Virgin Atlantic announced that any travel booked directly through the airline between August 24, 2020, and March 31, 2021, will come with complimentary coronavirus insurance.

• Virgin Atlantic will offer free Covid-19 insurance to all of its passengers who travel between 24 August 2020, and 31 March 2021.
• The insurance covers medical expenses, quarantine costs, and repatriation if medically necessary.
• It also covers the cost of repatriating your body and your funeral if you die from the virus.

In late July, Emirates announced that it would pay for travellers' medical treatment, hotel quarantine, and even funeral if they catch Covid-19 while traveling.

Now, Virgin Atlantic is introducing a similar policy. 

The airline announced on its website that passengers will get complimentary coronavirus insurance of up to £500,000 (R11 million) for travel between 24 August 2020 and 31 March 2021.

Passengers are eligible for the insurance on Virgin Atlantic flights during this window whether or not they've already booked, according to the airline, provided their travel is booked through Virgin Atlantic directly.

Working with insurance company Allianz Assistance, Virgin Atlantic's website says that its Covid-19 coverage extends to all coronavirus-related costs, from medical expenses to mandatory quarantine. And, in a worst-case scenario, up to £5,000 (R110,000) of funeral expenses are covered.

According to Virgin Atlantic, the insurance will take effect "with no restrictions on age, travel class, or length of journey." Once you land at your destination, you are free to use other modes of transportation and visit other destinations and still be covered, the airline's website says, as long as your return flight is also booked through Virgin Atlantic.

For one-way trips, the airline says the insurance will last 12 hours after the arrival time of the traveler's last flight. However, it's worth noting that this does not apply to one-way flights that take off on 31 March and land on 1 April.

One other thing to note: The insurance covers all bookings made through Virgin Atlantic, even if flights are operated by partners such as Delta, Air France, and KLM. However, according to Virgin Atlantic's website, "If you purchased your ticket from delta.com or any another airline's website, even if they are a partner airline of Virgin Atlantic, you will not be covered, even if one or more flights of your journey is on a Virgin Atlantic aircraft."

According to Virgin Atlantic's website, the policy does not have any exclusions for those with pre-existing medical conditions.

With coverage of up to R11 million, the policy has a higher cap than that of Emirates, which says it covers up to around R3 million through 31 October 2020. 

You can find out more about Virgin Atlantic's complimentary coronavirus insurance on the airline's website.

Representatives for Virgin Atlantic did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

www.samigration.com

Johannesburg – The Home Affairs Department has announced more services which will be  available during level 2 of the lockdown.

Home Affairs has been operating under reduced capacity since the lockdown was implemented in March.

During level 2, Home Affairs said it was resuming services for applications of first issue green bar-coded identity documents or smart ID cards, applications for smart ID cards or green bar-coded IDs by people who had been issued with a temporary ID certificate during the national state of disaster that has expired; applications for amendments of personal particulars, applications for rectification of personal particulars, back office records retrieval services, and applications for citizenship.

Home Affairs said it was also extending the expiry date until October 31, 2020, for all temporary identity certificates issued during the period of the national state of disaster.

During the level 3 of the lockdown, which ended on Monday night, Home Affairs had resumed services for the registration of birth, re-issuing of birth certificates, late birth registrations, marriage services, death certificates, temporary identity document certificates, collection of IDs and passports for essential goods cross-border transporters.

All services permitted under level 3, 4, and 5, will be permitted during level 2.

A spokesperson for Home Affairs was not immediately available for comment on Friday morning.

www.samigration.com

Many African nations are starting to reopen airports, remove curfews, and slowly resume international tourism.

Most countries in Africa have been very strict on containing the spread of the virus, with most of them going into complete lockdowns earlier this year. That means nobody in and nobody out. Now that case numbers are relatively low across the continent, some nations have already reopened, with others making plans on how to reopen responsibly.

 

Below we have a list of every country in Africa, and what their current reopening status is: Not open for tourism, reopening soon, and now open. For the nations that have already reopened, we also include which countries are permitted to visit, plus any entry requirements.

Africa Reopening for Tourism  Complete Country List

 

Algeria

Not Open For Tourism

Domestic travel is still being limited, repatriation flights for foreigners stuck inside Algeria just started July 28, no news on when international tourism will resume.

Angola

Not Open For Tourism

Angola’s borders remain closed. Entry to Angola is prohibited except for Angolan nationals.

Benin

Not Open For Tourism

Entry Visas are restricted and not currently being issued. Travel is restricted to essential at this time.

Botswana

Not Open For Tourism

Entry to Botswana is open only to Botswana nationals and foreign nationals with valid residency visas. There are currently no commercial flights in to or out of Botswana

Burkina Faso

Now Open

Commercial flights to Burkina Faso have resumed. Land and sea borders remain closed until further notice.

All international travellers are required to present a negative COVID 19 test certificate dated no more than 5 days prior to departure to Burkina Faso.

You are required to quarantine for 14 days on arrival in Burkina Faso, at a location of your choice and at your own cost.

Burundi

Not Open For Tourism

Burundi planned to reopen land borders for essential travel on August 1, but not yet for tourism. Commercial flights have not yet resumed, with the exception of a few repatriation flights.

Cameroon

Reopening Soon

Cameroon has resumed a few commercial flights, though mostly for essential travel only. Land and sea borders are not yet open. They’ve started testing requirements to land in Cameroon airports for essential travelers, including a negative PCR test no older than 3 days.

Cape Verde

Reopening Soon

Cape Verde has reopened sea borders for essential travel by passenger ferries. International flights have not yet resumed but are planned to restart sometime in August.

 

Central African Republic 

Not Open For Tourism

CAR has just started to resume 1 commercial flight per airline a week, mostly restricted to repatriation flights and essential travel. A mandatory 21 day quarantine is in effect for any arriving essential travelers.

Chad

Reopening Soon

Commercial flights restarted on August 1.  All international travellers will be required to surrender their passport, quarantine at home for 7 days and take a COVID-19 test on the 7th day. Passports will be returned upon presentation of the COVID-19 negative test receipt.

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Now Open

The DRC reopened land borders and airports on August 15. All visitors into the DRC will require negative PCR tests (no older than 3 days), temperature checks, and the possibility of testing and/or quarantines upon arrival.

Congo

Not Open For Tourism

Commercial flights are still extremely limited to mostly repatriation flights. Borders remain closed until further notice.

Djibouti

Reopening Soon

On July 17, Djibouti reopened the airport and restarted limited commercial flights. We are unsure if these flights are restricted to repatriation and/or essential travel only at this point, or if general tourism is now permitted.

All passengers entering Djibouti will receive a covid test upon arrival and will have to remain at the airport until results come through (approx 4 hours), at the cost of the passenger.

Egypt

Now Open

Egypt started reopening borders for tourism to seaside resorts as of July 1.

Travelers will have to:

• Have a valid visa
• Wear a mask on the flight and in the airport
• Fill out a health declaration card
• Show proof of travel health insurance
• Agree to have their temperature taken on arrival

At this point travelers are expected to remain in high-tourist areas and are not permitted to travel independently inwards throughout the country.

Read all the details in our Egypt Reopening For Tourism guide.

Equatorial Guinea

Reopening Soon

Equatorial Guinea is currently in their domestic reopening phase, with domestic flights resuming as of June 15. Commercial flights are extremely limited at this point and are mostly used for repatriation and essential travel. All arriving passengers must present a negative PCR test taken no longer than 48 hours before arrival.

Eritrea

Not Open For Tourism

Airports in Eritrea remain closed and entry visas have been suspended until further notice

Ethiopia 

Now Open

Ethiopia has now reopened the airport for international arrivals.

Passengers will need to bring a negative PCR test taken within 5 days of arrival. They are also required to self-isolate at home for 14 days. Visitors are tested again upon arrival.

Passengers that do not bring the negative PCR test will have a mandatory quarantine at government designated hotels for 7 days at their own expense. At the end of 7 days, a PCR test will be given.

 

Gabon 

Reopening Soon

Flights are starting to operate again on a very limited basis. Any essential travelers must quarantine for 15 days.

 

Gambia 

Not Open For Tourism

Gambia is only allowing medical, cargo and repatriation flights at this time. Land borders remain closed.

Ghana

Reopening Soon

Ghana will be reopening its airspace to international flights starting September 1, 2020

Guinea

Reopening Soon

Commercial flights are gradually opening up.

All passengers arriving and departing Conakry must show a COVID-19 certificate with a negative PCR test result within 5 days of the flight. We are unsure travel is only for essentials at this time, or also for tourism.

Guinea-Bissau

Not Open For Tourism

Guinea-Bissau’s borders remain closed for tourism until further notice. Any essential travelers arriving are expected to self-isolate at one location for 14 days.

Kenya

Now Open

President Uhuru Kenyatta has announced that Kenya will be reopening for international tourism on August 1st, 2020

Entry Requirements include bringing a negative PCR test, but the details of how long the traveler has to take the test before arrival has not yet been released.

Read everything else we know about Kenya’s Reopening for Tourism

Lesotho

Not Open For Tourism

Lesotho remains closed for tourism until further notice. Borders are closed for everything but essential trade.

Liberia

Now Open

Liberia has reopened for tourism as of July 1, but many restrictions are still in place. When they first opened they had a rule that if a passenger was coming from a nation with more than 200 active cases of the virus, they would be denied entry. Now, we believe that restriction has been removed and replaced with testing requirements.

Passengers arriving into Liberia will need to bring a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours, undergo a temperature scan and health check, and could be tested again upon arrival. Anyone testing positive on arrival will be put into government quarantine for at least 14 days.

Libya

Reopening Soon

Airlines in Libya have slowly been resuming flights, but the nation is not open for tourism at this time.

Madagascar

Not Open For Tourism

Madagascar has suspended all international and domestic flights until further notice, as well as cruise ships.

Malawi

Not Open For Tourism

Malawi is currently closed for tourism until further notice. Flights are only available for the repatriation of Malawi nationals and essential workers.

All essential travelers are now tested on arrival and must remain in the airport for results, up to 24 hours.

Mali

Not Open For Tourism

Mali just reopened flights on July 25 and is planning on reopening land borders on July 31^st. It is unclear at this time if flights are reserved for Mali nationals, or if tourists can also enter at this time.

Arrivals need to bring a negative PCR test within 72 hours of arrival. If they do not, a test will be performed on arrival while the passenger will remain in quarantine until results are processed.

Due to civil unrest, Mali is not opening for tourism soon.

 

Mauritania

Not Open For Tourism

Mauritania remains closed for tourism until further notice. Flights are only available at this time for national returning home or other essential reasons.

Essential travelers need to bring a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours.

Mauritius

Not Open For Tourism

The tourism enforcer officer for Mauritius told us: “Note that the Government of Mauritius has not yet decided when borders will be opened. Furthermore, there will be protocols from the Ministry of Health that is going to be established.”

 

Morocco

Reopening Soon

The current state of emergency was extended until August 10^th. The partial reopening of Morocco’s borders started July 14, first to allow Moroccan residents to return and foreign citizens to depart the country.

While general tourism has not yet resumed, the reopening date is expected to be announced soon.

 

Mozambique

Not Open For Tourism

Mozambique’s state of emergency has been extended until September 30. General tourism has not resumed at this point. Entry into Mozambique is limited to nationals and individuals with valid residency.

Essential travelers will need a 72 hour negative PCR test, and also be subject to quarantine.

Namibia

Not Open For Tourism

Namibia is currently closed for tourism. Entry to Namibia is prohibited except for Namibian nationals and foreign nationals resident in Namibia. All commercial flights in and out of the country have been suspended. The state of emergency has been extended until September 17.

Niger

Not Open For Tourism

Niger is not yet open for tourism. Commercial flights have not yet resumed, entry is only permitted for nationals returning home, and transiting through the country is not permitted.

Nigeria

Reopening Soon

Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika has announced that Nigeria will open for international flights starting on August 29th, 2020.

Read our complete guide to Nigeria Reopening

Rwanda

Now Open

Rwanda has officially reopened for tourism as of June 17, 2020

Nations that can visit = ALL

Entry Requirements = Testing is required before arrival and again upon arrival. In order to gain entry into Rwanda as a tourist, you must take a PCR test in your own country within 72 hours of departure and have the negative results as proof. The negative test must be emailed to lab@rbc.gov.rw before your departure and a copy of the results brought with you to show customs upon entry into Rwanda.

At the airport upon arrival, travelers will be tested again with the results available in around 8 hours.

Learn more details in our Rwanda Reopening for Tourism Guide

 

Sao Tome and Principe 

Now Open

Sao Tome and Principe has reopened for tourism, but still needs both testing and quarantines from arrivals.

All air passengers arriving in São Tomé and Principe are required to have proof of a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours prior to their arrival, plus a 14-day quarantine.

Senegal 

Now Open

Senegal has now reopened for tourism, with entry requirements explained below.

Senegal reopened international flights on July 15, even though land and sea borders are still closed.

The state of emergency was lifted on June 30.

All arrivals into Senegal will require:

• A health declaration form 
• A negative PCR test taken no longer than 7 days before departure
• Undergo medical screening and temperature scans upon arrival

Seychelles 

Now Open

As of June 1^st the Seychelles have reopened to tourists from ‘low’ and ‘medium’ risk nations, with different entry requirements for each category.

There are 17 nations being classified as ‘low risk’ and 20 nations being classified as ‘medium risk’.  (see them HERE)

Visitors from the LOW RISK countries can bring a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours from date of travel, but if one is not available, a rapid test is also approved. Visitors from the MEDIUM RISK countries can only bring a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours of date of travel, with no rapid test option.

There are a few other entry requirements, which can be seen on our Seychelles Reopening For Tourism Guide

Sierra Leone

Now Open

Sierra Leone reopened for tourism on July 22, 2020. Flights are starting to be rescheduled, but land borders remain closed.

Entry Requirements:

• Obtaining a travel authorization card from the government
• A negative PCR test taken no longer than 72 hours before departure
• A health declaration card
• Pre-payment for testing on arrival
• A valid visa

 

Somalia

Reopening Soon

Somalia has reopened airspace for essential travelers. They will need to bring a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours prior to arrival.

South Africa

Not Open For Tourism

South Africa is still closed for tourism. Only repatriation and humanitarian flights are operationg at this point. A reopening date has not been set, but some reports have suggested late 2020 or early 2021.

 

South Sudan

Not Open For Tourism

South Sudan is not open for tourism. All issuing of visas have been suspended, commercial flights are limited to repatriation flights, and government curfews are still in place.

Sudan

Reopening Soon

Sudan just lifted bans on flights from Egypt, Turkey, and the UAE, but flights from other nations are still suspended until October 10.

 

Tanzania

Now Open

As of June 2020, Tanzania is now accepting tourists under normal and regular ‘pre-covid’ border rules. No mandatory quarantine period is currently in place, however temperature checks, mask wearing, and social distancing is in effect.

Countries Allowed to visit: ALL

However, under normal tourism laws, your country might require a Visa to enter Tanzania. There are currently 68 countries that can enter Tanzania Visa-free, with the rest requiring a Visa or Visa on Arrival.

There is no mandatory 14-day isolation or quarantine period for travellers into Tanzania.

Update August 1:
The Tanzanian Health Ministry put out a directive stating all travelers entering Tanzania are now required to present a valid negative PCR test within 72 hours before travel.

Read more details about Tanzania’s Reopening For Tourism

 

Togo

Now Open

Airport reopened on August 1, but very limited commercial flights are coming in or out. Land borders are still closed.

All travelers must fill out the online immigration form before arriving, as well as have a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours.

Tunisia

Now Open

Tunisia is officially reopening its borders June 27, 2020 allowing tourists to enter based on a color-coded system based on risk assessment.

Tunisia has created a ‘Green’ and ‘Orange’ list for arrivals. ‘Green’ countries may enter with no testing or quarantines, while ‘Orange’ countries will need to present a negative PCR test within 72 hours of departure. (See the lists here)

Read more entry requirements and see which countries can enter restriction free on our Tunisia Reopening for Tourism guide

 

Uganda

Not Open For Tourism

Uganda is not open for tourism at this time. No formal date for reopening has been announced.

 

Zambia

Reopening Soon

Zambia’s borders have reopened, with both domestic and international flights starting to resume, but tourist visa services remain suspended until further notice. Since a tourist visa is required to gain entry into Zambia, general tourism cannot resume until they restart visa services.

Anyone the currently has a valid visa may be granted entry, but will face both testing on arrival and 14-day quarantine.

Zimbabwe

Not Open For Tourism

Zimbabwe remains closed for tourism and is still under lockdown until further notice.

www.samigration.com

An Australian mother-to-be is “heartbroken” that her partner may miss the birth of their child as he remains stranded in New Zealand.

Gold Coast resident Disiane Zan, 34, is due to give birth in just over a month, but her Brazilian partner, Gabriel Seger, 35, who lives in Piha on a sponsorship visa, can’t get to Australia due to Covid-19 border restrictions.

The pair, who became a couple last year before Zan fell pregnant in December, have applied for two exemptions, but both were denied as the Department of Home Affairs didn’t consider Seger “immediate family” nor thought their reasons met compassionate grounds, Zan told the Herald.

The couple have known each other for a decade, and after losing touch for a few years they rekindled their friendship last year.

After travelling between countries, the pair became closer, eventually becoming a couple before Zan fell pregnant in New Zealand while they spent Christmas and New Year together.

As soon as she found out, Zan said she and Seger made plans to live in the Gold Coast together, but it all fell through when the pandemic hit.

In July, Zan’s flatmate moved out so Seger could move in with his new family.

But when Seger, who has an Australian visitor’s visa, applied for the compassionate grounds exemption, he was denied.

The couple have applied for an exemption twice but they were denied both times. Photo: Supplied

A few weeks later they applied for an immediate family exemption, as they are in a de facto relationship and registered their relationship under the Queensland law, however that was also declined.

Zan, who is originally from Brazil but is an Australian citizen, said she wasn’t given any feedback on why they were declined and that they were not given any opportunities to have further discussions with the Department of Home Affairs.

“I think the Department of Home Affairs should really look into every case specifically,” she said.

“I think it’s very unfair and unkind. If he’s not my immediate family then what is? He’s my partner and the father of my child.’

“Not even having a compassionate case, I can’t say anything about that because that’s just brutal.”

Instead, she said she was told that they would have to wait until the borders open.

“It’s so unpredictable at the moment … Everything is always speculation, so really we don’t know [when the borders will open].

“If he misses the birth, it’s like, when is he able to get here?”

The mum-to-be said it’s a “horrible” situation to be in and that she feels for her partner who just wants to be with his new family.

“He wants to be a father, he just doesn’t want to be a dad,” she said.

“He wants to be present during the baby’s life, from the first minutes.

“We know how important it is to have that skin to skin contact, it’s something that the baby takes for life. Even though the baby wouldn’t consciously remember, it’s an imprint.”

Zan said her partner was more than happy to pay for the cost of hotel quarantine and would do anything to witness the birth of his son.

What makes things even harder for Zan is that she has no family with her in Australia.

“I’m relying on good friends which I’m very thankful for having them around,” she said.

Zan said she’s worried about having to raise her baby by herself but is planning to re-apply for an exemption next week.

According to the Department of Home Affairs’ website, the Commissioner of the Australian Border Force may grant people an exemption if they are seeking to travel for compassionate and compelling reasons.

“Compassionate and compelling reasons include, but are not limited to, needing to travel due to the death or critical illness of a close family member,” it reads.

Meanwhile, to get an immediate family exemption, the couple have to provide evidence they are in a de facto relationship.

According to the website the proof should show that:

• you have a mutual commitment with your spouse or de facto partner to the exclusion of all others
  • your relationship is genuine and continuing
  • you either live together or don’t live permanently apart
  • you are not related by family

“Australia has strict border measures in place to protect the health of the Australian community,” Department of Home Affairs’ website reads.

“All travellers arriving in Australia, including Australian citizens, must quarantine for 14 days at a designated facility, such as a hotel in the city of arrival.​”

The Herald has contacted the Department of Home Affairs for comment.

www.samigration.com

Despite the country being immersed in a global pandemic which demands people to keep their distance from each other, the Home Affairs Department’s e-services portal has been shut since the start of the lockdown in March.

Johannesburg – Despite the country being immersed in a global pandemic which demands that people their distance from each other, the Home Affairs Department’s e-services portal has been shut since the start of the lockdown in March.

On Friday, the department announced more services which would resume, but none of them included the utilisation of its e-HomeAffairs services portal, where people can apply for IDs and passports.

Home Affairs spokesperson Siya Qoza said the electronic service portal was closed in March because the department was not taking any ID or passport applications at the moment – except for first-issue smart card or green bar-coded ID documents – mostly for matric pupils.

He said the e-services portal was only used to apply for ID documents and passports and because the department was not yet offering those services, it would be futile to open the e-HomeAffairs service.

He said the department was operating at a reduced capacity with limited staff members to reduce risk.

When asked why Home Affairs had not altered its e-HomeAffairs service to include those services that were being offered, Qoza said it would make little difference as people still needed to go to a bank or home affairs branch to complete the process.

“We need to comply with the requirements of keeping staff members numbers low,” he said, explaining why ID, passport or e-HomeServices applications were not allowed.

Meanwhile, the department said it would release a statement next week to clarify its position on some of the services that would be returning under level 2.

Earlier on Friday, Home Affairs said it was resuming services for applications of first-issue green bar-coded identity documents or smart ID cards, applications for smart ID cards or green bar-coded IDs by people who had been issued with a temporary ID certificate during the national state of disaster that had expired; applications for amendments of personal particulars, applications for rectification of personal particulars, back office records retrieval services, and applications for citizenship.

Home Affairs said it was also extending the expiry date until October 31, 2020, for all temporary identity certificates issued during the period of the national state of disaster.

During the level 3 of the lockdown, which ended on Monday night, Home Affairs had resumed services for the registration of birth, re-issuing of birth certificates, late birth registrations, marriage services, death certificates, temporary identity document certificates, collection of IDs and passports for essential goods cross-border transporters.

All services permitted under level 3, 4, and 5, will be permitted during level 2.

www.samigration.com