24 hour transit visa for SA
 

Hello,

I have a 24 hour transit visa for SA for onward travels to Botswana. Question - I assume this entitles me to leave the airport to head over the Intercontinental hotel? I fly in on EK and have a very short connecting flight onto Maun which I can't risk .......... hence flying the next day.

Thanks in advance

What passport are you traveling on?

India

You do need a transit visa to transit, however, I do not know if you can leave the international departures area. There is a Protea hotel that is available in the transit area if you can't leave.

All the information you require is to be found on the *A website here.

From my reading of the information you will need a transit visa since you are connecting to a country bordering ZA. (Kind of an odd rule that...:confused:)

As for entering the country: transit without visa, when it is allowed, is for pax staying airside unless otherwise stated. ZA is not one of the exceptions.

No leaving transit area, regardless of circumstances. If you don't take a room at the airside hotel for an overnight transit, SA Immigration will throw you into a detention cell instead (and believe me, you don't want to wind up in one of those EVER!).

I'm having a bit of trouble following this, since the OP will have a transit visa in hand. Those typically allow leaving the airport during the stated period of time on the visa (2 days, 3 days, etc). It seems that most of the information mentioned would be for someone on TWOV, in which case they can not leave the airside terminal. Unless South Africa is a complete exception to the general rule on transit visas?

Thank You all for your responses - I got in touch with the SA consulate in Delhi ...... I am permitted to leave the terminal as long as I can show them proof of onward travel the next day (tickets) ....... They say, they issue this all the time.

This is a bizarre rule ........ I need a transit visa to fly to JNB just to connect to connections (Botswana, Namibia) etc etc., Yet - If I was to transit in JNB onwards to say, Livingstone or Rio etc etc., (not a neighboring country) - I don't need a transit visa. Most bizarre .........