After interviews, Machimana declined the application. In a letter,
the Ambassador of South Africa in Vietnam �` Mpetjane Kgaogelo
Lekgoro �` stated that he agreed with Machimana’s decision. But he
also said that her decision had been overruled.
“However, in view of the instructions received from the department
of home affairs, I requested and instructed Ms Machimana to issue
the visa.
While I agreed that her decision was correct, a mandated authority
had now issued an instruction,” reads the letter.
Based on numerous emails leaked to the Mail & Guardian, it seems
that after Machimana made her decision �` but before communicating
it in writing to the department of home affairs �` she was asked to
rescind it. In the emails, she is asked why she has not executed
the outcome of an appeal conducted by the department of home
affairs.
On August 23, a regional co-ordinator for the department of home
affairs, Veronica Loving, wrote to Machimana, asking why an appeal
outcome conducted by the department had not been executed for the
American International School.
Machimana responded, stating that she had been threatened by Sihle
Dumakude, an official of the school, who called her on August 20
and “informed me that he will report me to Home Affairs officials
he knows so that the appeal process can be set aside and the
application can be processed”. She also pointed out that the
applicant was not a Vietnamese national and did not have a long-
term visa to be in Vietnam, so could not apply in that country to
go to South Africa.
In another letter, to the ambassador in Vietnam, Machimana said
the Filipino national was applying for a visitor’s visa, while her
intention was to work in South Africa.
When the M&G sent questions to the school about the alleged
threat, which were also sent to Dumakude, it said: “We are
confident that our visa applications made to secure new teacher
employment are compliant with the laws and regulations stipulated
by home affairs and relevant visa

authorities.”
It added that: “School employees may at times, if required, liaise
on the phone with representatives within this process for
clarification and follow-up purposes, which is standard practice.”
When contacted, Machimana refused to comment �` stating that she
will await the decision of her department.
But it seems she has no department to answer to.
When Clayson Monyela, the spokesperson for the department of
international relations and co-operation, and David j,
spokesperson for the department of home affairs, were contacted,
both said Machimana was not their employee.
Meanwhile, in a letter written by ambassador Lekgoro and dated
August 29, he states that he met with Machimana, who is charged
with migration matters at the embassy, to clarify and confirm the
situation around the issuing of a visa to the Filipino national.
“Machimana explained that she had received a visa application …
and based on the relevant rules and requirements refused the
application,” Lekgoro wrote.
“Machimana was contacted by an immigration agent in South Africa.
The agent indicated that he would take up the matter with the
responsible director in the department of home affairs. Based on
the rules and requirements I considered her decision to have been
sound.”
Hlabane, the spokesperson for home affairs, said the department
could not answer questions about Machimana as she is not an
employee of the department. These questions were also sent to
Loving, who did not respond.
“Home affairs will investigate allegations against its official
[Loving] in foreign office co-ordination, and any evidence in this
regard will assist our internal investigation,” Hlabane said.
Neither department would provide answers as to what processes must
be followed for a foreign national to be granted a visa to work in
South Africa.
www.samigration.com V.2977

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. My passport was set to expire in October 2024, and because many countries require that your passport be valid for six months from a travel date, a renewal was due. V.5324
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DA MP says this is up 20 000 from the 74 000 six months previously Department of Home Affairs visa backlog is up by 20 000 in 6 months The Democratic Alliance (DA) can reveal that the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) Visa backlog has increased from 74 000 in August 2023 to 92 000 as of 16 February 2024. This is an increase of just under 20 000 in about 6 months. Download the Parliamentary question and answer here. The increase goes against what the Minister told the Home Affairs Parliamentary Committee in March 2023. V.5325
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The European Union (EU) will limit visas for people from Ethiopia. This is because the Ethiopian government hasn`t been helping take back citizens who stay in the EU illegally. The EU Council announced this in a statement on Monday. Ethiopians won`t get visas for multiple entries anymore. Also, Ethiopians with diplomatic and service passports won`t have their visa fees waived. V.5326
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CRIMINAL convictions more than two decades ago came to haunt a man who was offered a job as a senior data discovery and enrichment expert, but after his prospective employer got wind of the convictions, retracted the job offer. But the Gqeberha Labour Court came to his rescue and found that the man should be given a second chance, given that his convictions occurred 20 years ago and had meanwhile been expunged. V.5327
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Nigeria’s economy, which ranked as Africa’s largest in 2022, is set to slip to fourth place this year and Egypt, which held the top position in 2023, is projected to fall to second behind South Africa after a series of currency devaluations, International Monetary Fund forecasts show. The IMF’s World Economic Outlook estimates Nigeria’s gross domestic product at $253 billion based on current prices this year, lagging energy-rich Algeria at $267 billion, Egypt at $348 billion and South Africa at $373 billion. V.5328
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There are fears that more people will be separated by the introduction of a minimum salary level for those wanting UK family visas. Families living in the UK and abroad have raised concerns about what new rules will mean for them as they try to reunite with foreign spouses. In December, the Home Office, which says migration to the UK is too high, announced a package of measures to reduce net migration, following a spike in arrival numbers. V.5318
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An Ethiopian asylum seeker, who does not speak English, claims he was duped by a senior immigration official into paying an admission of guilt fine when he thought he was paying for bail.Two Western Cape High Court judges have condemned the official`s `deplorable` behaviour, set aside the fine, and ordered the immigration official be taken off the case. Tsegaye Esyas claims Annelise van Dyk treated him like an animal which led to him attempt suicide while in police cells. V.5320
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EREMY MAGGS: I want to stay with crime now. Individuals with a criminal record may be faced with significant challenges when seeking employment, I think that’s a given. Here in South Africa, employers may legally exclude an applicant from consideration for a position if having a clean criminal record is what is termed an inherent requirement of the job. That phrase, inherent requirement, is important, but what exactly does that mean, and when can an applicant be lawfully excluded for having a criminal record? V.5321
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As a South African who has adopted a nomadic work lifestyle alongside my wife, Ingrid Lotze, I’ve been an interested observer of South Africa’s snail-pace digital nomad visa (DNV) development process. Despite the optimism surrounding its introduction, the visa seems to miss several crucial marks for digital nomads like us. V.5322
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DA MP says hours lost continue to result in persons being unable to collect their ID documents due to unmanageable queues The DA has been inundated with complaints that the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) systems are offline, resulting in long queues and delayed processing of documents. Through questions posed to the Minister, the DA can now reveal that the DHA has lost over 77 years’ worth of working hours due to system downtime and load-shedding from 2019 to date. Concerningly, this data only relates to hours lost for the application of smart IDs, meaning decades more of working hours could have been additionally lost in other spheres such as passport or visa applications. V.5314
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