Not only was the department a target of state capture during the
Zuma era, the cabal of the department’s leadership also remains
firmly in place, steadily tightening immigration control against
even the most qualified of people.
Retirees who have traditionally spent billions of rands in foreign
currency are routinely barred if they do not receive pensions, or
are not of retirement age. Critically skilled, degreed foreigners
are excluded from general management positions without any
justifiable grounds. Their applications are rejected again and
again, under the same cookie-cutter pretexts.

Meanwhile, business visa applications for entrepreneurs are sunk
in hyper-bureaucracy and corruption on an industrial scale that
continues to prevail with total impunity.
There are probably more fabricated visas in circulation than visas
acquired lawfully, because to acquire a visa lawfully takes
persistence, inconvenience, tireless patience and perhaps an
administrative appeal or two. Most healthy-minded foreigners would
rather pay a fee for a fabricated sticker in a passport than go
through the emotional strain of acquiring the simplest visa
through legal channels.
As a consequence of this administrative collapse â€` and, if not
collapse, then entrenched xenophobia â€` foreigners have never
before litigated against the department in such numbers for the
smallest benefit. Even then, the department does not comply with
court orders. The state attorney’s office has been transformed
into a Kafkaesque bulldog that defends even the most indefensible
claims of the department, at any cost. Ultimately, the taxpayer
carries the burden of the state’s bureaucratic malfeasance.
This has been the reality since Jacob Zuma succeeded in
repositioning the locus of power in the executive authority â€`
including the public administration â€` divesting both the
legislature and the judiciary of their pre-eminence.
Noncompliance with court orders is now the norm, not the
exception. So the rule of law is on the back burner and government
officials enjoy unbridled power.
During the Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki years, judicial review
was always a last resort. Government was responsive and amenable
to compromise, and safeguarded valuable cases for judicial
resolution. When Zuma was president he succeeded in defrocking the
judiciary to protect himself and his system of patronage from the
slightest challenge.
It was Zuma’s Cabinet, too, that adopted the white paper on
international migration for South Africa, published in July 2017.
A careful reading of the document reveals that its foundations are
too weak to support a reformulation of immigration policy for
South Africa, a view that I conveyed in the Mail & Guardian in
November last

year.
The white paper contains atrocious falsities and has no
foundations in empirical data. Ramaphosa’s Cabinet should keep it
in abeyance until such time as policymakers have conducted the
necessary research and analysis, and are able to arrive at their
conclusions in a rational manner.
A sensible approach would be for Ramaphosa to establish a
committee of immigration advisers as a parallel think tank to the
department of home affairs’ leaders. The latter grouping has never
succeeded in running an efficient immigration system, or in
formulating an immigration policy based on empirical evidence, in
the best interests of this country and its economy. The white
paper is founded on this very observation.
A November 2018 World Bank study does, however, provide evidence
of the economic benefits of in-migration.
The report shows that immigrants had a positive effect on jobs and
wages in South Africa between 1996 and 2011, and highlights their
tendency to increase opportunities for locals and contribute to
economic growth.
Everything from Somalian kiosks on street corners and Bangladeshi
spaza shops in townships to small and mid-sized Swiss engineering
companies, Italian restaurants, Turkish marble importers and
multinational corporations is an economic stimulator. Each of
these types of entities use and pay for infrastructure, employ
South Africans, pay tax, purchase goods and services from South
African suppliers, and even introduce large amounts of foreign
currency that benefit our low foreign reserves.
The World Bank study underlines the importance of political will
for furthering policies based on empirical evidence, not
entrenched political and financial interests.
Without proper analysis, positive socioeconomic outcomes are
beyond the reach of locals and foreigners alike.
Any attempts at building an intelligent immigration system for
this country tend to be hijacked by national security concerns. It
does not help that the current minister of home affairs, Siyabonga
Cwele, was Zuma’s first state security minister.
State security and the securitisation of our borders is only one
dimension of an effective immigration system.
The building of an economically beneficial immigration policy
depends on its decoupling from national security.
Similarly, while the rule of law remains so deeply imperilled in
terms of the processing and adjudication of immigration and
citizenship applications, South Africa cannot be considered “open
for business”.
www.samigration.com
let us help you through this minefield V.2808

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
Click here for full article

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
Click here for full article

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
Click here for full article

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
Click here for full article

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
Click here for full article

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
Click here for full article

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
Click here for full article

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
Click here for full article

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
Click here for full article

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
Click here for full article