This comes after the ministerial review committee found a host of irregularities in the issuance of permanent residence permits, business visas, corporate visas, critical skills visas, study visas, retired persons visas and citizenship by naturalisation between October 2004 and December 2020.

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the multidisciplinary task team would consist of experienced senior counsels, forensic investigators, data analysts and other related skills.

“The team will do a deep-dive investigation and may end up preparing dockets, develop plans to trace people, prepare documents for possible disciplinary committee, go to court to recover government documents obtained fraudulently and where appropriate trace people who need to be deported,” Motsoaledi said.

He also said the supply chain process to acquire the members of the soon-to-be-formed multidisciplinary task team was under way.

“In the meantime, some of the Home Affairs officials who have been fingered are already going through a disciplinary committee of other matters which are related to some of the findings of the review panel,” Motsoaledi said.

In March 2021, the minister announced a ministerial review committee led by former government director-general Dr Cassius Lubisi following a trend where prominent people were investigated by the department’s Counter Corruption Unit.

In its report, the ministerial review committee found that the systems of the department were not advanced enough to flag anomalies proactively.

The records for the period between 2004 and 2014 were not

computerised and were still manual.

The review committee could only work with data from 2014 onwards.

In its investigation, the committee found that unscrupulous Home Affairs Department officials created fake users on the system and deliberately bypassed controls to manipulate visa and permit applications.

“The review found evidence of individuals who were actively manipulating visa and permit application with the assistance of corrupt Home Affairs officials. Some of these internal and external actors have been identified.”

The report said 12 officials who had petitioned Motsoaledi to stop the Counter Corruption Unit from investigating “their errors” were linked to a number of irregularities in the award of certain visas and permits.

“These matters are recommended to be further investigated by the multidisciplinary investigating team.”

According to the report, some permanent residence permits (PRPs) were approved before five years with no continuous period of residence.

“Spousal, dependants and relatives PRPs account for 80% of these approvals,” reads the report.

Some PRPs were approved though they were previously declined due to false documentation.

The report also said some applicants were naturalised before the five-year period after permanent residency was acquired without any special dispensation from the minister as required in law.

“Some were even naturalised before they received a PRP.” V.5222

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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