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The Republic of Ireland is one of a handful of European countries that South Africans can travel to without needing a visa.

But that might be coming to an end since the ministers in Ireland will reportedly be discussing a move to end visa-free travel for Saffas, according to the Irish Times.

The Irish cabinet is reportedly scheduled to discuss the move this Thursday (2 May) as part of a strategy to clamp down on asylum applications.

The Irish Department of Justice has shown that 198 people have applied for asylum in Ireland on South African passports, with increased instances of Zimbabweans and folks from the Democratic Republic of Congo coopting our Green Mamba to travel, as well.

Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris reckons this “relatively recent phenomenon” required more action. As BusinessTech notes, foreigners travelling on South African passports are not a new occurrence, resulting in more scrutiny over its security.

Much to the embarrassment of SA, it was widely publicised in 2022 that some Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals were travelling on South African passports, catching global attention when they were apprehended for fraudulent immigration.

This led to airlines in countries like the UK subjecting South African travellers to often humiliating ‘authenticity’ checks because they did not trust the document.

After some big-time takedowns of syndicates in South Africa, the Department of Home Affairs got serious about beefing up security measures to reassure folks that their documents were safe. Eventually, folks from Bangladesh and Pakistan had to apply for a visa to pass through South Africa during their travels.

According to the latest Henley Passport Index, South Africans can travel to 108 countries visa-free.

That still includes Ireland…for now.

[source:businesstech]