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‘Our lives are at a standstill’: South Africans urge Germany to lift travel ban

An activist group comprised of workers, students and cross-border couples are demanding an urgent rethink of Germany's ban on travel from South Africa, which they argue is discriminatory and unjust.

Published: 22 July 2021 18:27 CEST
'Our lives are at a standstill': South Africans urge Germany to lift travel ban
Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU) is greeted in Johannesburg by the German Ambassador to South Africa on May 28th. While South Africans are forbidden from travelling to Germany, Germans can visit South Africa and return. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

The six-month blockage on South Africans travelling to Germany has been one of the longest and most severe of any of Germany’s Covid-related travel bans. 

Since January 30th 2021, South African residents have been denied entry to Germany for anything other than ‘essential travel’ – a definition that includes competitive sports events and medical treatment, but not family reunification, work or study.

READ ALSO: Brazilian workers and students demand end to German travel ban

South Africa’s German Embassy is also refusing to issue Schengen Visas for the duration of the ban, meaning that even those who have a valid reason to be in the country – such as visiting loved ones, starting a new job, or finishing a University degree – have been unable to even set foot on European soil. 

Delta now dominant in South Africa

At present, the African nation is one of 11 ‘virus variant areas’ on the Robert Koch Institute’s list of Covid risk areas. According to the information on the German Foreign Ministry’s website, this is due to “new, more contagious variants” of Covid-19 that are present in the country, such as the Beta variant, which was first discovered in South Africa. 

However, activists have pointed out, much like in Germany, the Delta variant is by far the most dominant strain of Covid in South Africa, while the Beta variant now makes up a tiny and rapidly declining share of the country’s infections.

READ ALSO: IN NUMBERS: Where are Covid cases rising in Germany – and what does it mean?

On Wednesday 21st July, Beta accounted for just 3.7 percent of Covid cases in the country, while the Delta variant accounted for 77 percent. 

On the same day in France, almost one in 10 Covid cases were Beta infections. France, however, is currently listed as a ‘basic risk area’ by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), meaning travel between people can travel between the two countries with minimal disruptions. 


The Beta variant, which was first discovered in South Africa, now accounts for nine percent of Covid cases in France, and only 3.7 percent of cases in South Africa. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/AP Pool | Daniel Cole

“The Robert Koch Institute published on July 5th that Portugal, Russia, the UK and India have been downgraded from ‘virus variant’ countries to ‘high incidence’, thereby easing the travel restrictions,” activist Kelly Dido told The Local. “Nothing changed for South Africa – although we are Delta dominant too.”

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Germany’s new travel rules for the UK, Portugal and India

“There is no real reason for SA to be singled out (based on the Beta variant) because, like most countries in the world, we are now seeing the dominance of the Delta Variant,” Dr. Richard Lessells from South Africa’s Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform confirmed.

‘No longer justified’

In their open letter addressed to numerous German officials, the frustrated campaigners urged the German government to be transparent about their criteria for deciding on the categorisation of ‘risk areas’.

“There is no public framework that allows us to understand the basis of these decisions, the criteria, and how each country ranks,” said Dido. “The commission responsible for these decisions should not only publish changes but the respective objectively quantifiable criteria.”

In their independent research, the group – which operates under the names LoveIsNotTourism, EducationIsNotTourism and WorkIsNotTourism – say they have found several “discrepancies” between how countries have been treated by German health officials, including differences in how countries are classified and whether visas are allowed to be issued. 

“This has led us to believe that the travel ban on South Africans is no longer justified,” added Dido.

Though the ban on South Africa has been the “longest and harshest” and led to lost opportunities abroad and long periods of separation from loved ones, the group says their complaints have fallen on deaf ears.

“We are fighting for our fundamental right to see our families and partners, our right to education and employment,” they wrote in their open letter. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, our voices have not been heard enough by all Member States’ governments. Over a year after the pandemic’s beginning, we are still fighting the fight and need your help.”

‘Our lives are at a standstill’ 

With the continued uncertainty of the travel ban, the 100-strong group of South Africans say their lives have been put on hold. 

“It’s been three months since I earned a job offer to work in Germany – a dream come true, but instead, the travel ban keeps me from
pursuing my dreams,” said Dido.

“My visa application is approved, yet I’m not allowed to begin this new chapter of my life. Every day I check the news, patiently waiting to hear when I can board a flight to continue my career. I only wish to grow professionally and contribute economically to the country.”

With the expectation of moving abroad, Dido says she wrapped up her life in South Africa – only to find that she was unable to start her new one in Germany. 

“I’ve given up my job, my apartment, my livelihood for this move,” said Dido. “I now have none left – only a depleting savings account. I go vagabonding about the world, moving from home to home, hesitant to settle down as anything can change at any moment. But nothing has changed. It’s been months now.”

Now, the group is demanding that the German government downgrade South Africa from a virus variant area, implement a more transparent decision-making framework, issue the visas that have been approved by the German Embassy for work, study, and visiting loved ones, and “provide equal treatment” to countries globally. 

“Our lives are at a standstill, a discouraging limbo,” they wrote.

“Sadly, this has put a strain on our lives, giving rise to various severe mental health issues.

“We plead to the RKI and Ministries responsible to re-evaluate the South African status and make the reasonable adjustments to include exceptions for employment, studies, marriages and those in binational relationships. We plead to the German Embassy for support to get our visa applications processed. We plead to our Foreign Minister, Dr. Naledi Pandor, to support and table our concerns.”

The Local has contacted the German Ministry of Health and the Foreign Office for comment, but has not yet received a response. 

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EES PASSPORT CHECKS

EES border checks could undergo ‘soft launch’, UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a "soft launch" of the new EU border system – the Entry/Exit (EES) system - in October but authorities are still waiting for European Commission to confirm the start date, amid concerns over the delay of a new app.

Published: 4 May 2024 09:30 CEST
EES border checks could undergo 'soft launch', UK says as app concerns mount

The UK government is preparing for a soft launch of the new EU border system – the entry/exit (EES) system – on the assumption that it will go live on October 6th, ministers told a hearing at the House of Commons European scrutiny committee this week.

But the European Commission is expected to confirm the exact launch date of the new biometric checks for non-EU travellers entering the Schengen area at some point this summer, they added.

“We are very much working on a basis whereby this policy will go live on the 6th of October. It is important that we plan for that eventuality. We are expecting to hear definitively from the European Union that ‘go live’ arrangement in the summer,” Tom Pursglove, UK Minister for Legal Migration and the Border told the committee.

The parliamentary committee is conducting an inquiry on the disruptions the system will cause in the UK.

Pursglove also said that “precautionary measures” have been agreed by the EU, that will be put in place in certain circumstances after the start of EES, for example if delays at the borders exceeded a certain length of time.

Guy Opperman, Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Transport, said that in practice this meant a “soft launch” of EES for 6 months before “a full go live”. During that soft launch EU member states and the UK could deploy flexibility measures should problems occur.

“The likelihood is, after multiple delays, that the 6th of October will proceed” and the implementation looks “very different” compared to previous scenarios considering the flexibility allowed in the first 6 months, he argued.

No details were given on what these “flexible” measures would involve however. 

READ ALSO: Your questions answered about Europe’s EES passport checks

He conceded that “a lot of work” still needs to be done but the UK “should be as ready as everybody” and “better be at front of the queue”.

App not ready

During the meeting, it also emerged that a much-anticipated app that would allow remote pre-registration of non-EU citizens subject to the checks will not be available for testing until August “at best”, prompting concerns about the EES launch date.

“You don’t need to be a sceptic about future projects to think that the provision of the app in August for going live in October is optimistic,” Opperman said.

Ministers confirmed that the app will not be ready in time for October and the committee previously stated it might be delayed until summer 2025.

The app will facilitate pre-registration, but photo and fingerprints will still have to be taken at the border in front of a guard, the committee heard.

READ ALSO: How do the EU’s new EES passport checks affect the 90-day rule?

Several MPs asked whether the entry into operation of the EES should be delayed again if technology is not ready. But Under-Secretary Opperman said the app “is not going to be a panacea to fix all problems”.

The main aim of EES is to increase security and to ensure that non-EU nationals visiting the Schengen area for a short-term do not stay more than 90 days in any 180-day period.

The entry into operation of the system has already been delayed several times and there have been calls from certain travel companies and national authorities to delay it again.

Under the new scheme, non-EU/EFTA travellers who do not need a visa will have to register their biometric data (finger prints and facial images) in a database that will also record each time they enter and exit the Schengen area.

Instead of having passports manually stamped, travellers will have to scan them at self-service kiosks before crossing the border. However, fingerprints and a photo will have to be registered in front of a guard at the first crossing and there are concerns the extra time needed will generate long queues, especially in Dover, Folkestone and St. Pancras station in London, where there are juxtaposed French and UK border checks.

Progress in preparations

Minister Pursglove also updated MPs on ongoing preparations. He said some testing of the system will take place within days, 5 kiosks have been installed at St. Pancras station and are available for testing. “You are beginning to see the physical infrastructure appear,” he said.

Kiosks and extra lanes are also being created at the port Dover and it was agreed with the EU passengers travelling by coach will be checked away from the Eastern dock, where controls usually take place, allowing to gain space. The vehicles will then sealed and drive on the ferries.

MPs also discussed the infrastructure cost linked to the introduction of the EES. Opperman said all EU countries will have to make “huge investments” in their ports. In the UK, he argued, this will help “address problems that have existed for some time”. Because of this “massive investment”, in a few years time “Dover will be totally transformed,” he said.

This article is published in cooperation with Europe Street News.

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