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Big Ben, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, The Lake District, Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parliament, museums like the Natural History Museum, Westminster Abbey ... these landmarks are on many a bucket list. And if a new campaign has its way, South Africans won't need visas to go see them.
A visa to the United Kingdom currently costs South Africans nearly R1500 – quite a hefty fee for a country that is a member of the Commonwealth.
A campaign to restore visa-free travel for South Africans visiting the UK will be launched today by the Royal Commonwealth Society.
The launch is due to take place at the National Liberal Club in London, with 50 members of the UK South African Diaspora expected to attend. The campaign is centred around a which states: “We want to restore visa-free travel and we need your help. There are 200 000 South Africans living in the UK and we want as many of you to sign our petition urging both the UK and South African governments to find a solution.”
Since 2008, South Africans have needed to apply for a UK visa. A six-month visa costs an average of R1477, depending on the rand-to-pound exchange rate.
The petition also mentions that as a result of the visa restrictions imposed, the number of South Africans visiting the UK have dropped by more than 100 000.
Leading anti-apartheid campaigner, Lord Peter Hain said: “A return to visa-free travel would help rebuild bonds between families, as well as directly boost UK tourism by attracting fresh numbers of South Africans, and restore visitor numbers to 2006 levels of more than 350 000.”
Haniff Hoosen, shadow minister of home affairs in South Africa, said: “Historically, there have been very strong ties between our two countries. It does not make sense that goods produced in these two countries can pass freely but the visitors cannot. I will continue to advance the interests and benefits of this campaign in the South African Parliament.”
*Pictures from www.visitbritain.com
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