The Department of Home Affairs is duty-bound under administrative law
to process overdue applications within a reasonable time

After two successive quarters of decline, the South African economy
spluttered back to life in the second quarter with 2.5% GDP growth
quarter on quarter.
However, the country’s inability to stimulate job creation is putting
it on a collision course with a sustained recessionary period, which
spells disaster.
The unemployment rate is at a 14-year high. A staggering 9.3-million
people who wanted work were unable to find it in the first quarter.
The National Development Plan’s ambition to reduce unemployment to 14%
by 2020 is battling against a public sector partly paralysed through
corruption, and a private sector nervously assessing the increasingly
tense socioeconomic situation. Job creation is at a standstill.
Yet the Department of Home Affairs is hampering highly skilled
international migrants’ ability to create new businesses that can
drive job creation and economic growth. Migrants from outside the UK
and EU make up 25% of London’s workforce and contribute £83bn, more
than a third of the South African economy a year to the city’s
economy. A study by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development found that "skilled immigrants contribute to boosting
research and innovation, as well as technological progress".
In a case representing more than 473 applicants for visa, permit and
citizenship applications heard on August23, the department performed
extraordinary legal and bureaucratic acrobatics to obfuscate, delay,
impede and frustrate our efforts to bring relief to the applicants’
efforts to continue to live, work and study lawfully in SA.
These are people who have lived and worked in the country for years,
have husbands and wives, children and careers, people who contribute
economically and socially to the prosperity of the country. Due to the
department’s arrogance and dismissive attitude, they are now unable to
open bank accounts, travel or rent property. They face the constant
risk of deportation or criminal records.
The Department of Home Affairs is duty-bound under administrative law
to process overdue applications within a reasonable time. However,
applications are being unduly delayed, some for more than four years.
The human and economic cost of this failure in constitutional duty

is
immense. In a similar case in 2012 concerning the delay in processing
permanent residence applications of 105 applicants, Acting Judge
Judith Cloete found that the department had "dealt with the
applications… in a manner which can only be described as
‘administrative bungling’" and that "the lives of 105 foreigners… hang
in the balance until the respondents get their house in order".
By failing to conduct its affairs in accordance with the
constitutional values of accountability, responsiveness and openness,
the department is causing a great deal of prejudice to countless
individuals across SA. The only recourse left to these people is to
approach the courts, which is an expensive and lengthy process many
can ill afford.
Policy ‘based on an approach that is largely static … rather than to
managing international migration strategically’
In its white paper on international migration, the department states
that the current policy on international migration "does not enable SA
to adequately embrace global opportunities" and that it is "based on
an approach that is largely static and limited to compliance rather
than to managing international migration strategically to achieve
national goals".
The Department of Home Affairs is failing to live up to its own
ambitions for international migrants to become key drivers of SA’s
success and global competitiveness. Its failure to award permanent
residence and critical-skills visas is costing SA dearly.
Department officials in SA and at foreign missions refuse to recognise
powers of attorney and the right of foreigners to effective legal
representation.
This latest development goes beyond bureaucratic and procedural issues
plaguing the department. By infringing on these applicants’ common law
right to appoint attorneys as their legal representatives, the
department has enabled the worst of its officials to abuse their
powers and prey on people who lack understanding of SA’s legal system.
The department should reconsider its approach to applications made in
SA and abroad, and start managing the influx of highly skilled workers
more efficiently and strategically for the benefit of SA.
www.sami.co.za V.2028

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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