The Port Elizabeth Refugee Reception Office was officially reopened on
Friday by Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba.
The province has been without such a facility since the Department of
Home Affairs unilaterally closed it in 2011, according to a GroundUp
report.
Following years of legal action, public outcry and civil society
activism, the Supreme Court of Appeal ordered the department in March
2015 to reopen the facility by July 1, 2015.
Years after that court deadline, the facility has at last reopened at
new premises in Sydenham.
`The new office will provide adequate accommodation with which to
extend better services to persons with legitimate claims. It has a
streamlined process flow; open spaces; baby-changing stations; and
multiple ablution facilities. Provision has also been made to
accommodate the Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs, Appeal Board
hearings and immigration inspectorate facilities,` the department
announced.
`It was a very long and bruising battle,` secretary general of the
Somali Association of South Africa, Mohammed Kat, said. `We won all
the court cases we brought against them, but the Department of Home
Affairs (DHA) kept appealing our victory until they reached the end of
the tether. They had no choice but to abide by the Supreme Court of
Appeal decision.`
Although he was happy refugees and asylum seekers would no longer have
to travel to other provinces to apply for permits, Kat said the
reopening was a bittersweet victory because a lot of time and
resources had been spent fighting the government in court.
`We were forced to shut down`
The Somali

Association of South Africa, together with the Project for
Conflict Resolution and Development, and aided by Lawyers for Human
Rights, took the matter to court in 2011. The court ruled that the
closure was unlawful but DHA appealed the decision.
`We were forced to shut down the office [in 2011] because of endemic
corruption that had taken root at the office,` said Deputy Minister of
Home Affairs Fatima Chohan. `The office was being abused by human
trafficking syndicates who were bringing in migrants who were not
refugees.`
Chohan said businesses around the old refugee office had a court order
to close the old office because they said it was a nuisance to their
businesses. She said the landlord also refused to renew the lease
agreement for the building they were renting.
`The department could not cope with the existing budget but we had to
abide by the court`s decision. The courts had spoken, we had to do
it,` she said.
Minister Gigaba, who was there to reopen the centre, responded to two
questions before an SABC reporter asked him about allegations of his
involvement in the department`s procurement process.
`The minister does not deal with the procurement process. That is the
question the director general can answer,` said Gigaba.
Gigaba spoke isiZulu to the reporter apparently to placate him. When
the reporter persisted, spokesperson Thabo Mokgola stopped questions.
The Port Elizabeth Refugee Reception Office is located at 10A Gibaud
Road, Telkom Building, Sydenham, Lakeside. V.2550

The gridlock affecting work-permit applications in South Africa is limiting expansion by German companies in the country and threatening operations that support 100,000 jobs, an industry association said. While South Africa is taking steps to improve an approval system and make it easier and quicker to get permits, the snarl-up that was exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic has limited the entry of skilled workers into a country that has a dire shortage of them. Between 2014 and 2021 only 25,298 skilled-worker permits were approved by the country, which has a population of 60 million. V.5339
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In exciting news for digital nomads, South Africa will launch a new digital nomad visa featuring two categories: a remote working visa and a critical skills visa. These visas aim to attract remote workers and skilled professionals globally as part of South Africa’s efforts to position itself as a global hub. Once put into action, this move will establish the country as only the fifth African nation offering this kind of visa to people who spend long periods working in different countries. V.5338
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The Home Affairs official was accused of selling passports at R3,000 to foreigners A 34-year-old former Department of Home Affairs employee will spend the weekend behind bars after being arrested on fraud and corruption charges. Malusi Mlondo appeared briefly in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Thursday and was remanded in custody. V.5329
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Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the arrest demonstrated the department`s zero-tolerance against corruption. • A Department of Home Affairs employee in Limpopo was sentenced to an effective eight years in jail for fraud and corruption. • NPA spokesperson Mashudu Malaba-Dzhangi said Amos Ngwenyama accepted R1 000 to fraudulently issue a birth certificate. • Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the sentencing demonstrated the department`s commitment to tackling corruption. V.5330
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A United Kingdom (UK) citizen - who laid a criminal charge of corruption against a Home Affairs official who wanted R60 000 to renew the retirement visas of him and his wife - is still waiting for the police probe to show results. He is also still waiting for the visas he applied for in 2022. A United Kingdom (UK) citizen - who laid a criminal charge of corruption against a Home Affairs official who wanted R60 000 to renew the retirement visas of him and his wife - is still waiting for the police probe to show results. He is also still waiting for the visas he applied for in 2022. V.5331
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With just a few weeks to go until the 2024 elections, the Department of Home Affairs has publicized the nation`s identification document (ID) process. The department acknowledges the critical role of voter identification in facilitating participation and ensuring electoral fairness. Delays and inefficiencies at Home Affairs have historically impeded the democratic right to vote, particularly affecting those in rural areas. V.5332
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SAUDI VISA FOR AFRICAN CITIZENS South Africa is not among the countries exempt from Saudi Arabia visa requirements, therefore a Saudi Arabia visa is required. South Africans need a current visa to travel to Saudi Arabia lawfully. South African citizens can obtain a Saudi electronic visa. Saudi Arabia is located in the Middle East. The eVisa is an electronic visa that permits citizens from approximately 50 countries to travel to Saudi Arabia for tourism. V.5333
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I recently renewed my passport at Home Affairs in a bank branch and was very impressed with the service and quick turnaround time. The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and major banks first launched the option to do Smart ID card and passport applications via select bank branches in 2016. It has slowly grown to around 30 locations, including branches from Absa, Discovery Bank, FNB, Investec, Nedbank, and Standard Bank. V.5334
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The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has spent over R412.95 million in legal fees since the start of the 2018/19 financial year - with over R117.69 million of this spent between 1 April 2023 and 29 February 2024. This was revealed by the Minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi, in a recent written response in parliament. DHA has seen an exponential increase in the amount that it spends on litigation, with the current amount for 2023/24 (note these figures are until the end of February, several months short of the full financial year) nearly 16 times that of the amount spent in 2018/19. V.5335
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Short on time? Here are the highlights: • Following recent announcements from British Columbia and Ontario, Nova Scotia becomes the latest Canadian province to declare how its quota of study permit applications for 2024 will be distributed across sectors and institutions • As in Ontario, private institutions and language schools stand to be the most negatively affected by the distribution arrangement, but some public universities will also see significant reductions in study permit applications • All Canadian provinces have now distributed their allocation of study permit applications for 2024, and all are now also issuing provincial attestation letters (PALs) V.5336
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