SA Migration International

News Articles

In the City of Cape Town? Here`s an alternative to standing in queues for vehicle licences

Source: News24, 16/02/2021

With the latest grace period extension now being stretched once again, motorists can breathe a bit for a few weeks.
Earlier in January, Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula announced that `the validity of learner`s and driving licences, vehicle licences, professional driving permits, operating licences, accreditation certificates for tourist services` which have expired from 26 March 2020 to 28 February 2021 will be *deemed valid until 31 August I urge all motorists to rather stay home, and stay safe during these crucial next few weeks as we try to flatten the curve of the pandemic.
If you have comorbidities, I strongly advise to stay home, or make use of alternative means by those offering third party services. If you`re in Gauteng or the Free State, you can contact ChatBack via WhatsApp and send all your documents through the app. Transactions should cost you about R250.
There are also other third party small businesses doing the same all over the country. We don`t usually give free punts to businesses, but if we can help our readers find alternatives during this pandemic to relieve the stress of vehicle licence renewals, I sure will do what we can. One such person or small business rendering such a service in the City of Cape Town metropole, is JP Pater.
Pater says: `We can help those that really can`t or are afraid to stand in the lines. I have a long list of customers with Covid-19 related issue. It helps; I drop their new disc in their post box, or mail it to them. `If we can continue to do it now for most of the people, at least there wont be those long queues extending for kilometres once the lockdown is over.`
He says he currently advertises his services on Facebook and relies on word of mouth. Pater explains: `For me, the most important is customer service, something not found too often these days. To mention but one example, the person who designed my card had three of his vehicles renewed by me. That day it was so busy, he actually called me while on his way to stand in the line, (after seeing my add on Facebook) and I was already in the queue. Stories like this make me LOVE what I do. `When someone contacts me, I ask them what needs to be done, and then offer to supply them with any document they need.`
*How it works*
Those who need to renew vehicle licences for their spouse or loved one will need the following (as I would):
1. A signed permission letter to have it done on the vehicle owner`s behalf and a copy of the person receiving permission`s ID
2. A signed form for the transaction in question
3. A copy of owner`s ID
4. Proof of address (this is not always needed, but the day when the system requires a FICA, and you don`t have it, the transaction won`t proceed).
`Only when the vehicle owner decides to do this themselves, will they basically only need a previous disc or reg paper. Easy as that. Nothing else. `After completion of the transaction, I arrange for delivery or collection of the new disc. For the outbound areas we either use PostNet/Pep or maybe a family/friend that lives close enough.
`I prefer the Strand Licencing department to do most of my transactions (and we stand the queue daily while they are open). They are really moving the lines; they are fair and also very helpful. Doing it all this time, you get to know the people, both working there as well as the ones in the queues. And of course, we know the trees and shade spots by now.`
*For Roadworthy, all you need is: *
1. A licenced vehicle (temp permit or up to date licence, not expired)
2. Registration papers
3. Copy of ID of person taking the vehicle in.

www.samigration.com

Search

Latest News

Airports Company South Africa (ACSA) this week revealed that Cape Town International Airport (CTIA) has achieved a ground-breaking milestone by processing more than 10 million passengers over a single financial year. This is the highest number of regional and international passengers processed since COVID-19... Read more...

DA MP says hours lost continue to result in persons being unable to collect their ID documents due to unmanageable queues The DA has been inundated with complaints that the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) systems are offline, resulting in long queues and delayed processing of documents. Through questions posed to the Minister, the DA can now reveal that the DHA has lost over 77 years’ worth of working hours due to system downtime and load-shedding from 2019 to date. Concerningly, this data only relates to hours lost for the application of smart IDs, meaning decades more of working hours could have been additionally lost in other spheres such as passport or visa applications.... Read more...

Home Affairs’ seemingly endless court battles set the department back more than R110-million between April 2023 and the end of February this year. This was revealed in a written parliamentary response by minister Aaron Motsoaledi. He said the department accumulated a litigation bill of R117 692 996.3, higher than the R72 637 944.51 spent the year before.... Read more...

Due to system downtime and load-shedding, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) lost nearly 141,000 hours of Smart ID application and production time between the 2019/20 and 2022/23 financial years. Minister Aaron Motsoaledi revealed this figure in a recent response to questions raised in Parliament by Democratic Alliance MP Adrian Roos. Motsoaledi provided a breakdown of smart ID production and application hours lost to technical difficulties and load-shedding per province for each financial year from 2019/2020. These disruptions hit home Affairs offices in the Eastern Cape the hardest, with over 34,000 hours to rotational power cuts and system downtime. Mpumalanga offices lost the next-highest number of hours at 17... Read more...

In recent years, South Africa has seen a significant influx of immigrants from various African countries, as well as other parts of the world. This has raised important questions about the country`s immigration policies and their impact on job creation for both locals and immigrants. The South African immigration system, like many other countries, is a complex and ever-evolving process that aims to balance the country`s economic needs with its social and cultural interests. Let`s take a closer look at how this system intersects with job creation in South Africa. The South African government implemented the Immigration Act of 2002, which outlines the country`s immigration policies and procedures. Under this act, foreigners are required to obtain a visa or permit to enter, work, or study in South Africa. The type of visa or permit required depends on the intended purpose of the individual`s visit and their country of origin.... Read more...

The DA has been inundated with complaints that the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) systems are offline, resulting in long queues and delayed processing of documents. Through questions posed to the Minister, the DA can now reveal that the DHA has lost over 77 years’ worth of working hours due to system downtime and load-shedding from 2019 to date. Concerningly, this data only relates to hours lost for the application of smart IDs, meaning decades more of working hours could have been additionally lost in other spheres such as passport or visa applications. The lost hours are largely due to system downtime, surpassing load-shedding. In the 2022/2023 financial year, where we experienced extensive load-shedding, system downtime was the cause of 41 691 hours lost (17 years), whereas load-shedding caused around 9 322 hours lost (4 years) at DHA civic offices on the production of smart IDs.... Read more...

JOHANNESBURG - Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi said that while the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection had been gazetted, there were amendments that needed to be made to the legislation before it could be passed into law. The White Paper is proposing an overhaul of the country`s migration laws, with the aim of tightening rules around allowing migrants into the country.... Read more...

Highly skilled professionals are leaving South Africa to move to other countries, while the local economy faces a skills shortage. Data from The Outlier revealed that there were just over 900,000 South Africans living abroad in 2020. This number has increased steadily over the past 20 years, from 500,000 in 2000, according to Stats SA’s Migration Profile Report for South Africa 2023. Of these 900,000 people, 7 out of 10 are living in either Europe or Oceania. In particular, Australia and New Zealand have seen a large growth in South African residents. In 2020, around 273,000 South Africans were living in those two countries, more than double the 106,000 who lived there in 2000. The UK remains still the top destination for South Africans who leave the country.... Read more...

Document proposes overhauling the Citizenship Act, the Refugees Act and the Immigration Act and a review of the international treaty on refugee protection Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi says the cabinet has approved a white paper overhauling the country’s immigration laws after “robust engagements” that resulted in “wide support” of the document’s policy positions.... Read more...

Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s indifference to the plight of those affected by his decisions is appalling In the tumultuous seas of immigration law, where uncertainty looms and families are left adrift in bureaucratic limbo, the department of home affairs has emerged as a sinking ship. As a director of a firm of immigration attorneys I’ve witnessed first-hand the dire consequences of the department’s negligence and incompetence. Today, I raise my voice not just as an attorney but as a concerned citizen, urging for a radical overhaul to salvage what remains of our immigration system. We have tirelessly fought battles in the courtroom against home affairs’ disregard for agreed-upon time frames. Countless cases have landed on our desks, each one a testament to the systemic failures plaguing the department. We’ve seen cases where contempt applications were the only recourse, as the department brazenly ignored court orders.... Read more...