Cape Town - Legendary American cyclist Lance Armstrong's first visit to Cape Town started off on a sour note on Monday night because of bureaucratic red tape.
On Monday at about 21:00 Armstrong wrote on Twitter that he'd landed at the Cape Town International Airport but was refused entry to the country because his passport was full.
It's Armstrong's first visit to the Mother City. He will be taking part in the Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay cycle tour on Sunday.
"My passport's full and there's no space for another stamp. So ... I'm stranded," he tweeted.
Fortunately a short while later, Armstrong tweeted that he had finally been allowed to enter South Africa.
"It's not the friendliest welcome I've ever had, but we've all come across immigration officials like this."
Siobhan McCarthy, chief director of communication at home affairs, said visitors travelling to South Africa need to have at least two blank pages in their passport in order to be allowed entry to the country.
"Airlines are supposed to check people's passports before they leave for another country."
When asked what would happen if a person didn't have the required blank pages in their passport, McCarthy said that person would be refused entry to the country and would have to return to the country they came from.
She couldn't comment on Armstrong's case and said the procedure for celebrities entering the country might be different.
. They have been told to be very strict and look out for dodgy people 
