Asylum seekers face challenges with DHA's online system - Lawyers for Human Rights 

News24 – 29 November 2022

Asylum seekers are not getting the required documentation timeously, leaving them vulnerable to deportation. 

Refugee and asylum seekers face challenges with the Department of Home Affairs' online system, Lawyers for Human Rights told the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs.

• It means they don't get the required documentation timeously, leaving them vulnerable to deportation.

• Furthermore, there is a reluctance to process children, exposing them to "structural xenophobia".

Refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa have problems with the Department of Home Affairs' online system, leaving them vulnerable to deportation and their children to "structural xenophobia", Lawyers for Human Rights told Parliament.

Lindokuhle Mdabe of Lawyers for Human Rights told the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs on Tuesday that they had noted several challenges since the department introduced its online system.

The system came online in April 2021, GroundUp reported previously.

Mdabe said newcomers into the country intending to apply for refugee status had to do so through the online system.

The first problem, according to Mdabe, was a lack of internet access, coupled with language barriers.

Even after they lodged their claims online, they might have to wait up to two months for an interview. This rendered them vulnerable to deportation, because they had no documentation or proof that they were legally in the country.

Often, there weren't enough translators available for interviews, and in some cases, asylum seekers had been told to arrange their own translators.

Mdabe said non-governmental organisations, like themselves, were inundated with requests to perform functions the department was supposed to do. In their case, they had to provide affidavits and ensure people complied with requirements.

Furthermore, Lawyers for Human Rights detected a reluctance from the department to process children. When parents were in the refugee or asylum seeker programme, and they wanted their children to join, the children would not be joined, despite their applications.

This leaves children – minors – without documents, which means they experienced what Mdabe called "structural xenophobia", meaning their socio-economic rights were limited because they did not have documentation.

Mdabe said they had written to schools and hospitals, informing them that these children had rights, but the practice of insisting on documents persisted. 

"We also understand this is not the fault of the refugees," he said.

He added that the department also failed to implement sections of the Immigration Act, court orders, and judgments.

ANC MP Asnath Molekwa said: "The children cannot suffer because of the parents' sins."

She said the committee should determine whether there was a programme with a timeframe to deal with those issues.

DA MP Adrian Roos said compliance with court orders and judgments seemed to be a big problem with the Department of Home Affairs. 

He said the committee needed to get a list of all the related court orders and judgments.

www.samigration.com

New way to get international driving permits in South Africa

Businesstech | 29 November 2022

South Africans looking to get their hands on an international driving permit can now apply at VFS Global Application Centres in Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg and Pretoria.

VFS Global has been working with the Department of Home Affairs as an outsourced technology services company to assist in applications for visas and passports through its online platform and physical offices.

The group also facilitates the admin and payment, and delivery of the documentation when processed.

People based in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria can now visit the VFS Global centres to apply for an international driving permit.

As regulated by the United Nations, an international driving permit allows eligible applicants to drive vehicles in foreign countries. The permit can be helpful in terms of identifying a driver to offer assistance.

International driving permits are valid in more than 150 countries worldwide, said VFS Global. It contains your name, photo and driver information in several languages, which can be interpreted by the local officials and authorities of the countries you visit.

“An International Driving Permit can only be obtained from the country of your driving licence,” added VFS Global.

The extension into international services follows previous moves by VFS Global to work with the Department of Home Affairs.

Earlier in October, the department said that it plans to expand the visa facilitation services to countries where there are a high number of South African citizens.

The group is currently piloting a new system where South African nationals can visit a VFS Global centre in the UK to renew their South African passport.

“Since its launch, the turnaround times for passport issuance have reduced from six to twelve months to one month,” said the home affairs minister Aaron Motsaoledi.

Motsoaledi said that the department now plans to extend the system into countries such as:

• New Zealand;

• Australia;

• The United Arab Emirates(UAE);

• France; and

• The United States of America (USA).

www.samigration.com

Zimbabwe exemption permit case to be heard next year 

The Citizen | 29 November 2022

The ZEPs are expected to expire in June next year following an extension by the home affairs department. 

Suzman Foundation’s (HSF) challenge of Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s decision to terminate the Zimbabwe exemption permit (ZEP) will reportedly be heard in April 2023, two months before they expire.

The director of the foundation Nicole Fritz told TimesLive on Monday that a three-bench panel of judges would hear the matter.

“We are disappointed that hearing dates could not be secured earlier in that we are anxious to have the matter heard by the courts and for a just resolution to be determined,” Fritz was quoted as saying.

In their court case, the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit Holders Association, Helen Suzman Foundation, Zimbabwean Immigration Federation and Zimbabwean Diaspora Association NPC are seeking to overturn government’s decision not to renew the permit.

Motsoaledi, Home Affairs director-general, President Cyril Ramaphosa and Cabinet – the respondents – are opposing the case.

ZEP Holders Association also wants Zimbabweans to be declared permanent South African residents.

ZEP extension

Cabinet announced last November that the ZEP would not be extended again, with Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele announcing at the time that ZEP holders had until 31 December 2022 to apply for a visa to continue living in South Africa, return to Zimbabwe, or be deported.

In September this year, the department of home affairs then extended the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits by six months to 30 June 2023.

According to Motsoaledi at the time, the decision was made to give the ZEP holders an opportunity to apply for one or other visas provided for in the Immigration Act they may qualify for.

Only a few Zimbabwean nationals had applied for visas or waivers, hence the extension to allow for more applications, said Motsoaledi at the time.

“No holder of the exemption may be arrested, ordered to depart or be detained for purposes of deportation or deported in terms of the section 34 of the Immigration Act for any reason related to him of her not having any valid exemption certificate in his or her passport,” said Motsoaledi.

www.samigration.com

Fifteen million without legal docs in SA, Parly hears

Cape Argus – 29 Nov 2022

Cape Town - Fifteen million people are living without legal identity documents in South Africa, while 10000 local and foreign people are considered stateless, MPs were told.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) briefed the Home Affairs portfolio committee on these figures along with problems faced by migrants, the opening of refugee offices and backlogs.

Comparatively, there were 3.9 million stateless people around the world, the lawyers said. LHR statelessness project head, Thandeka Chauke, stressed that 10 000 stateless people included South Africans and migrants, and that stateless children for migrants were not assisted by any consulate.

Chauke painted a picture of a department that does not follow court orders, citing a report in their possession about more than 30 fathers (unmarried) and children who were turned away by Home Affairs officials for child birth registration, despite the Constitutional Court’s judgment in Child Law v Minister of Home Affairs that allows single fathers to register their children. LHR posed questions to the committee to ask the department when it appears before MPs.

The lawyers also charged that Home Affairs’ service towards immigrants was “xenophobic”.

LHR’s Lindokuhle Mdabe said there was “systematic” and “structural xenophobia” in how the department dealt with asylum-seekers and refugees.

“I know we might have to debate the lexicon, but that is how the organisation decided to describe the conditions faced by our client communities at Home Affairs,” Mdabe said, adding that there were challenges with Home Affairs’ online system dealing with refugee status.

“We see a lack of access due to a lack of internet access, which is an obvious thing,” he said. “Even if they’ve filed online, they will have to wait for two months to get an interview (with Home Affairs).”

Responding to the Cape Argus on the xenophobia charge, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said: “We were not part of that meeting, but I’m sure the portfolio committee will send the questions to us. We are not going to debate with them (LHR) through the media.”

Given a three-day deadline, Home Affairs spokesperson Siyabulela Qoza had not responded to queries that detailed LHR’s claims, at the time of going to press.

This publication recently reported that the country has an interpreters shortage crisis, which has prompted the Public Service Commission to pressure the government to intervene.

Mdabe asked MPs to push the department on whether it had challenges in documenting child refugees; to detail the issues; how many requests for verification the department has received since introducing its regenaration.comewal system; and why their clients were detained for extended periods. Mdabe said they had had to write to schools and hospitals to indicate that despite the documentation, migrants still had the right to the services.

www.samigration.com

UK Visitor Visa: All you need to know about the visa

The South African | 29 Nov 2022

South Africans who want to travel to the UK as tourists need to apply for a UK Standard Visitor Visa. 

UK Visitor Visa: All you need to know about the visa. 

It is also important to note that the processing time of UK Visitor Visas is currently about six weeks. So, it is important to plan and apply for your Visitor Visa in time. 

SA Migration have answered some of the most Frequently Asked Questions on the UK Standard Visitor Visa below. 

Will I be allowed to work while in the UK on the UK Visitor Visa?

The Home Office is very strict on the rule that you cannot do paid or unpaid work for a UK company or as a self-employed person while on a visitor visa in the UK. 

However, they allow some business activities, such as attending interviews, meetings, conferences, etc. We recommend that you speak to one of our consultants to ensure that the work you intend to do falls within the allowed business activities. 

I have a long-term visitor visa for the UK. My daughter is in the UK and having a baby. What is the maximum time I will be allowed to spend visiting my daughter?

You can stay in the UK for up to six months on a UK Visitor visa. Even if you have a two year, five years or ten years long-term Standard Visitor Visa, you are still only allowed to stay in the UK for up to six months at a time. The Home Office strictly forbid repeatedly living in the UK for extended periods via the UK Visitor Visa. 

As we have family in the UK, we are regular visitors. I want to apply for a long-term visitor visa for all our family members. Is it possible to apply for children as well?

Yes, it is possible to apply for children for long-term visitor visas. However, long-term visitor visas will only be valid for up to six months after a child turns 18 years old. One should thus keep the child’s age in mind when applying for a long-term visitor visa. Your SA Migration consultant will advise in every case. 

I will be visiting friends in the UK on my UK Visitor Visa. I also want to check out the job market and switch to another UK visa while I am there. Is this allowed?

Clients often think that they can visit the UK to check things out, decide whether they want to live and work in the UK, and then apply for another type of UK visa while they are there. 

However, It is important to note that one cannot switch to another type of UK visa while in the UK on a UK visitor visa. You have to return to your home country and submit the visa or permit application from there.

It is only in very exceptional circumstances that a person is allowed to switch while on a visitor visa. Please speak to your SA Migration consultant for more advice.  

Can I get married to my British partner in the UK while on a UK tourist visa? 

As a general rule, you cannot get married in the UK on a standard visitor visa. 

If you intend to marry your British or settled partner in the UK, you can apply for a Marriage Visitor’s Visa. The application is similar to a standard visitor’s visa; however, you will have to submit evidence confirming that the wedding will occur in the UK and proof of social- and economic ties to South Africa, among other requirements. 

There are no strict financial requirements, but you will have to return to South Africa after the wedding ceremony. If you want to join your partner in the UK, you will have to apply for a Spousal visa from South Africa. You must keep in mind that you will then have to fulfil the financial requirements at this stage. 

www.samigration.com