New visa regime's astonishing link to Guptas, Parliament hears
Tourism Update : 22 Apr 2016
The minister of Home Affairs was grilled by the opposition in
parliament on Friday on why a Gupta-directed company was issuing
receipts for people applying for visas through VFS Global.
The Democratic Alliance`s Haniff Hoosen said Home Affairs had
appointed VFS Global to handle South African visa operations but
receipts were being issued by a company called Islandsite Investments,
whose directors include Duduzane Zuma and Rajesh Gupta.
The Democratic Alliance, which discovered the link, has called for a
full investigation.
"The Guptas have not only captured President Zuma, they have also
captured our government and now have they have captured the entire
tourism industry.
"Before any tourist even puts a foot in our country, the Guptas get
their share first. Any person in the world, who wants to travel to our
country for work, business or pleasure, must first pay their share to
the Guptas.
"Then In October 2014, the Minister announced that the permits for
approximately 250 000 documented Zimbabwean citizens who were in the
country were to be cancelled and a new special permit was then created
for them. In order for them to remain in the country, they had to
apply for this new permit. And once again, VFS was the company that
issued those permits and they scored about 300million rands from that
deal.
"You have to wonder, what was the reason for creating a new permit,
when these people were already in possession of a permit in the first
place. Well, join the dots and the picture becomes clearer.
TheMinister makes new regulations for new permits, VFS rakes in the
cash, the Guptas and the Zumas laugh their way to the bank.
"It gets even better. Now Minister Gigaba has recently announced
another new permit. This time for citizens of Lesotho. In order for
them to stay in the country, legal or illegal, they must obtain the
new Lesotho Special Permit. There are an estimate 400 000 Lesotho
citizens in the country and even more are likely to move to SA now
that there is a 4 year

permit available for them to live here.
Soon there will be nobody left in Lesotho and guess who will be
processing those applications and how many more millions the Gupta`s
will be scoring.
"So the relationship is simple Minister Gigaba manufacturers new
permits and the Guptas rake in the cash.
"I want to ask you Honourable Minister, and we all know about your
cosy relationships with the Guptas, what was your role in securing
this deal for VFS? You cannot deny that you knew nothing about this,"
said Hoosen.
Minister Malusi Gigaba responded to Hoossen in Parliament, saying he
was making misleading and wild allegations.
According to the Minister, Hoosen never contacted him with regards to
the VFS contract. He said: "I don`t know about his requests. He met me
in the portfolio committee recently, he knows where my office is, he
is the shadow minister. He would have phoned or Tweeted or sent me a
message. He did none of the above. This is the first time I hear about
these requests."
Although Hoosen in his speech to Parliament never alleged that
Minister Gigaba signed the contract with VFS and merely asked what
Gigaba`s role had been in securing the deal for VFS, Minister Gigaba
said: "He (Haniff Hoosen) said I signed the VFS contract, knowing that
some would benefit. I do not take these allegations lightly. Just
because somebody says it, doesn`t make it so. The VFS was signed in
2011 when I was the minister of public enterprises and not home affairs."
Minister Gigaba went on to say: "Thirdly, he makes an allegation about
a certain company which is linked with VFS Global, which has
headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland. The challenge is that Hoossen had
no argument to make about the policy debate. To digress, he chooses to
make wild allegations, abusing parliamentary privilege, knowing that
what he is doing is playing to the gallery, and making wildly
misleading remarks, that he knows he will not be able to prove." V.1617

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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