Africa-Press – Namibia. THE Oshikango/Santa Clara Border Posts will soon operate on a twenty-four-hour basis since preparations with their Angolan colleagues are at an advanced stage.
This was announced by Minister of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety, and Security Albert Kawana during the launch of visa on arrival for Oshikango, Mohembo, Oranjemund, Ariamsvlei, and Noordoewer Border Posts on Thursday.
Kawana said that there is no doubt that the Ohangwena and Karas Regions will experience increased tourist arrivals through the five border posts.
“Experience has taught us that visas on arrival have made it easy for tourists and visitors alike to come to Namibia hassle-free. Upon entry into Namibia, our visitors are requested to pay for their visas online because we have installed speed points at designated border points,” he said.
He added that the money is paid directly into the State Revenue Account, thereby eliminating temptations associated with handling cash.
According to Kawana, tourists from countries where Namibia has no diplomatic representation no longer need to apply in advance before departing their countries of origin for tourism, visits, or transiting through Namibia.
Kawana indicated that this decision follows previous positive steps over the past years where the Namibian Government has exempted over 60 countries worldwide from visa requirements when their citizens visit Namibia for tourism purposes.
In 2019, nationals from 45 countries started to benefit from visas on arrival.
Meanwhile, Kawana said during 2023, the list was reviewed by adding 11 countries to the list. Today, 58 countries can receive visas on arrival. All three categories of passports, being ordinary, official/service, and diplomatic passports, are accommodated for purposes of visas on arrival.
He stressed that the arrangement excludes people coming to Namibia for work or employment purposes, which obliges such people to apply and acquire employment permits in advance.
“The countries selected to benefit from visas on arrival are among those where Namibia does not have diplomatic missions such as embassies or high commissions. This is an ongoing process which will see more countries brought on board in the future as was done last year,” he added.
In this spirit, Kawana said that they also request other countries to reciprocate or offer Namibia similar visa relaxed benefits for the good of all of us.
The current 27 African countries selected are as follows — Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Madagascar, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Togo, Tunisia, Western Sahara Republic, and Uganda.
Other countries around the world are Argentina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, South Korea, Vatican/Holy See, Venezuela, Vietnam, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, and Singapore.
Kawana said that the procedure for visas on arrival will require a visitor to complete a visa application form as he/she arrives at the Border Post and submit the completed application form together with his/her passport to an Immigration Officer who will process the application on the spot.
He added that upon approval of the application, the Immigration Officer will request the applicant to make a payment, which is currently N$1,200. To facilitate the payment process, passengers are encouraged to carry credit or debit cards as speed points are available at all designated border entry points.
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