Table of Content
The publishing of the critical skills list was an essential aspect of president Cyril Ramaphosa’s plan to draw much-needed professionals to South Africa. Companies have run into frustrating hurdles with these visa types over the last few months as the department dithered with systems and shifted processes around. Businesses have described getting the necessary visas for foreign workers in the country as a nightmare. He claimed that depending on the type of visa being processed, different turnaround times apply. According to him, business and general work visas often take 8 to 14 weeks to process whereas key skills visas typically take 4 to 10 weeks. Clients that choose to utilise the services of an immigration company should ensure that they deal with an organisation that has registered immigration practitioners.
All birth certificates containing the details of a child as well as the parents of the child shall be accepted for the purposes of these Requirements as BCs, regardless of the country of issue. 3.1 Where both parents are travelling accompanied by one or more of their children, such children have to produce valid passports and a Birth Certificate or Equivalent Document for each child travelling. 1.3 Children who apply for a South African visa at any mission or VFS service point shall be required to submit, as part of the application, documents listed hereunder at paragraph 3, prior to such visa being issued. 1.2 Children who are foreign nationals and who are visa exempt are strongly advised to carry these documents since they may be requested to produce them when travelling through a port of entry of the Republic. Visa applications and processing have become a veritable nightmare for businesses in South Africa looking to hire specialists and critical skills needed for operations.
THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS IMMIGRATION MANDATE
In the case of divorce, where custody of a child/children is shared, parental consent by both parents is required. The requirements for children travelling to or from the Republic of South Africa are aimed at giving effect to the Children’s Act, 2005. Just before the new regulations were implemented, the Department then released a directive stating that all those with pending applications are also going to be declared undesirable if they fly out of the country on an expired permit. The biggest problem we are currently facing is the fact that people are being declared undesirable. Previously, if one overstayed their welcome, they could pay a fine upon departure, and those who had pending permits could travel in and out of the country freely with the Acknowledgement of Receipt.
The embassies usually contact the applicant if they require additional documents and the visa is issued without hassle. Applicants awaiting their visas within South Africa are expected to wait anywhere between three weeks to two years. The best advice we could give is to contact an immigration company or lawyer to expedite this matter as people have tried unsuccessfully to finalise their status with little or no success.
Government Gazette — Home Affairs
New immigration laws in South Africa have had a major impact for foreign nationals wanting to live and work in South Africa. For South African expats abroad, the laws mean it will be difficult to settle in SA with a foreign partner. Over 56,000 visa applications have been piled up at the Department of Home Affairs, and it estimates that they will only be processed by the middle of 2024.
Business – Under the new law, foreigners are expected to invest R5 million and employ 60% South African citizens or Permanent Residence holders. Under the new regulations, a life partner may only apply for a visa if they are in a relationship for two or more years. He said that South Africa’s eVisa programme was established to make it easier for travellers to enter the country without having to visit an embassy or mission beforehand.
Department of Home Affairs
Complete all forms received and prepare your supporting documents per guidelines. The Department of Home Affairs has started the process of deporting 20 foreign nationals who were part of the asylum seekers and refugees who were protesting in Cape Town. Temporary Residence Visa - EnquiriesThis email address is being protected from spambots. A South African Embassy in the traveller’s country of residence may be approached to commission the oath or solemn declaration required in the Affidavit free of charge.
The consent of parents recorded as such on the Birth Certificate or Equivalent Document shall be required regardless of the marital status of the parents of the child or children. When asked specifically about skills that are “known” to be critical but were not catered for on the new list, he explained that they were excluded because they did not meet the criteria he earlier described. He further explained that in some instances, they received no feedback from the industries or their professional body, which meant that the skills , could not be added on the list. He said that skills could not be put on the list if they did not meet all criteria, as this ensured a fair and transparent process. Foreign nationals who are declared “undesirable” may lodge a formal appeal to revoke the decision of undesirability on good cause shown. If the DHA does not consider the appeal within a reasonable period of time, foreign nationals may be able to institute court action in order to remove the declaration.
Even if the applicant had an expired visa, the Acknowledgement of Receipt was recourse for them to travel freely. Indemnity Please be advised that Julian Pokroy Attorneys is not responsible for any updates that the Department of Home Affairs may have made to the forms that are mentioned below. Please take note that these forms may differ to the forms provided by your local Home Affairs office or South African Embassy or High Commission. Please also take note that the Department of Home Affairs does specifically require the majority of the forms to be obtained directly from their offices and to be completed at their offices.
The funds would be used to employ additional lawyers on a temporary basis to assist in the asylum processes. Ms Aline Bukuru, a director of NGO Woman and Children at Concern, and 11 other foreign nationals are scheduled to reappear in court on Friday, 06 November 2020. Zimbabweans were dreading spending Christmas in their home country as the Home Affairs Department was to put an end to the exemption permits. The care of a child and youth care centre following an order of a court in terms of that Act or the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977 (Act No. 51 of 1977); or temporary safe care. The audience at the mobility conference was comprised of leading professionals in the mobility and immigration industry.
Mr. Makhalemele, graciously answered all questions posed to him which provided much need clarification. A foreigner has also the Right of Administrative Justice , which protects the foreigner against unreasonable delay at executing the application by the authorities or being ignored completely without any reason. Therefore, by not making a decision of a pending application the Constitutional rights of a foreigner is violated. However, foreigners have the right to freedom of movement and to leave South Africa with their own intention, as long as they are legal foreigners.
South Africa has a number of ports of entry to enter into or depart from the Republic. Any person who wishes to enter into or depart from the country, can only do so at a designated port of entry and should be in possession of a valid passport and/or visa. For visa-exempt countries a strong advisory will be issued, with travellers advised to have proof of relationship and consent from the absent parent/s or guardian/s, in case they are asked to provide such on arrival. Cabinet has mandated DHA to put in place the necessary legal instruments to give effect to this decision. The status quo will remain until such time the DHA has provided a legal instrument for this category of travellers. In utilising the services of Intergate Immigration your contact with the Department of Home Affairs is kept to a minimum.
No comments:
Post a Comment