Pericles Anetos
Tighter work permit legislation on the cards for asylum seekers
IN HER small office in Betrams, Sister Kadia Prigol, as director of
the Bienvenu Shelter for women and children, is at the forefront of
the bureaucratic battle asylum seekers face.


The shelter was visited by Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba on
Monday to mark World Refugee Day. It was started in 1998 and hosts 19
women and 19 children.


"I think corruption is first of all [number] one, not clear
information especially when they (asylum seekers) get there, either
for new arrivals and the same for those who need to renew their
documents," said Prigol.


On one occasion, a woman at the shelter had to go to Home Affairs 15
times to renew her documents, she said. There were also difficulties
combining the files of children with mothers who had married.


Sometimes officials wrote the date of the next appointment on
people`s hands, or files were lost.


Gigaba said this was changing. "The bureaucracy is being addressed in
the department. Even as we are preparing for a new policy framework,
we have already begun addressing the bureaucratic glitches people face
and those include the business processes that we are introducing at
our offices," he said.


Gigaba said it was important for asylum seekers not to be seen solely
as numbers in a system. "We need to understand who they are … the lady
who was talking about her six children, three of which she does not
know where they are, and the pain she lives with every day wondering
if they are still alive."


At the shelter, a woman, who did not want to be named, said she fled
the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for SA this year and had no
idea where her family was and whether they were safe.


"The mothers who come here come from a big trauma. They don`t just
come (because) they lost their house. The luggage they carry with them
is their children. That is all they have," Prigol said.


Another woman, who also fled the DRC and wished to remain unnamed,
said she was attacked by men who hacked at her legs. She did not know
what she would do when she leaves the shelter, which takes in women
for a limited period to get them on their feet.


"Thank you God for (the) shelter because it took me (in) and gave me
food. It gave me all things, even soap for bathing. Everything, (the)
shelter gave me ... but after time what (will) I do?" she
asked.


Prigol said many of the women at the shelter were victims of torture,
both indirect and direct, and had fled wars in their home countries,
persecution because of their sexual orientation, or religious
sectarian violence.


SA received over 62,000 asylum seekers in 2015, a number that has
steadily declined from its peak in 2009 when more than 200,000 asylum
seekers crossed SA borders.


Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Fatima Chohan said the number could
decline further as SA amended provisions of its Refugee Act pertaining
to work permits.


One of the amendments seeks to change the law that automatically
grants asylum seekers applying for refugee status a work permit — the
result of a court case brought by a refugee whose application took
three years to complete, leaving her unable to feed her
children.


"Because we issued work permits to people who merely applied, what
this did was it led to a mushrooming of many, many migrants coming
into SA claiming asylum simply because they wanted a work permit, not
because they are genuine refugees," Chohan said.


She said the amendment aimed to differentiate between asylum seekers
in need and those who were not, and that this screening process should
have been implemented from the beginning.


Since 2008, SA has received over a million asylum seekers, of which
only 200,000 have been granted refugee status.


Chohan said this showed the level of abuse of the system.


Gigaba said most asylum seekers in SA are from the Southern African
Development Community region, which was relatively peaceful, so the
main draw card was the strength of the South African economy.


He said the South African economy to "some extent" did need low
skilled economic migrants.


Gigaba said there had not been a decrease in migrants coming to SA
because of the xenophobic violence of 2015.


June 20 2016, 18:43
IN HER small office in Betrams, Sister Kadia Prigol, as director of
the Bienvenu Shelter for women and children,

is at the forefront of
the bureaucratic battle asylum seekers face.


The shelter was visited by Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba on
Monday to mark World Refugee Day. It was started in 1998 and hosts 19
women and 19 children.


"I think corruption is first of all [number] one, not clear
information especially when they (asylum seekers) get there, either
for new arrivals and the same for those who need to renew their
documents," said Prigol.


On one occasion, a woman at the shelter had to go to Home Affairs 15
times to renew her documents, she said. There were also difficulties
combining the files of children with mothers who had married.


Sometimes officials wrote the date of the next appointment on
people`s hands, or files were lost.


Gigaba said this was changing. "The bureaucracy is being addressed in
the department. Even as we are preparing for a new policy framework,
we have already begun addressing the bureaucratic glitches people face
and those include the business processes that we are introducing at
our offices," he said.


Gigaba said it was important for asylum seekers not to be seen solely
as numbers in a system. "We need to understand who they are … the lady
who was talking about her six children, three of which she does not
know where they are, and the pain she lives with every day wondering
if they are still alive."


At the shelter, a woman, who did not want to be named, said she fled
the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for SA this year and had no
idea where her family was and whether they were safe.


"The mothers who come here come from a big trauma. They don`t just
come (because) they lost their house. The luggage they carry with them
is their children. That is all they have," Prigol said.


Another woman, who also fled the DRC and wished to remain unnamed,
said she was attacked by men who hacked at her legs. She did not know
what she would do when she leaves the shelter, which takes in women
for a limited period to get them on their feet.


"Thank you God for (the) shelter because it took me (in) and gave me
food. It gave me all things, even soap for bathing. Everything, (the)
shelter gave me ... but after time what (will) I do?" she asked.
Prigol said many of the women at the shelter were victims of torture,
both indirect and direct, and had fled wars in their home countries,
persecution because of their sexual orientation, or religious
sectarian violence.


SA received over 62,000 asylum seekers in 2015, a number that has
steadily declined from its peak in 2009 when more than 200,000 asylum
seekers crossed SA borders.


Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Fatima Chohan said the number could
decline further as SA amended provisions of its Refugee Act pertaining
to work permits.


One of the amendments seeks to change the law that automatically
grants asylum seekers applying for refugee status a work permit — the
result of a court case brought by a refugee whose application took
three years to complete, leaving her unable to feed her
children.


"Because we issued work permits to people who merely applied, what
this did was it led to a mushrooming of many, many migrants coming
into SA claiming asylum simply because they wanted a work permit, not
because they are genuine refugees," Chohan said.


She said the amendment aimed to differentiate between asylum seekers
in need and those who were not, and that this screening process should
have been implemented from the beginning.


Since 2008, SA has received over a million asylum seekers, of which
only 200,000 have been granted refugee status.


Chohan said this showed the level of abuse of the system.


Gigaba said most asylum seekers in SA are from the Southern African
Development Community region, which was relatively peaceful, so the
main draw card was the strength of the South African economy.


He said the South African economy to "some extent" did need low
skilled economic migrants.


Gigaba said there had not been a decrease in migrants coming to SA
because of the xenophobic violence of 2015. V.1658

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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