• South Africa`s department of home affairs reopened applications for permanent residency permits in January.
• This, after abruptly suspending all new applications at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in March 2020, to deal with a backlog built over the past decade.
• But the department didn`t make a dent in the backlog and the Immigration Practitioners of South Africa believes that outstanding applications exceed 50,000.
• Foreigners who were eligible to become permanent residents when the suspension was first imposed are likely to endure a 5-year wait.
Foreigners looking to become permanent residents in South Africa have been barred from applying since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic. This suspension was lifted in January, but a burgeoning backlog of applications spells a long wait for immigrants.
The backlog of permanent residency permit (PRP) applications at South Africa`s department of home affairs is nothing new. For the past decade, processing times have remained frustratingly high. The department`s delays have been successfully challenged in court, with a 2019 ruling being especially critical of the `institutional dysfunction` at home affairs.
Then, in March 2020, as South Africa entered a coronavirus-induced state of disaster, the department of home affairs abruptly suspended PRP applications. This, the department said, would allow it to clear the outstanding backlog of some 10,000 outstanding permanent residence applications.
But the Forum of Immigration Practitioners of South Africa (FIPSA) estimated the backlog to be in the region of 30,000 and argued that clearing this, while not accepting any new applications, would take far too long.
Prior to the pandemic, PRP applications were generally resolved within two to three years, as a conservative estimate. The only applications which were prioritised and processed sooner â€` generally

within a year â€` included those submitted on grounds of business and critical skills.
Those applying on retirement, relative, spousal, work, and financially independent grounds have waited much, much longer.
`The fact is, they [the department of home affairs] didn`t make a massive dent in the backlog,` Andreas Krensel, CEO of IBN Immigration Solutions, which handles applications from predominantly European and American clients, told Business Insider South Africa.
`The backlog still exists. Even our firm has about 150 to 200 PRP applications outstanding. We belong to FIPSA… and among all these firms, we estimate that the backlog is more than 50,000 applications.`
The reopening of applications in 2022 has resulted in a flurry of submissions, adding further immediate pressure on the department of home affairs. This means that a foreign national, who was eligible, but couldn`t apply, for their PRP during the 22-month suspension, could likely endure a five-year wait to be approved as a permanent resident.
These delayed applications, if submitted in January, could only be successfully processed in 2025. That`s according to pre-pandemic wait times. If, as Krensel says, the initial backlog has shown little signs of improvement, these processing times could even increase.
`A lot of foreigners want to be emotionally acknowledged as a PRP holder and not feel like a temporary visitor all the time, especially when they invest in the country or have critical skills,` explained Krensel.
`Now they feel unwanted [thinking] `oh, South Africa doesn`t want me, then I`ll go somewhere else.` We`re talking about legal, highly qualified immigration… investors, retirees, spouses. Home affairs really is prohibiting investment.`
www.samigration.com V.3921

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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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