Palestinians' visas cancelled after 'abuse' probe

Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber has withdrawn South Africa’s 90-day visa exemption for Palestinian passport holders after a group of 153 Palestinians arrived last month on a chartered flight from Kenya.

Schreiber said: “Following investigations and recommendations by national intelligence structures, and consultations within the Security Cluster – which confirmed the deliberate and ongoing abuse of the 90-day visa exemption for Palestinian ordinary passport holders by Israeli actors linked to ‘voluntary emigration’ efforts for residents of the Gaza Strip – the Department of Home Affairs has withdrawn the exemption.”

He said that a short-stay visa exemptions are commonly used by countries to encourage tourism and short-term travel.

However, investigations into the recent arrival of two charter flights carrying Palestinian passport holders revealed systematic abuse of the exemption, with travel “designed not for the purposes of tourism or short stays as intended, but to relocate Palestinians from Gaza”.

Schreiber said the passengers did not charter the flights themselves. Instead, intermediaries organised entire aircraft. 

Many travellers, he said, held one-way tickets to South Africa and were barred from bringing luggage, allowing only US dollars and essential items.

On arrival at OR Tambo International Airport, officials found that many passengers lacked departure verification and accommodation details and did not have return or onward tickets.

Schreiber added: “Taken together, this constituted obvious abuse of the exemption by external actors for purposes other than its intended use.” 

He added that the sequence of events amounted to “abuse of the passengers themselves”, as organisers appeared willing to leave travellers destitute upon arrival.

He said most of the group reportedly said they did not want to claim asylum in South Africa, leaving civil-society organisations to step in to support them.

Schreiber said investigations also indicated the charter flights were not intended as one-off events. 

Authorities are probing whether they form part of a wider effort to relocate Palestinians around the world. 

This includes reports that a Dubai-based broker, with offices in South Africa, recently sought bulk quotations for more charter flights “as soon as possible”.

This comes after a group of 153 Palestinians was initially denied entry at OR Tambo last month due to missing documentation, including exit stamps from Israel, return tickets and accommodation details. 

After nearly 12 hours at the airport, they were admitted under the visa exemption on humanitarian grounds following intervention by local aid groups.

Authorities are examining whether a shadowy organisation known as Al-Majd Europe coordinated the movement as part of a broader campaign of “forced migration” involving vulnerable Palestinians.

Charter operator Global Airways confirmed this was not the first such flight. 

Meanwhile, Schreiber said that following the withdrawal of the visa exemption, the department would process any asylum applications submitted by the travellers who arrived on the two charter flights, while upholding the terms of the 90-day admission for those not seeking asylum.