The short answer
Asylum seekers (i.e. people who do not hold refugee status) may apply for a residence permit.
The whole question
I
am a South African citizen in a relationship with a Pakistani National
who has been in possession of an asylum document since 2014.
I was
under the impression that asylum seekers, following a Constitutional
Court judgment, can now apply for a residence visa/permit. When I
contacted Home Affairs, I was told that it's not the case. According to
Home Affairs an asylum seeker must hold refugee status.
I was told by
an immigration lawyer that there are conditions to these applications.
People need to qualify for it. According to the lawyer, it should be
based on either: critical skills/ business/spousal.
Is this true ?
I was informed by VFS that an asylum seeker needs to apply for a waiver before any other applications can be made.
Please, could you kindly assist with relevant information and also maybe someone who could help/advise us on the whole process?
I don't know who/what to believe. What is truth? What is correct process/procedure?
The long answer
Thank you for your email asking about how asylum seekers can apply for temporary or permanent residence.
It
is not true that a person applying for a residence permit must hold
refugee status. The Constitutional Court ruled that any foreigner,
including refugees and asylum seekers, could apply for temporary or
permanent residence, and that this could be granted if the person
fulfilled the requirements of the Immigration Act. It may be that this
ruling has not yet been made clear to all officials in Home Affairs, but
VFS Global, the company that processes applications for Home Affairs,
has placed a Home Affairs statement acknowledging the Concourt judgement
on its website.
It is true that a person applying for temporary
residence is required to apply from outside of the country, but this can
be waived through an application to Home Affairs. (This is a Waiver of
Regulation 9(5)). VFS says that it will immediately accept submissions
at all
FILE: Ajay and Atul Gupta. Pictures: YouTube
CAPE TOWN - Seven years since Parliament’s Home Affairs committee said it was satisfied the department had not erred in granting citizenship to the notorious Gupta family, new Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber is taking a fresh look.
He’s written to Ajay Gupta's son, Kamal Singhala, to invite him to make representations as to why the citizenship granted to him in 2015 should not be revoked.
Singhala is currently in a battle with the department over a passport for his daughter.
However, Schreiber believes Singhala was issued citizenship prematurely after a first application by the family was rejected.
In 2017, Parliament’s Home Affairs committee heard from the department that it had recommended to then Minister Malusi Gigaba to waive residence requirements for citizenship for members of the Gupta family, in light of multi-million rand investments they were making in the country.
Documents were put before the committee to show the process that had been followed when the family applied for citizenship as a unit.
Schreiber said the department acted too hastily after rejecting the initial application for citizenship, to then consider another application just a few months later, and not only after a year as required by law.
The Democratic Alliance (DA)’s Home Affairs spokesperson, Adrian Roos, has welcomed the move, saying any remaining vestiges of state capture must be addressed.
It’s unclear where Singhala currently resides.
Schreiber said he was serious about a clean-up of his department and if Singhala believes his naturalisation is legitimate, he can present his case to the department in person.
• South Africa plans to introduce the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) in January 2025 to simplify visa processing for Chinese and Indian tourists.
• Home Affairs Minister emphasized that a ten percent annual increase in tourism could boost South Africa’s economic growth by 0.6 percent.
• South Africa aims to increase Indian tourist arrivals to 100,000 by the end of 2024.
Starting January 2025, South Africa will launch a new Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) to streamline the entry process for Chinese and Indian tourists.
According to South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs, this initiative aims to facilitate travel to the country, which saw only 93,000 Chinese tourists out of over 100 million outbound trips in 2023, VisaGuide.World reports.
South Africa Aims to Boost Indian Tourist Numbers From 16,000 to 100,000 This Year
In the first three months of this year, South Africa welcomed 16,000 Indian visitors. Tourism South Africa aims to significantly boost this number, targeting 100,000 Indian tourists by this year. Indian tourists comprise just 3.9 percent of South Africa’s international visitors, and Chinese tourists account for only 1.8 percent.
After seeing the positive impact made by the Trusted Employer Scheme (TES), which provides swift and simplified visa processing services to vetted and approved businesses to attract critical skills, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber directed that the same principle be applied to cutting red tape and improving efficiency for tourists from non-visa exempt countries like China and India.
South Africa's Department of Home Affairs
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber highlighted that research shows a ten percent annual increase in tourism could enhance economic growth by 0.6 percent and generate tens of thousands of new jobs in South Africa.
Exciting as it is, TTOS is but an interim measure to boost tourism while we move quickly to digitally transform Home Affairs. Ultimately, our vision is for a fully automated process that delivers secure tourist visa outcomes digitally and within seconds to tourists from around the world.
South Africa Proposes 90-Day Visa Waiver for Indian & Chinese Tourists
As the Department of Home Affairs explains, under the TTOS, approved tour operators from these countries will be invited to register with the Department of Home Affairs. In return for a rigorous screening process and responsibility for their travel groups, these operators can submit group visa applications. This marks the first time that group visa applications from Chinese and Indian tourists will be processed in this way.
Applications through TTOS will be managed by a specialized team of adjudicators, ensuring faster and more efficient processing while eliminating the bureaucratic obstacles that have historically impacted South Africa’s tourism sector.
In May this year, the South African government unveiled a plan to improve the visa application process, focusing on Indian tourists. In this direction, the Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille announced introducing an E-Visa system. At the same time, the Ministry of Tourism also proposed a 90-day visa waiver for visitors from India and China.
He’s written to Ajay Gupta`s son, Kamal Singhala, to invite him to make representations as to why the citizenship granted to him in 2015 should not be revoked.
Singhala is currently in a battle with the department over a passport for his daughter.
However, Schreiber believes Singhala was issued citizenship prematurely after a first application by the family was rejected.
In 2017, Parliament’s Home Affairs committee heard from the department that it had recommended to then Minister Malusi Gigaba to waive residence requirements for citizenship for members of the Gupta family, in light of multi-million rand investments they were making in the country.
Documents were put before the committee to show the process that had been followed when the family applied for citizenship as a unit.
Schreiber said the department acted too hastily after rejecting the initial application for citizenship, to then consider another application just a few months later, and not only after a year as required by law.
The Democratic Alliance (DA)’s Home Affairs spokesperson, Adrian Roos, has welcomed the move, saying any remaining vestiges of state capture must be addressed.
It’s unclear where Singhala currently resides.
Schreiber said he was serious about a clean-up of his department and if Singhala believes his naturalisation is legitimate, he can present his case to the department in person.