The Department of Home Affairs says that some spousal or relative visa applications take up to two years to process because of the documentation and claims that need to be verified. Responding to a written parliamentary Q&A this past week, Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that this is the current challenge being addressed by the department’s ‘Backlog Eradication Plan’, where 117 additional officials have been pulled in from the provinces to work through applications. The department is also looking for partners in the private sector to improve and speed up the verification processes.

“Applicants for relative and/or spousal permits wait as long as two years for their visa due to the requirement that their notarial agreements and other documents such as birth certificates, bank statements and marriage certificates submitted as proof of existence of a spousal or parental relationship are verified,” he said.

“In order to establish the legitimacy of any relative and/ or spousal relationship for a visa application, the adjudication process requires that such relationships should be verified for authenticity. This includes verification of the notarial agreements and other supporting documents submitted in support of such applications with the issuing authority.”

The minister said that in most cases, the contact number of the purported South African spouse and/ or relative is not provided, making it difficult to confirm with certainty that the South African citizen is indeed party to the relationship.

Downtime problems

Exacerbating the verification issues, Motsoaledi also flagged continued problems with system downtime at the department.

In January, the National Population Register (NPR) system experienced downtime due to a glitch. And the live capture systems also get hit with downtime during power interruptions or bulk verification processes where accessibility becomes limited.

The minister said the department is prioritising traffic between systems to manage the thresholds while it works with the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) to modernise its infrastructure.

SITA started the modernisation programme for all its data centre equipment, which hosts critical systems, and has upgraded mainframe

hardware, he said.

“Moreover, the Department and SITA are jointly developing an Application Programme Interface (API) to further manage and streamline the data verification process,” he said.

To improve service delivery, Motsoaledi said that the department is also expanding its service channels, including rolling out service kiosks, mobile offices, mobile apps and adding new offices at banks and malls while upgrading others.

In its 2024/25 annual performance plan, the department indicated that it would ‘modernise’ five new offices this year to adopt the live capture system, while also rolling out Smart ID and passport services to more shopping malls.

Extended hours

In a bid to speed up service delivery, the department announced that it would open its offices for five hours a day on Saturdays in April and May (between 6 April to 25 May 2024, excluding 27 April 2024).

Branches will be open from 08h00 to 13h00 for ID collection services, facilitation of new applications and issuance of Temporary Identity Certificates.

“Offices will also be resolving challenges pertaining to duplicates, amendments, rectifications and dead-alive cases with the required supporting documents,” the department said.

Mobile offices are also scheduled to return to deliver IDs in the remote areas where they took applications from. Local offices, working with stakeholders that include councillors, will communicate the dates, times and venues of those visits. Mobile offices will be used to support the identified local offices.

“In addition, clients can now book appointments to collect their Smart ID Cards and Green barcoded ID books before visiting offices by using the Branch Appointment Booking System (BABS). Alternatively, clients can simply visit our offices without making a booking,” it said.

“We invite people who have applied for their IDs, particularly young people who are first time applicants, to come to our offices to collect their documents. This initiative gives people more options to collect their enabling documents.” V.5283

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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