Department of International Relations and Cooperation head of public diplomacy Clayson Monyela said the embassy in Germany had a functional visa system, email, telephone, and printers.
• South Africa`s embassies across the world are struggling with bandwidth and other ICT challenges.
• The Department of International Relations and Cooperation has upgraded several systems, but in some cases, challenges still need to be solved.
• The department`s Clayson Monyela says visas are issued manually when systems are down.
South Africa`s diplomatic mission in Lisbon, Portugal, has laptops and computers that are not compatible with their old infrastructure, and despite the technical challenges, opted not to issue handwritten visas.
In June, the Portfolio Committee on International Relations and Cooperation conducted a fact-finding oversight visit on the status of the vacant state-owned properties under the management of South Africa`s embassies in Germany and Portugal.
Last Friday, a debate on the matter was held during a mini plenary in the National Assembly.
According to a report compiled by the committee, the mission reported generally, the department`s network and ICT infrastructure were old, slow, and impacted negatively on the overall mission performance.
`There was a period when the mission went for four months without connectivity in 2020.
The report read:
It was said that the department invested a lot of money on ICT, and although the mission has recently completed the installation of new desktops and laptops and allocated all transferred officials with mobile phones, there were still challenges with the network and some of the critical applications are not fully functional.
One of the main issues was the need for better internet facilities.
`The communication of the department and that of the missions continues to be highly exposed due to the use of private wifi.
`It was argued that the tools of trade were bought before the new infrastructure could be installed.
`As a result, the challenge is the laptops and computers are not compatible with the old infrastructure system that is still on the premises.
`The problem was with the issuance of visas, so the mission decided that rather than issue handwritten visas, they kept the old infrastructure, especially as the new system does not read commands for printing,` the report read.
Last week, News24 reported diplomatic staff at South Africa`s mission in Germany were issuing handwritten visas because printers were faulty, telephone lines were not working, and

officials used private routers to connect to wifi.
Germany is South Africa`s third-largest trading partner.
Department of International Relations and Cooperation head of public diplomacy Clayson Monyela said the embassy in Germany had a functional visa system, email, telephone, and printers.
`Around the world, countries who have embassies overseas experience technical challenges with their networks.
`A temporary solution is the manual issuance of visas to ensure a continuation of services and once fixed, we revert to the normal system. It is not uncommon,` he added.
Regarding the embassy in Lisbon, Monyela said the visa system, emails and telephones were also working fine.
He added the reason the committee found system failures was that South African embassies around the world have historical challenges with low bandwidth.
Monyela said these issues have since been resolved.
`System upgrades are being done, but there were delays in certain countries with the system.
`Several departments play a role at the embassies, like the DTIC [Department of Trade Industry and Competition], home affairs and defence. With visas, the authority lies with home affairs,` he added.
Meanwhile, the committee also visited a state-owned property in Funchal, Portugal.
The mission was first informed of the disposal of the property in Funchal through a memo from the acting chief financial officer dated 12 October 2021.
`It was reported that the lease evaluation of the vacant property was carried out by the H&LP Consulting [evaluators] on 24 March 2022 with a cost of 1 525 euros. The value of the property was pitched at 246 000 euros.
`The mission reported having spent 17 615.88 euros since 2020 to date for the general upkeep of the property in Funchal.
`The expenditure was on garden maintenance, municipal services, cleaning and security, property valuation, and the disposal advertisement,` the report said.
South African Ambassador to Portugal Mmamokwena Gaoretelelwe told the committee to circumvent the impact of ICT on the telephone systems, the mission acquired a satellite wifi and would look for a fibre network.
`The mission is serviced by the London ICT hub. The transition has taken long, the mission only completed the installation of tools of trade two weeks before the oversight visit, and that process affected the telephone network,` the report read. V.5072

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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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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