Pretoria - The High court in Pretoria came to the rescue of a
desperate mother of three, who had been separated from her children
for nearly the entire month of December, after Home Affairs banned her
from entering the country, claiming her permit to remain here was
fraudulent.


German citizen Yvonne Twarz-Kirchhoff, with the aid of her lawyer,
turned to the court on New Year`s Eve, as she is desperate to enter
South Africa to be reunited with her family.
She said her husband Jens received a "critical skills work permit" as
he was commissioned from Dresden in Germany, where they lived, to
urgently work on Eskom`s Kusile Power Station project as a piping
supervisor.


Eskom desperately needed this power station to be commissioned as soon
as possible to contribute to the shortages experienced on the national
electricity grid.


Twarz-Kirchhoff said her husband accepted the work on condition that
she and their children were allowed to accompany him to South-Africa
for the next three years. They came to South Africa in March last year
and lived on a smallholding outside Pretoria. Twarz-Kirchhoff said she
had to leave for Germany on December 4, to attend to urgent business.
When she returned three days later, she was refused re-entry by an
immigration officer.


She was handed back to Swiss Air by Home Affairs officials and told to
go home. No reasons were given.


Meanwhile, it emerged that Home Affairs claimed that she had been in
the country illegally for several months. She was declared "an
undesirable person".


But Twarz-Kirchhoff said in a statement that Home Affairs issued a
permit for the whole family to stay in South

Africa for the next few
years. This was accepted together with her husband`s work
permit.


She received a visitor`s permit, with the words "to accompany her
husband on his valid critical skills permit" written on the
permit.


As her children have remained at their Pretoria home and she was
forced to stay in Dresden, her husband could not return to work as he
had to take care of the children. The court was told that her husband
was under immense pressure, as he played a vital role in the
finalisation of the first power unit. Eskom is so desperate to have
the project finalised that it issued a letter to court, stating the
urgency of her husband returning to site.


Home Affairs official Mathews Nkuna, however, said Twart-Kirchhoff`s
permit was "a fake".


According to him, any visa permit linked to another`s permit should
correspond with the main holder`s permit. Nkuna said in this case it
was stated that the wife and children`s permits expired on March 19,
2018, while the husband`s permit expires on December 31, 2018. "This
document is fake and was not issued by Home Affairs," Nkuna
said.


He said the wife was in the country on a visitor`s permit, which had
expired months ago. Nkuna said the fact that she had been able to stay
in the country for all this time, without being detected, had a
negative effect on South Africa`s ability to manage immigration
effectively.


Judge Neil Tuchten ordered Home Affairs to allow Twarz-Kirchhoff back
into the country for now, until the dispute is resolved. V.1526

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

 V.6133
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

 V.6130
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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

 V.6131
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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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