SA is unable to handle the volume of applications that much smaller countries process in far less time and with far fewer resources.
A Home Affairs directive issued in December tells short-term visitors planning to extend their 90-day visas they may have to leave by 29 February.
South Africa, and the Western Cape in particular, stands to lose billions of rands in investment and tourism revenue because of visa backlogs at the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).

A DHA directive in December warns that the visa department is so backlogged with applications that visitors on 90-day visas planning to extend them for another 90 days will have to leave the country by 29 February unless they receive their visa renewals by 23 February.
This means a potentially foreshortened stay for the so-called ‘swallows’, many of them property and business investors in SA, who migrate to SA to escape the northern hemisphere winter.
Depending on their country of origin, many are granted automatic 90-day visas on arrival, which can be renewed for a further 90 days.

Those who received their 90-day visas on or before 30 November 2023 and do not receive a renewal by 23 February must “make the necessary arrangement to depart from SA on or before 29 February 2024, to avoid being declared undesirable” says the directive.
Those denied long-term visas and appealing the decisions have until 30 June 2024 to leave the country or risk being declared undesirable. However, they will be allowed to leave and re-enter the country before 30 June 2024 without risk of being declared undesirable.
Those awaiting a decision on applications for long-term visas are also allowed to stay in the country until 30 June 2024.
Tourism revenue at stake
Tourism officials in the Western Cape are concerned about the potential impact this will have on seasonal tourism revenue. Moneyweb has been told that several of them are engaging with the DHA to find ways to clear the visa backlog.

“This is going to cost the country dearly in terms of tourism revenue and investment,” says Gillian Saunders, an independent tourism consultant.
“These 90-day extensions are incredibly valuable because they bring 90 extra days of high-spending semi-residents. Then, separately, we have Indian and Chinese visitors struggling to get visas to come to SA, and a lot of people have

missed weddings and conferences because they could not get visas on time.
“Many other countries in the world are far more accommodating to tourists and will issue 180-day visas on entry, depending on your passport. The swallows or seasonal tourists bring an enormous amount of revenue into the country, and many have businesses and properties here where they employ locals.
t really should not be that hard to make it more attractive for them to visit SA, she adds.
“We could do this by granting them an automatic 180 days on arrival instead of having to make them run through hoops to extend their 90-day visas.”
SA introduced an electronic or e-visa system in February 2022 for travellers from 14 countries, which allows them to apply online and receive their visas via email within a few days. The countries eligible for e-visas are Cameroon, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, India, Iran, Mexico, Nigeria, Philippines, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Uganda.

The plan is to extend this list to include Australia, Canada, the US and EU member states. But until that happens, visitors from these countries will have to continue applying for visas through a South African embassy.

Home Affairs’ dysfunctional’
The DHA has been slammed by human rights and immigration attorneys as dysfunctional, in large measure because of the way it has handled immigration and exemption permits for Zimbabweans and Lesotho citizens.
By the DHA’s own admission, barely a day passes without it appearing (negatively) in the press. It has been forced to answer scores of court cases in recent years, most of which it lost, and has also been slapped with court orders of which it was not even aware.

Saunders says SA has some of the best tourism assets in the world, and Cape Town was recently voted the second-best city in the world by Time Out, beating out London, Berlin and Madrid.

That kind of endorsement is worth millions of US dollars in free advertising, but it is being squandered by bureaucrats unable after years of trying to handle the volume of applications that far smaller countries process in far less time with far fewer resources. V.5188

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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