With the MHA not notifying the rules, the Act cannot be
implemented. According to the Manual of Parliamentary Procedure,
rules have to be framed within six months from the date on which
the statute came into force.
`In case the Ministries/Departments are not able to frame the
rules within the prescribed period of six months, they should seek
extension of time from the Committee on Subordinate Legislation
stating reasons for such extension; such extension being more than
for a period of three months at a time. The request should be made
after obtaining the approval of the Minister,` the manual said.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Subordinate Legislation
will soon be writing to the MHA, which has not yet approached the
panel for extension of time, asking for a status report on the
issue.

Former BJP leader Yashwant Sinha tweeted, `did you know that the
CAA rules have not been framed and notified despite a lapse of
seven months. The act cannot be implemented in the absence of
rules? Do you realise how the whole thing was just meant to fool
the people and win elections?`
A senior Trinamool Congress leader told DH, What reasons will the
Home Minister cite for delay in framing of CAA rules? Why is he
deliberately delaying the rules after passing the legislation in
such a big hurry? Was the legislation done only to create a stir
and whip up communal disharmony? Has Modi-Shah’s political gamble
badly backfired? Was it too hot to handle? Especially in Bengal?
This is an admittance of that.`

The Opposition had risen in rebellion against the Bill when it

came for passage in Parliament late last year, accusing the
government of introducing religion as criteria for citizenship. It
also resulted in huge protests across the country, amid
accusations that it was aimed at targeting Muslims.

In January, reports, including in DH, had suggested that the MHA
may include a provision for seeking documents to prove their
religion and their entry into India before the cut-off date from
people seeking citizenship under the CAA. Those applying will also
have to provide proof that they came from Pakistan, Afghanistan or
Bangladesh.

According to the report of the Joint Committee of Parliament that
vetted a previous version of the Bill, there were 31,313 people
belonging to minority communities from these countries will be
`immediate beneficiaries`, as they had been given Long Term Visas
on the basis of their claim of religious persecution in their
respective countries and want Indian citizenship.

Among 31,313, the Intelligence Bureau told the panel, 25,447 are
Hindus, 5,807 are Sikhs, 55 Christians and two each Buddhists and
Parsis.

For citizenship, the IB said, they will have to prove that they
came to India due to religious persecution. `If they had not
declared so at the time of arrival in India, it would be difficult
for them to make such a claim now. Any future claim will be
enquired into, including through RAW before a decision is taken,`
the IB had told the panel.

www.samigration.com V.3110

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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