In the week of 13 to 21 June, another 29 foreigners were denied entry into SA for the World Cup, with the help of monitoring systems, says home affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma.
Speaking at a World Cup update, she said: “In order to meet government's guarantees to Fifa, our mandate as a department relates to the issuance of visas, work permits, as well as priority treatment for Fifa delegates, national teams, other accredited persons and the multitudes of football fans arriving at our air and land ports of entry.”
Deputy minister Malusi Gigaba previously said the Movement Control System (MCS) recorded the arrival of 456 423 foreigners into the country during the period of 1 to 13 June.
During the same period, 6 933 contraventions were identified by the system, including individuals overstaying their entry conditions, penalties for temporary residence permit abuses and occurrences where a passport was flagged as lost or stolen.
At 21 June, an additional 226 084 travellers had arrived. In total, 682 507 foreign visitors have entered the country, specifically for the World Cup, according to Dlamini-Zuma.
“It is also important to note that many visitors to the country have not entered with match certificates or match vouchers. However, it can be expected that these travellers would form part of the celebrations through participation in the fan parks, among others.”
She said the top five nationalities entering the country comprised Southern African Development Communities (SADC) states, including Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and Botswana. They were followed by the UK, the US, Germany, Australia, Mexico, Brazil, France, Netherlands, Namibia and Argentina, to make up the top 15 nationalities visiting SA for the World Cup.
During the same reporting period of 1 to 21 June, 12 157 contraventions had been identified at various air and land ports of entry, an increase of 5 224 in a week, according to Dlamini-Zuma.
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