News Articles

Constitutional Court gives state two years to amend foreign spousal visa laws

Source: Cape Talk, 14/07/2019


On Friday the Constitutional Court said the state has 24 months to fix the legislation which has the impact of separating foreign spouses from their families.
It ruled that the dignity and constitutional rights of South African citizens and permanent residents are unduly impinged on when you require the spouse or child to return to their home country to apply for a visa, thereby breaking up the family.
â€`
The people who`ve had to leave were those on a visitor’s visa or medical visa - they weren`t allowed to change their status within the country.
â€`
With the state being given two years to effect the changes, immigration lawyer Willem Le Roux explains what will happen in the interim.
In the interim, we must `read in` a new section that previously did not exist, and that section says the spouse or child of a South African citizen or permanent resident is now deemed to be an `extraordinary circumstance` which qualifies that person to change their status from within the country.
â€`
The Department of Home Affairs defended the law, claiming that the requirements were designed to `prevent people from fraudulently overstaying in South Africa`.


Search
South Africa Immigration Company