through PCR test in CPT before flying to Namibia and everything went smooth.
After Namibia, I’ll have around 20 hours in CPT before flying to Amsterdam. The Netherlands has very strict entry regulations and I need a PCR test that’s not more than 24 hours old from time of boarding. I’ll have a PCR test taken about 48 hours before flying from Namibia to CPT, so can’t use that test, and was wondering where I could get tested in CPT with quick results. Will be landing in CPT at 4pm and my flight to AMS leaves the next day at noon. Most testing sites I’ve found close at 5pm, so I probably won’t make it if I have to wait for luggage and grab an Uber.
Does anyone have any experience with the testing at CPT airport? Could I just get a PCR test there when landing from Namibia and get the results before checking in the next morning?
TLDR: Need info about the testing at CPT airport!
Belgian citizen, spending a month in South Africa, and decided pretty last minute to fly to Namibia for 10 days to find some better weather. Did a drive through PCR test in CPT before flying to Namibia and everything went smooth.
After Namibia, I’ll have around 20 hours in CPT before flying to Amsterdam. The Netherlands has very strict entry regulations and I need a PCR test that’s not more than 24 hours old from time of boarding. I’ll have a PCR test taken about 48 hours before flying from Namibia to CPT, so can’t use that test, and was wondering where I could get tested in CPT with quick results. Will be landing in CPT at 4pm and my flight to AMS leaves the next day at noon. Most testing sites I’ve found close at 5pm, so I probably won’t make it if I have to wait for luggage and grab an Uber.
Does anyone have any experience with the testing at CPT airport? Could I just get a PCR test there when landing from Namibia and get the results before checking in the next morning?
Jun 4, 2021, 2:35 am
#1133
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: CPT,AMS
Posts: 4,412
There are no PCR testing facilities at CPT airport, you could however get a rapid test there, if you can time your PCR from Namibia to fall within a 72hr window of arrival to NL the 2 should be sufficient.
Also, as you state your location as Belgium, assuming your final destination isn't NL you might be exempted from NL testing requirements as they do not apply to transit pax.
Also, as you state your location as Belgium, assuming your final destination isn't NL you might be exempted from NL testing requirements as they do not apply to transit pax.
Jun 4, 2021, 2:37 am
#1134
Join Date: Jan 2019
Location: London & DUR
Programs: BA Gold, A3 Gold, SAA Gold, Virgin Gold, Expedia Gold, Accor Silver
Posts: 33
Are you sure about that 24hr requirement? Considering how long it takes to get results, that seems impossible to achieve prior to an eleven hour flight! Take a look at this: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwe...eisen-pcr-test
This seems to indicate 72 hours. That's much more achievable... but I suspect your Namibian test will time out so you still need to retest in CPT.
This seems to indicate 72 hours. That's much more achievable... but I suspect your Namibian test will time out so you still need to retest in CPT.
Jun 4, 2021, 2:52 am
#1135
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Belgium
Posts: 270
There are no PCR testing facilities at CPT airport, you could however get a rapid test there, if you can time your PCR from Namibia to fall within a 72hr window of arrival to NL the 2 should be sufficient.
Also, as you state your location as Belgium, assuming your final destination isn't NL you might be exempted from NL testing requirements as they do not apply to transit pax.
Also, as you state your location as Belgium, assuming your final destination isn't NL you might be exempted from NL testing requirements as they do not apply to transit pax.
Are you sure about that 24hr requirement? Considering how long it takes to get results, that seems impossible to achieve prior to an eleven hour flight! Take a look at this: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwe...eisen-pcr-test
This seems to indicate 72 hours. That's much more achievable... but I suspect your Namibian test will time out so you still need to retest in CPT.
This seems to indicate 72 hours. That's much more achievable... but I suspect your Namibian test will time out so you still need to retest in CPT.
Jun 4, 2021, 11:46 pm
#1138
Join Date: Jan 2020
Location: UK / SA
Programs: BA Gold
Posts: 48
Direct flights from SA to UK resuming
Hello all - for those still subscribed to this thread, UKGOV have just updated their travel advice to allow direct flights from SA to the UK - SA is (presumably) staying on the red list and passengers will still have to go through mandatory quarantine.
I’m currently in day 4 of quarantine at Heathrow - I’m hoping this news means I can fly back to SA direct later in the summer (rather than the 21 hour circus through Doha and Madrid to get here).
Jun 5, 2021, 6:28 am
#1139
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Teaneck, NJ
Programs: AA L.T. Plat; UA Platinum
Posts: 328
Questions still seem to remain about transit passengers-- i.e. can transit passengers leave dedicated terminal (Terminal 3 LHR perhaps?) to transit to flights from other terminals. I am booked JFK-LHR-JNB-LUN on Aug 15 with return LUN-JNB-LHR-EWR on Aug 26. LHR transit remains ambiguous but I suspect there can be clarification as well as many potential changes by August. My honest preference would be for BA to refund the ticket so I can book JFK-DXB-LUN on EK or so I can get Aadvantage points JFK-DOH-JNB-LUN on QR.
Jun 5, 2021, 7:10 am
#1140
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Atlanta, GA
Programs: United Mileage Plus, Delta Skymiles, SPG
Posts: 58
Just arrived back from South Africa after nearly a 3 week vacation, starting in South Africa, then to Zambia, then flying from Vic Falls Airport (Zim) to Cape Town, then from Cape Town to JNB for our return home.
Trip went very smoothly with testing done at all stops, lodges were able to arrange for testing on site (for a pretty price) or taking us to a local clinic.
In Cape Town, while there was rapid testing at CPT, I didn’t want to wait till the last minute so we did a rapid antigen test two days before our return flight to the US (since the US allows PCR, antigen, and LAMP-type tests for entry).
Flew from CPT to JNB, hung out in the lounge and went to our gate for boarding (Air France from JNB-CDG-LAX). And then were denied boarding…. We’d made it through ticketing, baggage check, customs, passport control, security, etc and then at the gate we were denied entry to the gate area.
They told us that no matter what the US entry requirements were, that South Africa requires an exit PCR. I argued that the Gazette doesn’t say that and its just a health screening (which is largely the exit form you fill out) but they wouldn’t relent. We didn’t bring up vaccinations status since I knew that didn’t have bearing to either South Africa or US for travel.
They denied us and one other onto our flights and escorted us back out of security and made us take a rapid PCR (with 20 minutes to spare before that lab closed for the day), then they rebooked us on a KLM flights from JNB-AMS-JFK-LAX. We kept out business seats, but that added another 8 hours and a lot of stress to our travel day.
I still can’t find any requirement for an exit PCR, only the need to have one if the country you’re traveling to requires one. But they wouldn’t listen or bring in a supervisor or anything. Made the end of the trip long and sour but fortunately had enough good memories from the rest of the trip.
Now if we only didn’t forget our bag of souvenirs that we left in a bin on our first KLM flight from JNB-AMS in our stress and fatigue.
Trip went very smoothly with testing done at all stops, lodges were able to arrange for testing on site (for a pretty price) or taking us to a local clinic.
In Cape Town, while there was rapid testing at CPT, I didn’t want to wait till the last minute so we did a rapid antigen test two days before our return flight to the US (since the US allows PCR, antigen, and LAMP-type tests for entry).
Flew from CPT to JNB, hung out in the lounge and went to our gate for boarding (Air France from JNB-CDG-LAX). And then were denied boarding…. We’d made it through ticketing, baggage check, customs, passport control, security, etc and then at the gate we were denied entry to the gate area.
They told us that no matter what the US entry requirements were, that South Africa requires an exit PCR. I argued that the Gazette doesn’t say that and its just a health screening (which is largely the exit form you fill out) but they wouldn’t relent. We didn’t bring up vaccinations status since I knew that didn’t have bearing to either South Africa or US for travel.
They denied us and one other onto our flights and escorted us back out of security and made us take a rapid PCR (with 20 minutes to spare before that lab closed for the day), then they rebooked us on a KLM flights from JNB-AMS-JFK-LAX. We kept out business seats, but that added another 8 hours and a lot of stress to our travel day.
I still can’t find any requirement for an exit PCR, only the need to have one if the country you’re traveling to requires one. But they wouldn’t listen or bring in a supervisor or anything. Made the end of the trip long and sour but fortunately had enough good memories from the rest of the trip.
Now if we only didn’t forget our bag of souvenirs that we left in a bin on our first KLM flight from JNB-AMS in our stress and fatigue.