South Africa to Start Processing Group Visa Applications for Chinese and Indian tourists

South Africa will begin to receive group visa applications from selected tour operators for Indian and Chinese tourists in mid-February, according to an official from the Department of Home Affairs. 

Yusuf Simons, Western Cape provincial manager of the Department of Home Affairs, shared in an interview with Xinhua that South Africa has chosen 65 tour operators from South Africa, India and China for the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) to submit group visa applications by Chinese and Indian tourists to travel to South Africa. 

As Chinese and Indian tourists only account for 1.8% and 3.9% of all international visitors to South Africa respectively, the TTOS was announced in 2024 to increase tourism arrivals from the two countries. 

“The TTOS was created to attract tourists from China and India. The population of India and China is one-third of the world’s population, so we are trying to divert many tourists from those two countries to South Africa as a preferred destination,” said Simons. 

He added that given Chinese and Indian tourists have a preference for traveling in groups, the TTOS would make their application process a smoother one.  

Regarding the application process, he said, “The turnaround period to finalize applications will be reduced to two to three days, instead of waiting for three weeks. The online process requirements have been reduced.”

He also said that the TTOS is still in its pilot phase, with the Department of Home Affairs aiming to add more tour operators to its list to draw more tourists from China and India. 

Simons shared that even though many tourists from these two countries are very keen on visiting South Africa, they have been facing challenges in applying for visas due to the language barrier. 

According to South Africa’s Department of Tourism, 41,651 tourists from China traveled to South Africa last year, reflecting an increase of 11.4% from 2023. 75,541 tourists from India visited South Africa in 2024, but this was a 5.3% dip from the previous year.