Before the “new” immigration regulations were introduced in 2014 for South Africa, there were different ways and means that one could follow up on the status of their application online with the Department of Home Affairs. There were four specific ways you could track your application, but before we get into this let’s quickly review how the immigration regulations changed quite a bit.
The Immigration Regulations
• The Immigration Regulations
o 4 Ways You Could Previously Check Your Permit Status At Home Affairs
o The New Way to Check Permit Status Online
o How Do I Check My VFS Applications Status Or Use VFS Tracking?
o VFS Collection Appointment South Africa
Home Affairs decided to make various changes to the immigration regulations and thus had a major impact on almost all applicants applying at the time.
Here are some of the changes that were made:
• All temporary residence permits are referred to as visas and the only permit available is the permanent resident permit.
• All new applications for TRP visas must be submitted abroad in the applicants country of residence.
• A change of status would not be allowed within South Africa from a visitor’s visa or medical visa to any form of TRP visa.
• Business visas would only be issued to businesses that are of national interest to South Africa, DHA created a list of undesirable businesses and increased the investment amount to R5 million.
• The quota and exceptional skills work permits were repealed and the critical skills visa was introduced including the critical skills list for South Africa.
• Intra-Company Transfer visa was increased from 2 years to 4 fours.
• Repatriation was repealed and instead, employers are now to sign undertakings for their employees.
• Any person who overstayed their visa was previously fined between R2,500.00 to R3,000.00 upon exiting South Africa, the new method is now banning people from SA and listing them as undesirable.
• Applicants could submit their visa application at the Department of Home Affairs without scheduling an appointment, in 2014 DHA decided to contract the services of VFS to facilitate the process of receiving and capturing biometric details.
4 Ways You Could Previously Check Your Permit Status At Home Affairs
1. Verify Your Status On Their Website: Home Affairs had a webpage which you could visit and insert your reference number to follow up on your application. This link no longer works on their website.
2. You could contact the DHA call centre: Previously you could contact their call centre and once you gave them your reference number they would tell you what your status is and you could give them instructions to hand over to the official in charge of your application.
3. Visit DHA’s offices: You could visit their offices and present your passport with your visa receipt to get a status update.
4. Immigration Agent: If you made use of an immigration agent, they would do all the follow-up’s for you with the necessary consent documents. Today an immigration agency may still follow up and update you with the status.
The New Way to Check Permit Status Online
Previously an applicant could prepare their application and then apply to the Department of Home Affairs offices. The new regulation requires all applications to be submitted through VFS in South Africa, However, no first-time applications will be accepted in South Africa. So this means once your application has been prepared and compiled, you then need to schedule an appointment with VFS to apply.
VFS has a tracking application status on their website which you could use to track your application. Below we explain the process.
How Do I Check My VFS Applications Status Or Use VFS Tracking?

To track your application on their website.
1. You need to type in your AURN number.
2. Type in your last name in the second input field.
The AURN number is the reference number on your invoice/receipt issued by VFS on the day you submitted your application.
The tracking system will indicate whether your application is still processing or if an outcome on your visa has been finalized. If your visa outcome is ready for collection, you need to follow a specific procedure to collect the outcome from VFS.
Sa Migration will include the follow-ups for you in their service and will alert you once an outcome has been reached. If you are

handling your application and experience any technical difficulties we suggest that you reach out to VFS on Twitter to resolve the issue for you. You must message them privately and explain the issues. Do not divulge any personal details openly on social media, keep this private and if they do request your private details make sure that it’s a VFS official that you are corresponding with.
VFS Collection Appointment South Africa


When your outcome is ready to collect from VFS services, remember that you first have to schedule an appointment to collect your outcome. Pitching up without an appointment will result in you being turned away by VFS.
Steps to schedule an appointment date for collection:
1. Contact us to schedule an appointment to collect .. NB! Only schedule an appointment once your tracking states that your outcome is ready for collection.
Once you’ve scheduled your appointment you now need to bring the following paperwork with you.
On the day of collection:
Remember you must collect your outcome from the same branch where you submitted your application. For example: if you submitted your application in Cape Town CBD, then you need to collect your outcome in Cape Town CBD or if Rivonia �` JHB or Brooklyn �` Pretoria again.
What do you need to bring with you on the day of collection:
• Your original passport is proof of identity when they hand you your visa or refusal letter. (The same passport you used when submitting your application)
• Your original invoice. (No photocopies allowed)
• SAPS issued affidavit (If applicable) �` If a representative is collecting your outcome.
• Valid signed power of attorney (If applicable) If a representative is collecting your outcome.
If a representative is collecting your outcome on behalf of you then they need the following documents:
• Original ID photo.
• A power of attorney letter.
• Applicants original passport.
The power of attorney letter must clearly state the following:
• Name of the person collecting the outcome.
• Photo & ID number of the person collecting the outcome.
• Your signature (the applicant) on the power of attorney should match the signature on your visa receipt.
Should you or your representative fail to produce any of the above requirements then VFS will not hand over the processed application to you when collecting. Please make sure that you have all the requirements with you and that all are in order. Any errors like misspelt names or wrong ID numbers etc will result in them not handing the application to you or your representative.
Sa Migration immigration experts will assist you from start to finish to make sure that you have peace of mind. We are here for all our clients ensuring that they are stress-free and that they receive the best professional service that is due to them.
Our service includes:
1. Free Assessment before we take you on as a client.
2. One on one weekly calls.
3. You get access to an immigration expert.
4. We answer calls and emails seven days a week.
5. We prepare and compile your application.
6. We are experienced with South African Immigration and how VFS works.
7. We will schedule your submission and collection dates.
8. Do all the follow-up process for you.
9. Complete all 3rd party processes for you.
How can we help you , please email us to info@samigration.com whatsapp message me on:
+27 82 373 8415, where are you now? check our website : www.samigration.com

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