Blanket Concession for International Students Affected by the Current Student Protests

Blanket concession for international students affected by the current student protests.

For access to the download, please click here.

Carte Blanche – Visa Vitriol

The Department of Home Affairs introduced visa-handling service VFS in 2014 to streamline administration. But for foreigners – many of whom bring rare skills and investment into the country, applying to live and work in South Africa and complying with immigration regulations is still a nightmare experience. They report an expensive and cumbersome process in which the Department of Home Affairs allegedly rejects 40 percent of applications out of hand.

View video here:

Click click here to read more

 

Proposed amendments to Immigration Act will save jobs – James Vos

The recently tabled Draft First Amendment of the Immigration Regulations made under the Immigration Act by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), does nothing to address the loss of jobs in the tourism industry, including concerns raised by the tourism industry, government departments and opposition parties.

The Draft First Amendment is nothing more than a half-hearted attempt to address the serious problems with the current regulations and will result in the ultimate contraction of the tourism industry.

The reality is that no material changes will be affected by the error-ridden Draft. Rather, the wording of a few provisions have lazily been shifted around, in what can only be seen as an attempt to create the illusion of the DHA’s willingness to engage with criticism of its policies.

The contentious requirement that parents traveling to South Africa with their children must produce an unabridged birth certificate (UBC) has not been removed. Rather than actually change the regulations, it seems that the Department only reorganised the clauses, whilst the requirements essentially stay the same.

Read more

Proposed amendments to Immigration Act will save jobs – James Vos

The recently tabled Draft First Amendment of the Immigration Regulations made under the Immigration Act by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), does nothing to address the loss of jobs in the tourism industry, including concerns raised by the tourism industry, government departments and opposition parties.

The Draft First Amendment is nothing more than a half-hearted attempt to address the serious problems with the current regulations and will result in the ultimate contraction of the tourism industry.

The reality is that no material changes will be affected by the error-ridden Draft. Rather, the wording of a few provisions have lazily been shifted around, in what can only be seen as an attempt to create the illusion of the DHA’s willingness to engage with criticism of its policies.

The contentious requirement that parents traveling to South Africa with their children must produce an unabridged birth certificate (UBC) has not been removed. Rather than actually change the regulations, it seems that the Department only reorganised the clauses, whilst the requirements essentially stay the same.

 

Click here to read more

DHA reduces requirements to obtain more Lesotho Special Permits

On 27 September 2016, the DHA announced that Lesotho nationals may now apply for the Lesotho Special Permits (LSP) at the VFS application centres without their passports.

Lesotho nationals are still able to apply for the Lesotho Special Permit physically at the DHA offices till 31 December 2016, as the online applications have closed 30 September 2016. However, it is being considered that the online applications might get an extended time frame.

Prior to this new announcement, Lesotho nationals were required to have a valid passport that had to be valid for four years, or a travel document with a Lesotho ID number in order to get permission to stay in South Africa legally.

Read more