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5 South African Countries Announce Plans to Introduce Single Visa to Promote Tourism

Source: Visa News, 10/06/2024

Key Takeaways
• Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are planning to introduce a single tourist visa.
• This visa, similar to the Schengen one, will permit entry to all these five countries for a short period.
• GCC countries will soon also launch a single visa.
Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe have announced plans to simplify the movement of foreign travelers within their territories without the need to apply for separate documents.
Just recently, the authorities of the five countries agreed to start working on the launch of a single Schengen-style visa, VisaGuide.World reports.
The launch of this visa would mean that travelers will not need a separate visa for each country. Instead, the new single visa will enable them to enter Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe without needing any other additional documents.
Zambia and Zimbabwe already have a so-called “univisa”, which permits its holders to enter the two countries with the same document as well as permits short stays to Botswana.
However, in order for the “univisa” to include more countries and make the experience of this part of the continent more convenient and enjoyable, an expansion to include Angola and Zimbabwe will soon take place.
Commenting on the plans to introduce a Schengen-style visa that will permit entry to Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the authorities said that the main aim of this move is to attract more visitors.
They believe that the single visa will make the countries more attractive as the holders of the document will not have to worry about applying for multiple visas. Travelers will also be able to explore more countries during a single stay without spending much on flights to reach the area at different times of the year.
GCC Countries Will Soon Launch a Single Visa, Too
In addition to the countries mentioned above, GCC countries �` UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Kuwait �` will also soon launch a single visa.
The GCC countries have decided to name their single visa “GCC Grand Tours”. On the basis of this visa, travelers will be able to stay in the territory of the GCC countries for more than 30 days without having to undergo any other procedures.
The “GCC Grand Tours” visa will work similarly to the Schengen visa. This means that if a foreigner gets issued a visa from one of the GCC countries, they will be able to enter the others too without having to apply for a separate visa.
The authorities of the GCC countries have noted that this type of visa will help them to retain tourists. Moreover, they stressed that this visa will help the GCC countries to become more popular destinations.

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