• As of the 2019/20 financial year, the Refugee Appeal Authority
of SA says the backlog stood at more than 153 000.
• The new deal with the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees will see around R147 million given to RAASA and technical
support to eliminate this backlog.
• The number of people now who must be cleared via this backlog
is 163 000.
The Department of Home Affairs has signed an agreement with the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR ) to eliminate delays
and a backlog in decisions for asylum seekers.
Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said: `I am happy that the
UNHCR is partnering with the government and people of South Africa in
eliminating the backlog in the asylum seeker system.
`The start of this backlog coincided with the year 2008 when there was
a global financial crisis. Up until then, the department was able to
clear asylum applications which it was receiving each year from 1998,
the year in which the Refugee Act of South Africa was enacted.`
As of the 2019/20 financial year, the Refugee Appeal Authority of SA
(RAASA), an independent statutory administrative tribunal tasked with
ensuring that appeal cases are dealt with efficiently, said the
backlog stood at more than 153 000. The Auditor-General said, if
nothing changed, it would take 68 years to clear the

backlog, without
taking new cases.
`The partnership we are launching brings in financial and technical
support to help RAASA eliminate the backlog and establish a robust
asylum appeals management programme going into the future. Over the
next four years, the UNHCR will make available US$9.6 million or
around R147 million to RAASA and technical support to eliminate this
backlog,” Motsoaledi said.
Motsoaledi said the agreement would see the UNHCR pay for 36 new
members of Raasa, including their training and equipment. The number
of people now who must be cleared via this backlogs is 163 000.
Currently in Cape Town, thousands of refugees are displaced after they
fled their homes due to xenophobia fears. They have been relocated to
two temporary sites - one in Bellville Paint City and the others at
Wingfield Military site in Goodwood.
Parliament`s home affairs portfolio committee has since intervened to
either repatriate people back to their home countries or to
reintegrate the refugees back into their communities.
The committee had set March 15 as the deadline for the UNHCR, the City
and the Department of Home Affairs together to come up with a plan for
the former Greenmarket Square refugees.
www.samigration.com V.3937

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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