Bribery and corruption: an inside look at the dealings between some Home Affairs officials and foreign nationals

Weekend Argus -  11 February 2022

Cape Town - For as little as R300 you can buy safe passage into the country as corruption and greed permeates South Africa’s border control.

The Department of Home Affairs has confirmed it takes just a few hundred rands as desperate and corrupt officials accept bribes from foreign nationals that need various documents.

Documents like citizenship and asylum papers can go for up to R200 000 but the Department of Home Affairs warned against the practice.

After a series of corrupt officials were arrested last week, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said: “If you are conducting your illegal operation at the Department of Home Affairs, law enforcement is coming for you. You are going to face the full might of the law.”

Motsoaledi said they were hot on the trail of corrupt officials and that undercover teams, along with the Hawks would unearth the corrupt.

Two weeks ago, the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crimes Court convicted former Home Affairs Official Joseph Lebitsa on eight counts of corruption. Three more officials were arrested in Ermelo, for demanding money from foreign nationals who run businesses in the town.

“Some of these officials allegedly took as little as R300 to allow people to enter the country without proper documents. To me, this is not just crime or corruption, but it is an absolute disgrace and an act of treason against one’s country.”

Weekend Argus spoke to a foreign national from Pakistan, who agreed to talk anonymously.

“If new people come, they can charge up to R200 000 and the money is given to immigration people and they share it.

“There is someone who has a connection with Home Affairs at the airport. They bring the people from outside and the money is given to immigration and they release the people to come into South Africa without papers.”

A police officer, who cannot be identified, said often the game would be given away when the system would be updated in minutes after the foreigner had supposedly crossed the border.

“Foreign national comes here for a study or holiday visa, he hides his passport away and gets an asylum (document). When he goes back to his country, he jumps the border and pays the official who lets him go through and stamps his passport. When you have a permit like that in your passport, you need to have multiple entries to extend it.

“When he arrives at the airport, their system will show this man did obey by the rules and regulations and where we pick it up is our data, it shows a foreigner going over the border and getting stamped out and 10, 20 minutes later he is stamped back in again.”

“There was a list of Home Affairs officials’ stamps that was stolen. Each official at Home Affairs is issued with a date stamp. Each date stamp has a number at the bottom right hand corner, for example 32 would belong to a certain staff member. That is how stamps are traced to a specific official.

“During a joint operation, stamps were found in possession of foreigners which were used to extend people’s asylum.”

An official at Home Affairs said only their staff were skilled to determine whether a document was fake or not.

He said it depended on details such as the font, watermark or fake reference numbers, which would give the game away.

He added corruption was so rife, that a low-income clerk would accept payment to high-ranking officials, making sure they had regular customers.

“Pakistanis will call an official, they are legal but they want citizenship as soon as possible. They just buy it from officials, they get corrupted because they are offered money, like R70 000 and R90 000, R100 000, when they are approached in top levels.

“He asks the corrupter how long do you want to stay here, then he puts down a date for his prerogative. He chooses a date, but they become greedy and careless and they extend it beyond the date of expiry.

Institute for Security Studies migration expert, Aimee-Noel Mobiyozo said the blame did not only fall on foreign nationals but Home Affairs.

“If the document fraud is for South African documents, this implies people within Home Affairs are involved. This is consistent with our past research that has consistently demonstrated that corruption is rife within Home Affairs.

“Cape Town closed its refugee reception office in 2012. This was ruled illegal and Home Affairs was ordered to re-open the office in 2018.

“This has not happened to date and it means that people requiring documents are struggling more than ever to access them legally.”

www.samigration

South Africa to investigate foreigners with permits in February

10-02- 2022 – Zimbabwe Mail

The South Africa Department of Home Affairs will begin a Citizen Authentication System  which is set to verify permits and Visas issued to foreigners since 2004.

The operation is aimed at fishing out individuals who fraudulently acquired permits to stay in the country.

The Home Affairs Minister Aaaron Motsoaledi said the need to review the permits came after realising a trend emerging from the outcomes of cases involving prominent people investigated by the Department’s Counter Corruption Unit, which investigates wrongdoing by departmental officials.

“In November 2020, during a high-powered investigation, I was alarmed when 14 members of the permitting section signed a petition demanding that the Counter Corruption unit should stop investigating their errors. This admission strengthened my resolve to have a more transparent permit issuance regime.” He said.

www.samigration.com

United Nations confirms SA not obliged to give citizenship because of birth

10-02-2022

– 702

Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi gives details of their meeting with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The South African Home Affairs ministry has concluded a meeting with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC) on various issues concerning refugees in the country.

John Perlman speaks to Home Affairs minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi for more details.

A few weeks ago, there was a group of NGOs and human rights groups that clubbed together and marched to Home Affairs and demanded that every child born of foreign parents who are born on our soil must get our birth certificate and citizenship.

Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Home Affairs

I came out to the media and said we are not obliged to do that and there is no law that forces us. Now the United Nations yesterday accepted it. The United Nations said no there is no obligation on any country to give you citizenship because you were born there.

Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, Minister of Home Affairs

www.samigration.com

Kind Regards

How to switch to a Skilled Worker visa in the UK under new rules

Businesstech – 10-02- 2022

Under new rules, workers in the UK who hold a student, youth mobility scheme or intra-company transfer visa are now allowed to switch to a Skilled Worker visa without having to leave the UK, says Darren Faife, managing director, business immigration at Sable International.

Faife takes a closer look at the conditions needed to make this switch.

Switching visas

The Youth Mobility Scheme visa, previously known as the T5 Youth Mobility Scheme visa, is often referred to as the UK working holiday visa and is a great way to gain international work experience as well as travel throughout the EU. This visa allows young people (aged 18-30) from certain countries to live, work and travel in the UK for up to two years.

If you’re in the UK on a working holiday visa and secure sponsorship for a job, under the new Skilled Worker route, which came into effect on 1 December 2020, you are now able to switch into the Skilled Worker route from within the UK.

You will need to meet the following requirements:

• You are aged 18 or over
• You have a valid certificate of sponsorship for the job you’re planning to do
• The job offer is for a genuine vacancy
• The sponsor has paid any required immigration skills charge
• The job is at the appropriate skill level
• You will be paid a salary that equals or exceeds both a general salary threshold and the “going rate” for the occupation.

How a Student visa can lead to a Skilled Worker visa

Like the Youth Mobility Scheme visa, if you’re in the UK on a Student visa (previously the Tier 4 (General) student visa), you can now switch to a Skilled Worker visa from within the country.

Students with this visa can switch more easily to a Skilled Worker visa because they will enter the job market under the new entrant regulations. The advantage of being considered a new entrant to the job market is that there is a much lower salary requirement.

Usually, someone with a Skilled Worker visa is required to earn a salary which equals or exceeds both a general salary threshold (£25,600) and 100% of the “going rate” for the occupation.

A new entrant, however, only needs to be paid a salary which equals or exceeds both £20,480 per year and 70% of the going rate for the occupation. This is a significantly lower figure and will permit new entrants to be paid a lower salary.

New entrant requirements:

Anyone under the age of 26 years old, would be considered a new entrant to the job market.

Other considerations include:

• Your most recent visa was a Student visa.
• That visa expired less than two years before the date of application.
• In that Student visa, or any previous Student visa, you were sponsored to study one of the following courses (not any other qualifications of an equivalent level):
• a UK bachelor’s degree
• a UK master’s degree
• a UK PhD or other doctoral qualification
• a Postgraduate Certificate in Education
• a Professional Graduate Diploma of Education
• You completed (or are applying no more than three months before you are expected to complete) the above mentioned course, or you are studying a PhD and have completed at least 12 months of study in the UK towards the PhD.

The Graduate visa ‘stepping stone’

After successfully completing your course, you can switch from a Student visa to a Graduate visa, which allows you to stay in the UK and work, or look for work, for two years. If you have a PhD or other doctoral qualification, you will be able to stay for three years.

You can apply for a Graduate visa if:

• You’re in the UK
• Your current visa is a Student visa
• You studied a UK bachelor’s degree, postgraduate degree or other eligible course for a minimum period of time with your Student visa
• Your education provider has told you you’ve successfully completed your course

With a Graduate visa you can:

• Work in most jobs (except as a professional sportsperson)
• Look for work
• Be self-employed
• Continue living in the UK with your partner and children, if they’re eligible
• Do voluntary work
• Travel abroad and return to the UK

The Graduate visa cannot be extended, but you can switch to a Skilled Worker visa which is a route to indefinite leave to remain.

Intra-company transfers and the Skilled Worker visa

Under these new post-Brexit rules, workers who are currently in the UK on a Intra-company transfer (ICT) visa can now switch to a Skilled Worker visa from within the UK. This was previously not possible, and you were subject to a 12-month cooling-off period where you would have to return home before being able to apply for a Skilled Worker visa.

This cooling-off period also applied to Tier 2 (General) visa holders when your visa expired. If you got a new job and required a new Tier 2 visa, you would have to wait until 12 months had passed before applying for a new visa, if you had already left the UK.

In December 2020, the Tier 2 (General) visa was replaced by the points-based Skilled Worker visa. Under the new rules, you can apply for a new Skilled Worker visa from within the UK before your current visa expires.

Unlike an ICT visa, a Skilled Worker visa gives you the opportunity to apply for indefinite leave to remain (ILR) after five years.

Workers on an ICT visa will have to prove the following in order to qualify for a Skilled Worker visa:

• Your job must meet the eligibility criteria.
• You can speak, read, write and understand English

These new rules afford visa holders, who previously had no means to remain in the UK if they wished, the chance to do so. The Skilled Worker visa is a much-coveted visa that presents a route to indefinite leave to remain and possibly citizenship, and the wealth of opportunity that comes with it.

www.samigration.com

New options open for South Africans wanting to move to the UK

Businesstech 02-02-2022

Under the revised points-based immigration system post-Brexit, there’s never been a better time to capitalise upon the business growth opportunities presented by the United Kingdom, says Darren Faife, managing director, Business Immigration, Sable International.

The new system offers South African businesses an excellent opportunity to expand their operations to the UK. In addition, business owners can also apply to obtain residency and sponsor their family members to live in Britain.

Previously, small business owners especially struggled to qualify for visas to the UK. While the Sole Representative visa was an option for senior staff from large corporations, there were limited options for business founders and entrepreneurs, noted Faife.

“Now, senior employees can come to the UK to oversee a new branch, which presents tremendous business growth opportunities and use the newly-formed entity as an immigration vehicle to sponsor Business owners and their family members to life in the UK.”

How to expand your business to the UK, step-by-step

The first step towards expanding a business into the UK is to consult with a business relocation expert who can handle all the logistics and operational aspects attached to the expansion process, said Faife.

Phase 1: Business expansion

“It is important to note that an individual’s business expansion needs must be prioritised before any immigration talks can start.

“For immigration purposes, applicants need to be able to show the Home Office that the prospective UK business is a legitimate one and the role being sponsored is a genuine vacancy. This takes careful planning and consideration.”

The process will broadly include:

• Incorporating the UK entity;
• Setting up a UK bank account;
• Registering the entity for all business taxes required, such as Corporation Tax, PAYE and VAT;
• Registering for Auto-Enrolment (the UK requires businesses to have employees registered for private pension contributions).

Once the operational aspects of the business are taken care of, applicants will need to hire their first UK-based staff member to serve as the authorising officer for the potential immigration phase to be viable.

“An Authorising Officer is a staff member who takes responsibility for the company’s sponsorship licence. This is often an employee with sufficient seniority to take responsibility for administering the company’s UK immigration policies,” said Faife.

Phase 2: Immigration vehicle

He said that the business needs to be a registered licensed sponsor before the owner can recruit staff from abroad and issue them with a Certificate of Sponsorship. Once the business is registered, relevant Skilled Worker or Intra-company transfer (ICT) visas can be applied for.

This process typically involves:

• Getting a sponsor licence to hire foreign workers. There can be multiple candidates sponsored and the licence needs to be renewed every four years;

• Issuing Certificates of Sponsorship. This is specific to the candidate and role that is being sponsored and will need to be applied for and approved prior to moving onto the last step. Certificates may be issued for up to five years, at which point the employee may be eligible for ILR;

• Starting the process of applying for a visa. Using the Certificate of Sponsorship, a relevant visa can then be applied for by the main applicant. A spouse and children under the age of 18 are able to come to the UK as dependants and will be free from any work and study restrictions.

“On receipt of the relevant visa, one can book travel and will be able to live and work in the UK for the duration of the visa. Most applicants choose to apply for a three-year visa initially, although five-year visas are possible. If the former, then a two-year renewal will need to be applied for at the end of the initial three-year validity.

“After five continuous years in the UK, visa holders may qualify for ILR, followed by naturalisation (citizenship) a year later. Many people view this as a six-year route to British citizenship,” said Faife.

No major business decision is without its hurdles, but global expansion comes with its own unique set of obstacles. To ensure the process runs as smoothly as possible, one needs to be able to rely on a business that can offer a diverse relocation service as part of its product offering, he said.

www.samigration.com