Lesotho and South Africa sealed an agreement for the usage of the passport and visa in an event held at the Maseru Border Post on Thursday.

At this event, the Minister of Home Affairs in South Africa, Dr Pakishe Aaron Motsoaledi revealed that the signing of this agreement between the two countries is regarding the return of citizens who have been denied entry in any of the countries and those who have illegally entered the country.

According to Dr Motsoaledi, some countries are visa free from each other and individuals from such countries are allowed entry in such a country therefore this agreement is a steppingstone towards such initiatives.

“Countries in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) do not require visas for travel between them, but there is a limit of 90 days for visa-free travel,” mentioned the Minister.

He indicated that a type of passport is not an agreement between two countries because they are not controlled by the countries but is one document used for entry and exit of a certain country.

‘You use your passport not in your country but within another country,’ he said.

Moreover, he added that passports around the world are controlled by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) where they use machines readable passports to prevent corruption.

He urged people to renew their passports when they have expired because unlike the Identity Document, the passport number changes.

The agreement will be effective within a month as some procedures are not yet completed.

Source: LENA 14/03/2024