Passport Help

May 28, 2004 12:08 AM

Passport issue: Suddenly, the day before departure, I discover 2 facts. 1) South Africa requires a complete blank visa page in a passport for a tourist's entry. 2) My passport has no such pages remaining. WTF? Anyone ever hear of this before, and been barred from an entry because of it?

It is purely by chance that I learned about this requirement. I knew only that US passport holders don't need a visa. Usually countries simply put in a stamp (if that) when you enter. Lonely Planet didn't warn about it, American Express Travel didn't know or warn, and Virgin Air didn't know about it. Is it a new requirement? Apparently they put a page-size sticker in the passport, even for tourists. Usually this is only done for long-term stays (ie, residential permits).

posted by Goofyy to travel & transportation (10 comments total)

When my roomate ran out of pages in his passport he went to a passport office and they added some pages.
posted by rudyfink at 12:26 AM on May 28, 2004

Yea, the problem is, the travel day is Saturday. The US Embassy's website says an appointment is needed, and no appointments available 'till next Thursday (for "emergencies"!)

At least the tickets are refundable/changeable. The ugly part is the trip is for a look-around to help decide if we would move there. My partner has business appointments with his company's offices that were difficult to arrange, so postponement is a real hassle, plus the decision needs to be made. He doesn't want to make the assessment by himself.
posted by Goofyy at 12:45 AM on May 28, 2004

It is a quite common requirement, rarely publicized in any useful way.
posted by stavrosthewonderchicken at 1:06 AM on May 28, 2004

As stavros says, a number of countries make this requirement, along with many who require a passport to be valid for at least 6 months at the time of entry to the country, which is also often not well-publicised. Have no doubt that they will turn you around at the airport if you decide to go anyway.
posted by dg at 2:42 AM on May 28, 2004

I won't go without the requirement, the flight is MUCH too long for the risk (10 hours!). BUT I did manage finally to get through to the American embassy, and they MAY be able to fix it if I show up between 2-4pm today.

Curiously, a daytime call to Virgin Air got someone who knew about this AND said I wouldn't have been let on the flight without that extra page. My passport is full after 6 years in Europe. Mostly due to visa-renewals in Germany. I'll replace the whole thing after this trip, with a 48-page version.
posted by Goofyy at 3:35 AM on May 28, 2004

Stupid Stamps sans frontiere indeed
posted by elpapacito at 3:36 AM on May 28, 2004

The US requires it, for one.
posted by signal at 7:16 AM on May 28, 2004

South Africa's Visa stamp is approximately the size of 1/4 of the page. I don't see why you would need a "whole" page and I would (probably naively) assume that you could get through as long as you had enough room for it.
I'm jealous -- I dream of moving there. It's an absolutely wonderful place.
posted by hummus at 8:37 AM on May 28, 2004

India used to (& probably still is) a full page visa stamp but you need to get it b4 you travel.
posted by i_cola at 12:20 PM on May 28, 2004

hummus: They demand it. I talked to their embassy too. Maybe the sticker is new and more 'secure', perhaps a hologram.

I DID manage to get to the US embassy in London, and it turned out to be a quick, free job to get pages added.

Thanks for the help folks.
posted by Goofyy at 6:33 AM on May 29, 2004