Visa applicants to South Africa must have a biometric passport before their application can be considered, the South Africa High Commission in Ghana has indicated.
This was contained in a statement issued by the Commission after Citi News reported on Thursday that some travelers to South Africa had been turned away because they were using manual passports.
“The South Africa High Commission wish to inform all visa applicants that effective 24 November 2015, applicants using machine readable passports and handwritten passport MUST acquire Biometric Passports before a visa will be granted,”the statement posted on its website indicated.
The Commission therefore advised applicants to acquire the biometric passports before submitting their applications.
The decision nullifies government’s position that non-Biometric passports are as valid as biometric passports.
Ghana’s Foreign Affairs Ministry is yet to respond to the development.
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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana