Following the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Declaration by President Cyril Ramaphosa of a State of Disaster, the South African government has so far repatriated more than 3000 South Africans stranded abroad due to the coronavirus lockdowns and the list is “slowly whittling down”.

There are many foreign national workers under lockdown in South Africa, which remains one of the least affected countries in the world in terms of Covid-19 cases. There is a common misconception amongst foreign nationals in South Africa, whereby they believe that nothing can be done to resolve their visa issues during lockdown.