The Department of Home Affairs opposition to the court bid by five
adults, representing others in a similar situation, for the
vindication of their rights, was dealt a death blow by the
Constitutional Court last week. The court simply ruled that it
would not hear any further argument on the matter.
The department had not filed its papers in time, and it had not
given good reason for this.
What this means for Mariam Ali, Aden Salih, Kanu Nkololo, Caroline
Masuki, Murphy Nganga and any others “similarly situated” is that
their previous victory in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) now
stands.
In terms of that order, the minister must accept their
applications for citizenship and make a decision within ten days.
The SCA declared that if you were born in South Africa to foreign
parents who have not been admitted as permanent residents, you
qualify to apply for South African citizenship upon becoming a
major if your birth was registered and if you have lived here all
your life, irrespective of the date of your birth.
It also ordered the minister to enact the necessary forms to allow
for such applications within one year. Pending this, he must
accept applications on affidavit.
The application, brought with the assistance of the Legal
Resources Centre (LRC), was first set down in the Western Cape
High Court.
It was argued that the centre’s clients had all complied with the
Citizenship Amendment Act which came into effect in January 2013.
They were all born in South Africa to foreign parents and they had
all turned 18. But their applications for citizenship under
naturalisation laws were being refused.
In fact, they said, they were being told that such an application
form did not even exist.
In that court, the minister argued that the act only applied to
children born after January 2013 and could not be applied
retrospectively. In fact, his lawyers argued, it did not even
apply to children who turned 18 after that date but only to
children born after that date.
Any retrospective application would create “an unnecessary flow of
applications and burden the already strained resources of the
department”.
The Western Cape High Court ruling in favour of the centre’s
clients was taken on appeal to the SCA by the minister.
There, the Home Affairs changed its argument. Retrospectivity was
no longer an issue.
Instead, it was argued that those affected should have put the
minister on terms to deal with

their applications and, if they
were refused, they could then launch court proceedings to review
and set aside the decisions.
“But this was untenable,” the judges said. “It is difficult to
understand on what basis the minister could have made any
decision. They were never given an opportunity to apply. They were
just turned away.
“The argument is consistent with the ongoing attempts to frustrate
and delay their application. It is not in the interests of justice
to send them from pillar to post simply because the minister
adopted a supine attitude that the regulations will only be
promulgated in due course.”
They were being treated unfairly, the court ruled, dismissing the
appeal.
Sherylle Dass, LRC Regional Director, Cape Town, said they had
opposed the state’s application for leave to appeal to the
Constitutional Court, saying it was an attempt to have a “second
bite of the cherry” in spite of conceding the bulk of their
submissions in the lower courts.
“Despite these concessions, some ten months later, the state
decided to change its stance. We believed it was an abuse of
process. They plainly had no reasonable prospects of success and
again it showed a total disregard for taxpayers who have to foot
the bill for these types of vexatious proceedings.”
She said that during those ten months, when there was no
indication of any appeal, the clients had submitted their
citizenship applications but they were not dealt with.
“Following the dismissal of their appeal, we will now be demanding
the adjudication of those citizenship applications and we will
approach the courts if necessary should a decision not be made
within ten days in accordance with the SCA ruling.
“Our clients have had to endure a long and painful journey to
obtain citizenship with some of them all but giving up hope of
being finally accepted by a country they have grown to love; the
only country they have called home.
“A large part of this agonizing journey could have been avoided if
decision-makers within the Department of Home Affairs exercised
reason and caution by not arbitrarily abusing the court processes
to delay and frustrate the exercise of the clear and unequivocal
right of these applicants.”
www.samigration.com V.3013

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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We asked the major contestants of the 29 May elections about immigration. Illustration: Lisa Nelson Today’s questions and answers to the major political parties deal with immigration. We emailed our questions to the ANC, DA, EFF, IFP, FF Plus, ActionSA, PA, MK Party, and RISE Mzansi on 13 March and sent follow-up queries to those who did not respond. Some have still not responded. Answers are very lightly edited for grammar and typos. Does your party support continued extensions of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP)? V.5337
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