Namibian visa requirements for Britain unclear

Deputy Prime Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah has said the Namibian government is still waiting to hear from the British government about whether or not Namibians will need visas to travel to the UK.

This is after Bernadus Swartbooi, leader of the Landless People’s Movement, enquired in Parliament on the progress on the decision to require Namibians to possess visas in order to enter Britain.

Nandi-Ndaitwah, in a parliamentary response on Wednesday informed the House that she met with Charles Moore, the British High Commissioner to Namibia, on 28 February, and he informed her that the British Home Office reviews its visa regime every six months.

“To this end, several countries, including Namibia, that were previously exempted from visas will now require one prior to arriving in the UK or Great Britain,” Nandi-Ndaitwah said, noting that she had arranged for a meeting on 07 March, but it had been postponed, and no meeting has taken place since.

She further stated that neither the British High Commission in Namibia nor the Namibian High Commission in London, officially informed the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation whether the Bill had been passed in the British Parliament.

“The ministry cannot therefore confirm that the imposition of a visa regime for Namibians has already been implemented by the British Government on Namibian passport holders,” Nandi-Ndaitwah concluded.

Source: The Namibian Press Agency