Pandor reportedly said with Britain seemingly reluctant to lift the visa requirements for South Africans which were instituted amid the forgery of passports four years ago, this country might have to consider such a move.
The announcement was received with mixed views across tourism sector. Prof Sanette Ferreira of Stellenbosch University disagreed with the implementation of a visa system for the wrong reasons.
Ferreira says it could work if it was done for state security reasons, and if an efficient, speedy application system could be put in place, but conceded that complex logistics with visa applications would probably deter British visitors.
Tourism expert, Martin van Niekerk says requiring British tourists to obtain visas to visit the country could negatively affect the country's economy. Van Niekerk further says it would be short-sighted as Britain was South Africa's largest tourist market.
Earlier this week, Pandor announced that the new smart identity card would be rolled out from July this year. She said it would replace the green bar coded ID which is expected to be phased out over the next eight years.
The Home Affairs Department also announced that it would stop processing asylum seekers from Angola in August this year, in line with a resolution of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees
The Home Affairs minister says there would be three offices per province to process the new smart card from July. She said they were busy setting up and it's going to be an exciting development for the country that they had a secure identity card, a modern one that would be more manageable than the ID book.
The Home Affairs Department also announced that it would stop processing asylum seekers from Angola in August this year, in line with a resolution of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
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