VFS Global wins new contract

VFS Global has been awarded the Regional Contract to provide Germany visa services in the Asia Pacific region, as per this new contract, VFS Global will operate Germany Visa Application Centres in 36 new locations across 14 countries.

VFS Global is expected to start operations in the new Visa Application Centres during the first quarter of 2019. The People’s Republic of China alone will see the addition of centres in 15 cities*, further strengthening access to Germany’s visa services across the country.

In addition to these facilities, VFS Global will also offer a Mobile Biometric Service in 24 locations throughout the region. The Mobile Biometric Service enables applicants to submit their documents and biometric information from a location of their choice, e.g. from their home or office, eliminating the need to visit a Visa Application Centre.


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Freedom to travel

ON January 27, President #Trump signed an #ExecutiveOrder suspending immigrant and non-immigrant entry to the #USA for people from Libya, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for a period of 90 days (ie until 27 April 2017). 

Information from the FCO websites states a number of exclusions from the temporary measures such as those travelling on diplomatic visas, North Atlantic Treaty Organisation visas, C-2 visas for travel to the United Nations, and G-1, G-2, G-3, and G-4 visas.

The FCO has confirmed with the US government that British passport holders (regardless of country of birth or whether they hold another passport / nationality) aren’t affected by the Executive Order.

If you’re unsure whether you’re affected by these new measures, you should contact the nearest US Embassy or Consulate for advice.

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Picture Credit: Darron Birgenheier 28502132@N05/23679921353 Donald Trump via photopin

Kaza Uni-Visa reinstated

The Governments of the Republics of #Zambia and #Zimbabwe are pleased to announce the re-launch of the Kavango Zambezi Trans-Frontier Conservation Area (Kaza) Uni-Visa on 21st December 2016, with Citizens from 40 countries being eligible. The visa is only available for holiday/tourism purposes.

The Uni-Visa is only available at the following ports of entry:

• Harry Mwaanga Airport, Zambia
• Victoria Falls Land Border, Zambia
• Kazungula Land Border, Botswana border
• Kenneth Kaunda Airport, Lusaka 
• Victoria Falls Airport, Zimbabwe
• Harare Airport, Zimbabwe

The visa will be valid for 30 days and act as a multiple entry visa as long as you remain in Zimbabwe and Zambia but you can cross between the two as often as you wish in the 30 day period. It also covers those who visit Botswana for day trips through the Kazangula Borders, however, it will not be valid if staying in Botswana overnight. In this case, you would need to purchase a new Visa

For further details: www.kazavisa.info

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Picture Credit: MarcCooper_1950 flickr.com/photos/125843178@N06/28431392726 Sundown Over The Falls  via photopin

Check-in procedure change at Vic Falls Airport

SINCE the opening of the new Victoria Falls International Airport there have been changes to check in procedure. Historically drivers and guides were able to join guests in the check-in queue and assist them all the way to the counter and with their check-in. This is now no longer allowed and the drivers and guides have to leave the guests once they join the queue. This is for security reasons and to avoid congestion in the queues. After check-in, guests will be directed to the immigration section for security screening and immigration formalities. After passport control, guests will go through to the departure Lounges.  These are security regulations applied by the Civil Aviation Authority of #Zimbabwe, according to International guidelines and will not be compromised.

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Access Indonesia

THE World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) expressed its full support for the decision of the Government of Indonesia to grant free visa to citizens from 169 countries. The measure looks for attracting international tourism to the country by simplifying travel procedures and follows research by UNWTO and WTTC that shows that visa facilitation in the ASEAN economies could create between 333,000 to 654,000 new jobs in a period of three years.

The visa-free policy is valid for a maximum stay of 30 days, has no restriction on the number of visits per year, and is non-extendable nor convertible to any other stay permit. Nationals of visa-free countries can enter Indonesia in any of the 124 immigration check points that the country possesses.

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Vietnam extends UK visitor visa waiver

VIETNAM’S government is extending its visa exemption programme for UK passport holders for single-entry stays of up to 15 days, until June 30 next year.  

The extension of the visa exemption programme comes just after the introduction of #Vietnam Airlines’ daily non-stop services between London Heathrow and Vietnam. The change also applies to French, German, Spanish, and Italian nationals.

According to Vietnam’s general statistics office, 4.7 million people visited the country in the first six months of 2016, a 21.3 per cent increase on last year’s figures. Annual tourism revenues have risen by 22 percent to VND200 trillion (£6.8 billion).

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Brits with ‘wrong’ passports being turned away from US

BRITISH TOURISTS flying to the US risk being turned away from flights unless they hold the latest biometric passports. The warning came as the US Department of Homeland Security confirmed that all travellers to the country must have an e-passport to use the visa waiver system.

This means that anyone flying to the US must hold a passport that contains an electronic chip – even if they have been granted an electronic visa. Reports of UK tourists being caught out have started to emerge, The Guardian newspaper reports.

The change to US visa requirements was made late last year under the US Terrorist Travel Prevention Act 2015, following the San Bernardino shootings, and came into effect at the start of last month. But many tourists appear to be unaware of the change and have found their chance of flying to the US thwarted at the airport.

More than a million non-biometric UK passports are estimated to still be in use, and there are concerns that the change has had insufficient publicity. On the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office travel advice website, there is only one small and largely obscure reference to the new requirements for the US, and no effort to highlight the change in a way that would alert the average traveller, says The Guardian.

Travel agencies have been warning their clients flying to the US, but those travelling independently have been caught out since little effort is made by airlines to warn passengers about the changed visa requirements. Airlines and travel operators say passengers are responsible for ensuring they have all the documentation required for their trip.

As part of its restrictions the US also implemented changes to prevent foreign nationals who have travelled to Iran, Iraq, Libya, Sudan or Syria from entering the country without a visa. It also denied automatic visa waivers for foreigners who have dual Iranian, Iraqi, Sudanese and Syrian citizenship.

The Association of British Travel Agents warned members of potential problems in January. A spokesman said: ‘Any customers who may have been caught out by this would have been more likely to be travelling independently.”

Travellers should allow at least three weeks to obtain a new, chip-enhanced passport at the standard prices, although any remaining time on their existing document will be added to the new one. Anyone needing a passport more quickly needs to make an appointment at a passport office in London, Liverpool, Belfast, Durham, Glasgow, Newport, or Peterborough and be prepared to pay at least £128.

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Two countries, one visa for international tourists

AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND’S tourism industry groups are calling for a permanent Trans-Tasman visa that would allow international tourists to travel between both countries with a regional visa – making long-haul flights to #Australia and #NewZealand more attractive. 

A temporary #Trans-Tasman visa arrangement was implemented during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015, during which visitors needed only an Australian visa to travel to New Zealand. A three-month visa was granted upon arrival in New Zealand to those holding an eligible Australian visa. 

The Tourism & Transport Forum Australia (TTF) and Tourism Industry Association New Zealand (TIA) have written a joint letter to the Australian minister for Immigration and Border Protection calling for the implementation of a permanent Trans-Tasman visa by the end of 2016.

‘Australia and New Zealand are long-haul destinations – it makes a lot of sense for us to package the two countries together in a joint regional visa to prospective international tourists who are weighing up the long flight to our countries,’ said Margy Osmond, TTF CEO. ‘The reality is that if you are coming halfway around the world to Australia or New Zealand, you want to make it worth your while, just as travelling to Europe we visit a multitude of countries on that continent, not just one.

‘Seamless travel between Australia and New Zealand for our own citizens and international visitors is a goal we should be strongly pursuing to make our two nations a more attractive destination in what is a cut-throat, competitive tourism market.’

“A 2014 TTF investigation into the benefits of streamlining the Trans-Tasman border highlighted that a joint visa scheme could increase the number of international visitors to our region by 141,300 people by 2020 – that’s more jobs and economic activity we are missing out on by dragging our feet on a Trans-Tasman Visa.’

TIA CEO Chris Roberts said: ‘It makes sense to invest and market a joint Australia-New Zealand experience to potential international visitors. This is already happening successfully elsewhere – for example, the Schengen zone of European countries, where a single visitor visa is required.’

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Picture Credit: Brisbane Sign, Australia</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com, By Ronnie Macdonald from Chelmsford, United Kingdom - Auckland Harbour View 09, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25803290

Zimbabwe relaxes visa regulations

ZIMBABWE’S government has relaxed its visa rules for tourists from 37 countries – including China – and removed visa requirements for all visitors from the Southern African Development Community (SADC)*. The aim to boost tourism to the country. 

#Zimbabwe uses a three-tier visa model: category A nationals are exempt from visas, category B travellers can obtain #visas at the port of entry on arrival; and category C nationals must apply for visas prior to travel.

With immediate effect China – along with 36 other countries including the UK and US – have been moved from category C to B, and all SADC countries have been migrated to category A.

Immigration principal director Clemence Masango says: ‘This new position is in response to the voice of players and interest groups in the tourism and hospitality industry, who want to see more facilitation of movement of persons than control.’

He said visa regime change is part of an ongoing process, and that consultations would continue with a view to a further relaxation of controls in order to make travel easier and Zimbabwe a more favourable and accessible destination.

The changes have been welcomed by Shane White, marketing director at Wild Horizons, a safari and adventure holiday operator in Zimbabwe and Zambia. ‘We are delighted to see a relaxing of the visa regime and are confident that this will lead to an increase in tourism numbers from the affected countries

*Southern African Development Community members: Angola, Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

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Picture Credit: www.flickr.com/photos/22170893@N06/22176758629">Victoria Falls</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin, www.flickr.com/photos/88827093@N00/22983332791">Zebras and Kudu</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/">(license)