THE CONSEQUENCES OF OVERSTAYING
YOUR VISA
Section 30(1)(h) of the
Immigration Act of South Africa and Regulation 27(3) of the Immigration
Regulations.
A person will be declared
‘undesirable’ and will receive a ban regardless of the reason for the
overstay. The ban applies to any
person who has overstayed, adults and children. The ban and
being declared ‘undesirable’ also
affects people who leave South Africa while their application for a visa (or
visa extension) is pending, if their current visa has expired.
what happens if i overstay my
visa?
In 2014, the Department of Home
Affairs introduced new immigration regulations, which
effectively 'ban' foreign
nationals who overstay in the Republic from re-entering South Africa for a set
period of time.
The immigration laws in South
Africa state that a person who overstays in the Republic after the expiry of
their visa will be declared as 'undesirable'. This person would receive a
document, confirming them to be an 'undesirable' person, when they exit South
Africa. Their passport is also stamped. The document 'bans' them from
re-entering South Africa. The length of time that you are banned for depends on
how long you have overstayed your visa.
Persons who overstay their visa
for a period of less than 30 days will be declared
‘undesirable’ and banned for a
period of 12 months. This means that this person will not
be allowed to re-enter South
Africa for 12 months.
Persons who overstay their visa by more than
30 days will be declared ‘undesirable’ and
banned for a period of 5 years.
This means that this person will not be allowed to reenter
South Africa for the next five
years.
If you hold a visa issued by the
South African Department of Home Affairs, you must always check and be aware of
the visa expiry date. If you are staying in South Africa longer than the
validity of your visa, you must apply for a renewal of the visa 60 days before
the visa expires, or you must leave the country before the expiry date. Failure
to do so has severe consequences. This is set out in South Africa's
Immigration Act.
WHAT CAN I DO IF I RECEIVE A BAN?
You are able to appeal a ban. The
Immigration Act allows for people to lodge a formal appeal
request to the Department of Home
Affairs if they have been declared ‘undesirable’ and received a ban. The appeal
must be submitted within ten working days of the day that you received the ban.
To submit an appeal, you must
email your request to the Department of Home Affairs,
Written representations/letter
with clear reasons for overstay,
A copy of the document declaring
you 'undesirable' (you would have received this at
the border upon leaving South
Africa, and a stamp in your passport), A copy of your passport: the information
page and other relevant pages, such as pages with your South African visa(s),
stickers or stamps,
If you had applied for a visa
extension, also include the acknowledgement of receipt
of that application,
A medical certificate if you
overstayed due to medical reasons and
Any other relevant documents that
support your written representations (including
documentary evidence proving your
reasons for overstaying.
For confirmation that the appeal
has been received, you should contact IMS
how can i avoid receiving a ban?
You can avoid receiving a ban by
lodging your visa renewal application 60 days before the expiry of your current
visa. If possible, we advise that you submit your application 90 days before
your visa expiry date so that the Department of Home Affairs has enough time to
look into your application. (You cannot submit the application six months
before the expiry of the current visa, however.) If your visa has expired and
your application for extension is still pending, do not leave South Africa
unless travel is absolutely necessary.
Contact us should you have to travel.
My ban has finished - can i
return to south africa?
No You can only return to South
Africa once you have applied to the South African Department of Home Affairs
for the ban to be lifted as it is not automatically removed from the system.
You must apply for the ban to be
lifted. If you do not, you will be refused entry into South Africa at the Port of
Entry. You can make this application at the email address provided above. It is
also advisable to speak to your local South African consulate/embassy.
HAS THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
IMPACTED THIS?
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the
South African government implemented a nationwide
lockdown as well as a closure of
its borders. This meant that many people were unable to return to their country
of origin before their visas expired.
The Department of Home Affairs issued
Directions specifically for people whose visas expired during the National
State of Disaster, from 15 March 2020. These Directions state that if your visa
expired from 15 March 2020 and you remained in the Republic during the period
of the national state of disaster, you will not be declared an undesirable
person and you should not receive a ban when leaving the country up to and
including 30 June 2022.
Any person who did receive a
declaration of undesirability during this period, should have that ban set
aside. You should contact the email address provided above to clarify this
situation and ensure that any ban that may have been noted, is removed.
For reliable information, visit
How can we help you , please email
us to info@samigration.com whatsapp me on:
+27 82 373 8415, where are you now? check our
website : www.samigration.com
Please
rate us by clinking on this links :
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https://g.page/SAMigration?gm
Alternatively
, please contact us on :
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office : +27 (0) 82 373 8415 ( Whatsapp )
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: +27 (0) 64 126 3073
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