The South African government’s new child visa laws came into play on 1 June and they “are here for the foreseeable future”, according to Mayihlome Tshwete, the Department of Home Affairs spokesperson. The department published standard operating procedures that airlines and the tourism industry must follow; information was also published its website, to explain the new regulations to would-be travelers, but there is some confusion around the changes…. To help would-be travelers understand these new requirements better, Drive South Africa created the Child Visa Checklist app. The app provides an easy-to-understand checklist of documents required by anyone travelling to or from South Africa with children – for their particular child-travel scenario.
The web-based app, which works on mobile and desktop, helps users see precisely what travel documents they need, in three quick clicks or taps. According to Andre van Kets, the creator of the Child Visa Checklist App, “there are 15 different possible documents and 37 unique scenarios for children traveling in and out of South Africa”. “We initially create the app so that our travel consultants could fully understand the new child visa requirements, and better serve our clients. The app was so well received, that we’ve decided to go ‘open source’ with it and let anyone in the tourism industry – and travelers
themselves – access the information,” says Van Kets.
