Travel News - All You Need to Know
Important information: Explosion in Istanbul, Turkey
Sunday, 13 November 2022
At approximately 16:20 local time today in Istanbul, an explosion took place on Istiklal Avenue in the Taksim area. There have been unfortunate fatalities and injuries. The matter is currently being investigated by Turkish authorities.
We are monitoring the situation and awaiting updates from third-party service providers which we will convey to our customers. Our Travel Experts are currently contacting customers travelling to/from Istanbul as a duty of care.
If you require any support at this time, contact your dedicated FCM Travel Expert for more information or call +27 11 778 9977 or +27 87 250 0480.
Visitors are required to check the latest travel requirements prior to departure.
New Zealand
New Zealand's borders fully reopened to international visitors yesterday (August 1), at the end of a very long period that began when borders slammed shut in March 2020. The last stage of the process of reopening the borders was allowing in visitors who need visas and those on student visas now also being allowed to return to New Zealand. Cruise ships and foreign recreational yachts may now also dock at its ports.
Visitors must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and must take two tests after arriving. However, there are no longer any quarantine requirements. Please click here for more details.
Visitor visa applications were set to resume from the 31st of July 2022. At this time, we do not have further information about the actual visa processing times, however, we anticipate that there may be delays in the first few months due to high for the visas.
France
The government of France has dropped all Covid19 restrictions as of yesterday the 1st of August.
What does this mean?
- Travellers no longer have to complete any formalities before their arrival in France, in mainland France or overseas, and the presentation of the health pass can no longer be required, regardless of the country or zone of origin.
- No further justification of travel (the "compelling reason") is required.
- Travellers no longer have to present a certificate of non-contamination and a commitment to undergo an antigen test or a biological examination on arrival on the national territory.
In accordance with the law, the Government finally retains until 31 January 2023 the possibility of activating "emergency brake" measures for a maximum period of two months, after consulting the High Health Authority in the event of the appearance and circulation of a new variant of covid-19 likely to constitute a serious health threat or, in the overseas territories, in case of risk of saturation of the health system.
Europe & Australia
There is a massive increase in Covid cases in several countries in Europe and in Australia. Some of the European countries have said that restrictions could be re-imposed if the situation does not improve into their winter season.
We will continue to monitor events in these regions and advise as soon as any pertinent and relevant information is made available.
Schengen Visa Appointments
A high demand of Schengen visas resulting from many European countries dropping Covid 19 regulations has resulted in many embassies not meeting this demand as there is a fixed number of visas that they can issue. Presently, there are no appointments in South Africa for August and September with the first availability being for mid-October 2022. Click here for the full article.
We recommend that you refer to third party visa suppliers such as Visa Express and Blade Express for assistance with the actual applications or directly with the embassies or VFS Global.