Home Affairs Minister Hlengiwe Mkhize intends to clear bottlenecks
Home affairs aims to ease entry for skilled migrants and to tackle
asylum seeker and refugee backlogs

Home Affairs Minister Prof Hlengiwe Mkhize has two immediate tasks to
attend to in her new portfolio: making it easier for skilled migrants
and investors to get through the system, and clearing the huge
backlogs in processing asylum seeker and refugee applications.


The Department of Home Affairs insists it has taken considerable
strides in making it easier for business travellers and skilled
migrants to enter SA. But, on the other side of the same coin,
refugees and asylum seekers face an uphill battle when dealing with
home affairs.


Mkhize says her department, which has released a white paper on
international migration and the Refugees Amendment Bill, will not
stray from the Constitution when dealing with asylum seekers.


In the bill, home affairs proposes the establishment of processing
centres for asylum seekers at SA’s borders and ports of entry â€" a
marked departure from the country’s current policy.


Migration groups have raised alarm about the controversial proposal,
saying it amounts to setting up camps, which is out of step with SA’s
long-standing policy on refugees and asylum seekers.


Mkhize says she will stick to the spirit and letter of predecessor
Malusi Gigaba’s stance. But Gigaba’s tenure at home affairs,
especially towards its end, became increasingly underscored by an
inward-looking and protectionist approach in its handling of
migration.


The new minister told Business Day in an interview that the department
would sharpen its efforts aimed at attracting skilled migrants to help
rescue the economy, which is stuck in a low-growth trap and is
contending with high unemployment.


This is in line with the objectives of the National Development Plan,
which identifies skilled migrants as critical to ensuring that SA
shores up its struggling economy, which has a shortage of skills.


Her priority is to accelerate the rate at which applications by highly
skilled migrants and investors are processed.


Critically skilled migrants are also allowed to sojourn for 12

months
prior to securing employment to determine whether they will be
interested in working and staying in the republic on a longer term
Malusi Gigaba
To this end, the Department of Home Affairs will train its officials
at its college and use the sector education and training authorities
(Setas).


"The department has a college, which was initially unable to take off.
In some areas, officials [will] benefit from the Setas in upgrading
their skills.


"When it comes to our college, we need to find experts who will
interact with officials to develop professional standards through an
accredited module," says Mkhize. She wants to synchronise these
efforts with the Department of Trade and Industry’s "one-stop shop"
for investors looking to travel to the country for business and
investment reasons.


Before leaving to assume his position as minister of finance, Gigaba
told Parliament in a written response that home affairs had finalised
84.7% of critical skills applications in four days to a month.


"Critically skilled migrants are also allowed to sojourn for 12 months
prior to securing employment to determine whether they will be
interested in working and staying in the republic on a longer term,"
Gigaba wrote in a response to a written question in Parliament.


When it comes to refugees and asylum seekers, Mkhize says that the
proposed processing centres will not undermine refugees and asylum
seekers’ rights. Instead, she says, these centres will serve to
protect refugees and asylum seekers’ rights once they are allowed into
SA.


"If you throw people into communities before they are sorted out,
their risks are higher. Their rights are given but not protected.


Their children’s rights to education are even in jeopardy.
People must be given critical information and ongoing learning," she
said.


Roshan Dadoo, of the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in SA, says:
"We feel the white paper and the bill imply that people will be
detained, because they cannot leave until their applications have been
determined." V.1939

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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