The Home Department has strongly rejected widespread claims that citizens of the Kingdom of Lesotho can now enter South Africa without a valid passport, warning that such reports are false and misleading.
The department said it had “expressed concern over various unfounded media reports and social media posts” suggesting that Lesotho citizens would only be allowed to cross the border using national identity documents.
The department said, “These reports falsely claim that citizens of the Kingdom of Lesotho can now enter the Republic using only their national ID cards. There is no such agreement between the Republic of South Africa and the Kingdom of Lesotho.”
Officials stressed that any move to allow passport-free travel would be illegal under existing law.
“Allowing entry without a valid passport would be a breach of the laws of South Africa,” the department said, adding that such action would be a breach of section 9 of the Immigration Act 2002, which requires all travelers to hold a valid passport when entering or leaving the country.
This clarification comes after the recent bilateral engagement between the two countries. The home affairs ministers of the two countries met in Cape Town on 17 April to receive a report from a joint working team exploring possible new migration models.
The department reported that it was “the first time that the results of the study were presented to ministers with various recommendations,” adding that these proposals still needed to be considered by the bi-national commission.
Importantly, the department stressed that no policy changes are imminent. “Consideration of any such changes would require a legislative process involving Parliament to amend existing immigration laws,” it added.
“No such process is going on right now. Status quo remains.”
Officials reiterated that all travelers should continue to comply with current border requirements.
“All Lesotho nationals and South African nationals must continue to present valid passports for all entry and exit purposes at our shared ports of entry,” the department said.
The department also issued a warning against the spread of false information and urged the public to “refrain from spreading this misinformation”.
iol news