How a traffic offence can impact South Africans planning to move to the UK

Busstech – 10 December 2021  2021

 

Regardless of the route taken to British citizenship, every applicant must satisfy the good character requirement, says John Dunn, director of citizenship and immigration at Sable International.

“As the name suggests, British officials assess your character and determine whether you could be conducive to the public good in the UK. While there are some obvious reasons for UK citizenship applications being refused, there are also minor breaches that deny applications,” he said.

What are the UK citizenship good character requirements?

The good character test is a mandatory requirement for anyone over the age of 10 who is applying for naturalisation or registration as a British citizen.

If you fail to meet the requirements, your application will be refused, Dunn said.

“There are major crimes that would obviously hurt your chances at getting UK citizenship but there are other, less clear examples.

“All applicants are assessed based on criteria set out in the UK government’s national policy guidance. Home Office officials use this guidance to assess each nationality application on a case-by-case basis and determine whether the individual meets the good character requirement.”

What type of offence

Dunn noted that the good character requirement goes beyond the scope of simply being free from criminal convictions.

Some of the most likely categories that could put your application at risk:

• Traffic offences;
• Financial soundness;
• Immigration-related issues;
• Public order;
• Assisting your children with crime;
• Dishonesty in the Life in the UK Test.

Traffic offences and your good character standing

Fines and notices that have been referred to a court due to non-payment will be treated as conviction, said Dunn. “So, be sure to settle any fines you receive before you are summoned to pay them.

“Even where a person has not received a fine within the last three years, the decision-maker may still conclude that a person is not of good character. Reason to refuse an application is quite strong in cases where a person has committed multiple offences of this kind, as it shows a pattern of offending,” he said.

Financial soundness

You need to ensure all of your financial affairs – in the UK and abroad – are in order before you begin the UK citizenship application process. This includes any tax or financial issues such as bankruptcy, liquidation or debt, Dunn said.

“As part of your application for citizenship, you authorise the Home Office to conduct verification checks which include credit checks. It is therefore vital that you disclose all infringements, regardless of when they occurred.

“An application will not normally be refused because the person is in debt, especially if loan repayments have been made as agreed or if acceptable efforts are being made to pay off accumulated debts. However, where a person deliberately and recklessly builds up debts and there is no evidence of a serious intention to pay them off, Home Office will normally refuse the application.”

Similarly, Home Office will determine whether the person was reckless or irresponsible in their financial affairs leading to their bankruptcy or their company’s liquidation. If so, it is likely to be reflected by a disqualification being obtained, Dunn said.

Disclosing immigration-related issues

This includes minor or major breaches of immigration law, such as overstaying your visa, even by a short period, or working when your visa did not permit you to, Dunn said.

“If within the 10 years preceding the application, an individual has not been compliant with immigration requirements, the Home Office will normally refuse that person’s application.

“Alternatively, assisting illegal migration or hiring illegal workers violates the good character requirements. If you are in a position that deals with hiring workers, hiring people that are unauthorised to work in the UK can look bad on your good character test and possibly deny you UK citizenship.”

Public order and notoriety

An application will normally be refused if there is evidence that suggests a person has made themselves notorious in the local or wider community, said Dunn.

This will be determined on the scale and persistence of their behaviour, he said.

“Notoriety does not need to be politically related. A person that is, for example, a known football hooligan could also be regarded as a public order risk.”

“If your child has a criminal record, your British citizenship application is normally not refused. This includes being convicted of a criminal offense or being issued with an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO). Your application is at risk when there is evidence of assisting your child with criminal activity.”

Dishonesty in the Life in the UK Test

One of the requirements for British citizenship is passing the Life in the UK Test, which assesses your knowledge of British life. “It is not unheard of for citizenship applicants to pay someone to take their tests or to submit false documents, said Dunn.

“British citizenship applications are refused if the applicant has been deceptive in the 10 years prior to their application. Deception is counted as the day it was carried out to the day is was discovered. The same rules apply to the English language tests required for UK citizenship.

www,samigration.com

 

 

SA not emulating Boris Johnson with Zimbabwe visa change, says Home Affairs

10  December 2021 – Business Day

 

Government says it is responding to a need to regularise the stay of Zimbabwean nationals who entered SA illegally more than a decade ago

 

Nicole Fritz’s emotional outburst was misleading (“We do unto Zimbabweans what Boris Johnson has done to us”, December 1). I am therefore writing to clarify matters for your readers, who may have been left confused.

There are no grounds for comparing the travel ban imposed on SA with the decision not to extend the Zimbabwean exemption permit when it expires on December 31. The decision on exemption permit was not a “first response”, a phrase Fritz uses to characterise the travel ban after the announcement on the detection of the new Covid-19 variant, Omicron.

Fritz herself says the special dispensation for Zimbabwean nationals dates back to 2009. They have been reviewed since then. Resolving not to extend the exemption is not a decision made in the heat of the moment. Fritz turns a blind eye to the observation that failure to review the exemption permit dispensation works against the interest of the very people whose cause she purports to champion.

One of the conditions of the permit is that the holder cannot apply for any other visa contemplated in the Immigration Act and immigration regulations. Some may qualify for mainstream visas such as business visas, on the basis of successful enterprises built over the years, or critical skills visas in light of their studies and fields of expertise.

Our intentions were clear from the onset. We were responding to a need to regularise the stay of Zimbabwean nationals who entered SA illegally seeking opportunities given the economic situation back home. Dispensation permits had conditions attached to them, one of which was that the permits were not renewable. This special arrangement was always going to come to an end as it was not meant to displace normal immigration processes, which are applicable to everyone wanting to come to SA.

There is therefore no justification to accuse SA of what Fritz calls “simply looking out for their own”, an allegation she made earlier in the case of Europe. By some elusive extension she hopes this indictment applies equally to the decision not to extend the exemption permit dispensation.

There is plenty of recourse for the beneficiaries of the exemption permit dispensation. One of the primary concessions they are getting is being able to apply for normal, mainstream visas and to do so within SA, without being required to leave and apply from Zimbabwe.

A grace period of 12 months has also been granted for permit holders. Fritz knows this. An opportunity is extended to those choosing to return home to make the necessary arrangements over the next 12 months. In addition, permit holders will be allowed to travel freely in and out of SA until December 31 2022, after which they will only be allowed to travel in and out of SA if in possession of a valid visa.

The department of home affairs is approaching companies, employers, learning institutions and the banks to ensure they note that Zimbabwean exemption permit holders who have applied for mainstream visas are to be allowed to continue with, and/or to receive services, provided they submit proof of having applied for a visa in the form of a receipt.

It boggles the mind how Fritz came around to the idea of “dehumanising irrationality” in respect of the expiry of the permits. Notwithstanding socioeconomic challenges, SA extended a hand of friendship to the people of Zimbabwe and continues this support in spite of financial and economic constraints, sustainable development and peace efforts in the region and on the continent.

Contrary to Fritz’s perception, nothing is imposed. The permits were never intended to be a permanent feature of SA life. She herself rightly points out that the gesture was meant “to afford some security and relief”. The permit validity period has not been reduced. It is valid until December 31 2021. This was made clear from the outset.

The three permit dispensations extended to Zimbabwean nationals since 2009 were not accumulative, and in terms of the conditions agreed to with the applicants holders did not qualify for permanent residence.

Fritz does not justify her claim that the department is “dysfunctional even when interacting with those of us whose status is assured”. It is not asking too much to expect those with a stake in this matter to help communicate with permit holders and assist them to make use of the time afforded by the year-long grace period and start applying for visas in terms of the Immigration Act.

The department is committed to managing international migration efficiently and securely while building cordial relations with the countries and people of the African continent and the world.

Tommy Makhode
Director-general, department of home affairs

Sa Migration.com

Long Distance - Lorry Drivers – Zimbabweans

 

National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight and Logistics Industry (NBCRFLI)

 

Date 10/12/2021

 

 

CIRCULAR TO THE INDUSTRY

IMPLICATIONS OF THE CABINET ANNOUNCEMENT ON THE ZIMBABWE EXEMPTION PERMIT (ZEP)

The Cabinet in its meeting of Wednesday 24 November 2021 announced that the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP), which ends on 31 December 2021, will not be extended.

Following this announcement, the Council has therefore decided to provide further clarity to the industry on this matter in this circular as follows:

1. The legal effect of Cabinet’s decision is that the Minister of Home Affairs will not grant an extension of the special dispensation granted to holders of current ZEPs when they expire on 31 December 2021.

 

2. However, the holders of such permits will be allowed a temporary stay and work in the country for another year, i.e. until 31 December 2022 as if their permits were valid, but the holders of these permits must use that time to apply for other permits appropriate to their particular status or situation. At the expiry of this grace period, those who are not successful in applying for other permits will have to leave South Africa or be deported.

 

3. This means that there is no immediate impact on the lawfulness of employing

 

current holders of the ZEP between 01 January 2022 and 31 December 2022:

· The current holders of the ZEP who are unsuccessful in obtaining permits appropriate to their particular status or situation which will allow them to work in the country will be impacted from 01January 2023 as it will become unlawful from that day for them to work in South Africa.

 

 

· Similarly, it will become unlawful from the 01January 2023 for employers to employ the former holders of the ZEP who have not obtained other permits allowing them to work in South Africa.

 

· Each employer who knowingly employs such persons will be committing an offence punishable by a fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year.

 

· Such employment will also be prohibited by clause 58 of the Main

 

Collective Agreement concluded in the Council.

4. It follows in our view that the affected employers will be entitled, even obliged to terminate the employment of the former holders of the ZEP who have not obtained other permits allowing them to work in the Republic from 01 January 2023. Simply put, the continued employment of such affected former ZEP holders will become unlawful and subject to criminal penalties.

 

5. However, this does not mean that such employers would be exempt from the provisions of the Labour Relations Act, (LRA) as regards the fairness of those dismissals.

 

6. It follows, therefore, that such dismissals should be substantially and procedurally fair.

 

Kindly note that this circular is not a legal opinion but an explanatory note on the implications of the Cabinet’s decision regarding Zimbabwean Exemption Permit.

We trust that this document will be of some assistance to you

Kind regards,

 

Musa Ndlovu

NATIONAL SECRETARY

 

www.samigration.com

 

Behind the long, long wait for a Zimbabwean passport

10 December 2021 – Business Day 

Zimbabwe has brought down its passport backlog from 400,000 last August to about 185,000. But accessing travel documents quickly is a prohibitively expensive process for most

Vitalis Tsikwa is dejected as he steps onto the dusty red soil outside the Makombe building in Harare, Zimbabwe.

"They told me to come and do the application to get my passport on December 15 because they wanted to clear a backlog," Tsikwa tells the FM. "I wanted an emergency 24-hour passport … I thank God that I didn’t have immediate travel plans."..

www.samigration.com

Long queues at Home Affairs in spite of minister’s promise

10 December -  2021 Ground up

But provincial manager claims “Home Affairs has declared war on queues”

In October, Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi responded to complaints by the public about long queues, saying offices were being modernised. He promised extended hours, a full return of staff, and that senior managers would visit offices unannounced to monitor operations on the ground.

But when GroundUp visited several Home Affairs offices last week, the queues were still long, and people had still been queuing since dawn in the hope, often vain, of being assisted.

Central Johannesburg, Thursday morning: long, snaking queues on two sides of the Home Affairs building. Vangile Msimanga, from Vlakfontein, said she left home at 6:15am to get to Home Affairs by 7am. She needs a passport. Also standing in the queue was Ntombi Zwane, from Brixton, who needs an ID. “I am a bit worried because this queue is not moving,” she said.

Central Cape Town, Barrack Street, Thursday morning. When the offices opened at 8am, queues stretched from Buitenkant Street to Corporation Street. People arranged themselves into queues for collections, ID-card applications and passport applications, new birth registrations, and temporary ID-card applications. “We stand in the queue for five hours and there’s no toilet facilities … I don’t know why they don’t let the people use the toilets inside,” said Yulene Fortune. She had left her home in Mannenberg just after 4am. She needed to collect her new ID card. Photo: Marecia Damons

Meanwhile, on 24 November, Home Affairs briefed the Standing Committee on Premier and Constitutional Matters about systems, operational hours and staffing in the Western Cape. Provincial manager Yusuf Simons said that the department’s working hours are 7:30am till 4pm, with the office open to the public from 8am to 3:30pm.

Simons said that between 2013 and August 2020, Western Cape Home Affairs had lost over 2,500 staff members. “To address the problem of under staffing, DHA is working towards implementing automated services and training staff that has been working on manual services. The booking system has been completed, tested and will be implemented soon to make appointments to avoid the stampede and overcrowding. The department has also entered into partnership with organisations and municipalities to help with queue marshals, cleaners, sanitising, screening and recording of clients queueing outside offices. EPWP [Extended Public Works Programme] workers have been deployed to high volume offices like Cape Town, Nyanga, Mitchells Plain, Bellville and Khayelithsa,” he said.

He said most of the Western Cape offices have been modernised and have live data capture systems. “Home Affairs has declared war on queues to reduce waiting time by displaying signage outside offices to categorise queues into smart card and passport applications, smart card and passport collections, prioritise client categories, such as elderly, physically challenged persons, mothers with infants as well as scholars in uniform. We have also extended office hours during the festive season. Challenges experienced are system downtimes due to cable theft and loadshedding which damage servers and equipment when generators refuse to kick in,” he said.

www.samigration.com