Visas now required for Great Britain
After the British embassy in Windhoek announced on Wednesday that entry into the United Kingdom now requires a visa, Cabinet set up a committee to deal with the issue.This was said by the foreign affairs' Penda Naanda a few hours after the announcement.
The first reaction from government was that people should remain calm, with Naanda saying that Namibians would not be disadvantaged by such a decision.
Home affairs minister Albert Kawana was more adamant, speaking of "equal treatment of the British by Namibia", hinting at a possible visa requirement for Brits to enter Namibia.
There is now a four-week transitional period until 16 August for the new visa requirement. Until then, Namibian nationals with confirmed flight tickets booked before 19 July will still be allowed to enter the UK without a visa.
Namibian visitors who are already in the UK will not be affected by these changes but will require a visitor visa for future visits to England once they have left. The standard visitor visa can be used for tourism, business, study and other permitted activities for up to six months.
The British Embassy in Windhoek said the reason for the visa requirement was that the increasing number of asylum seekers from Namibia constituted an abuse of the provision to visit the United Kingdom for a limited period without a visa.
A few months ago, the UK informed Namibia's government that it wanted to deport around 900 Namibians who had applied for asylum.
Namibia's Foreign Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah will still discuss the matter with the British government.