Schengen visa applicants are more frustrated than ever with the increasing rejection rates, calling out on the Schengen countries to stop “mercilessly” refusing their applications.

Sharing their experiences on Twitter, several Schengen visa applicants have complained that their applications have been rejected unfairly, listing all the difficulties they have encountered to apply, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

“I am so sad and angry. I was invited to the Google IO event that will take place in Amsterdam on June 20. We wanted to go as a family and spend five days in the Netherlands. I applied for a Dutch visa on April 25. They waited until June 7 and refused,” a Twitter user called Selin Tunc wrote on June 8.

She further explained that she had been told to appeal within four weeks, but as the date of the event she was planning to attend was approaching, she decided it was not something worth doing.

According to a thread of tweets, the reason presented by the authorities for Tunc’s visa rejection, who is the spouse of an EU national, is that she had not submitted sufficient proof that she is married to her husband, and that there was not strong enough proof that they have a child together, as claimed by the applicant.

Yet, Tunc says that she had provided a marriage certificate, and the birth certificate of the child she has with her spouse, an EU national.

“Since I learned the result yesterday, my eyes are swollen from crying,” she further wrote.

Tunc is not the only one to experience such a visa rejection. Other applicants have also shared the reasons why they applications were rejected, calling the trend of rejecting visas “mercilessly” unfair.

Meagan Teutsch, a US resident, says her husband, an Indian software engineer at Zillow in Seattle with a Green Card had his Swiss Schengen Visa rejected under claims that “information submitted regarding the justification for the purposes and conditions for the intended stay was not reliable.”

“We provided our letters of invitation, hotels, flights, and everything else so it doesn’t make sense,” she says.

2022 Schengen Visa Statistics released last month show that in the same year, Schengen Member States rejected 17.9 per cent of the 7,572,755 applications for a Schengen visa filed worldwide.

The two countries with the highest number of rejected visas this year were France, with 408,876 rejected applications and Spain, with 227,712 rejected applications. The two were also the countries with the highest number of applications received and visas granted in 2022, followed by Germany.

In the past years, the rejection rates have increased from 8.2 per cent in 2017, to 9.6 per cent in 2018, 9.9 per cent in 2020, 13.6 per cent in 2020, reaching an all-time high of 17.9 per cent in 2022.

The Chairperson of the Select Committee on Security and Justice, Ms Shahidabibi Shaik, commended Minister of Home Affairs Dr Aaron Motsoaledi’s plans, which he mentioned yesterday in the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) during his department’s budget vote, to upgrade some of South Africa’s busiest border posts.

Ms Shaik said this will help improve security and ease the movement of goods and people between South Africa and its neighbours. “The issue of border management is critical for ensuring the legal movement of people and goods across our borders. We have noted the positive developments since the establishment of the BMA. We also welcome the digitalisation project, which will help cut fraud and corruption, as it will make it easier to track the original documents,” she said.

The committee Chairperson said her committee will play its oversight role to ensure that commitments and plans announced in the department’s budget vote policy are implemented. She also shared some of the committee’s recommendations for the department to consider. These include steps to curb corruption and protect whistle-blowers, as well as possible legislative changes to extend operating hours to address the challenges of long queues in Home Affairs offices. The committee also wants the department to continue inspections of the employment of undocumented foreign nationals.

Also participating in the policy debate, Mr Frederik Badenhorst of the Democratic Alliance in the NCOP was concerned about long queues, delays in processing applications for documents and the backlog in processing applications for permanent residency.

“The department is marred with corruption and bribery. Six years after Project Lokisa exposed corruption in the department’s refuge offices, we are still waiting to hear what happened to officials who make money out of keeping the problem going on,” he said.

An Economic Freedom Fighters’ permanent delegate to the NCOP, Ms Mbali Dlamini, said the EFF does not support the department’s proposed budget and accused the Minister of compromising the dignity of foreign nationals. “The Minister compromises the dignity of African nationals, in particular Zimbabweans, through the continued wavering of the Zimbabwe exemption permit, leaving Zimbabweans in the country dangling for another six months, facing challenges obtaining bank cards, driver’s licences and having to spend a lot of money on waiver applications,” Ms Dlamini said.

She said foreign nationals were scapegoated for various problems in South Africa, such as crime, unemployment and the lack of medical services. “Refuges and asylum seekers are facing difficulty accessing their rights due to the department’s failure to provide efficient immigration services. Home Affairs is also contributing to the overcrowding in our prisons by failing to process immigrant offenders who are due for deportation,” she said.

Mr Michiel de Bruyn from the Freedom Front Plus accused the department of failing in its mandate, especially on the management of the country’s borders. “The department has effectively failed to manage migration, unable to track undocumented immigrants and persons whose documents have expired, resulting in a number of negative consequences for the country such as crime, unemployment and strain on our social services,” he said.

Mr de Bruyn called on the department to take a proactive approach to strengthen border control and ensure only those who meet South Africa’s immigration criteria are allowed to enter the country

Should they fail with a court challenge to secure their continuous stay in South Africa, thousands of Zimbabwean nationals could be forced to leave the country. Many don’t want to return home and start all over again.

Almost 200,000  Zimbabweans living in South Africa are waiting with bated breath to hear a court decision on whether they can continue to stay in the country or will be forced to return home.

Those whose Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP) have been terminated now only have 30 days left before the June 30 deadline for them to leave South Africa expires.

But how did this dillemma occur in the first place?

South Africa granted ‘special dispensation’ permits at first 

In 2009, the South African government granted “special dispensation” permits for Zimbabwean nationals who were in the country illegally.

This policy was meant to regularize the status of thousands who had fled political and economic instability in Zimbabwe, mainly between 2007 and 2009. The special dispensation status was in place until November 2021, when South Africa’s cabinet decided to cancel it altogether.

Zimbabweans living in South Africa with a special dispensation permit were given a 12-month grace period to either apply for a mainstream visa or leave the country.

Their only hope now is a legal challenge filed at the Pretoria High Court last month by various organizations.

Alternatively, they could obtain alternative permits, but that is not an easy task.

Zimbabweans need a decision sooner than later 

Leaders of various political parties as well as non-governmental organizations representing Zimbabweans and campaignig for their rights in South Africa say that most would not qualify for alternative permits. This is why most Zimbabweans didn’t even bother to apply.

Now they all face some difficult questions: Should they pull their children out of school and prepare to leave? Should they sell their property and save the money for the future?

In South Africa, thousands of Zimbabweans fear deportation

Victress Mathuthu, the chairperson of The Zim imbokodo, a women’s right group, said that the prolonged wait to hear about the judgment was slowly wearing them out.

“So now we are caught in between. What do you do? Do you apply for a waiver, or do you wait for the judgment? We don’t know what we are really supposed to do. It’s very difficult,” she told DW.

Trust Ndlovu, a senior representative of Zimbabwe’s main opposition party, the Citizens Coalition for Change, said the court decision needed to come sooner rather than later.

“Many people don’t know what to do next. I wish the judgment can be as soon as possible so that we can actually see alternatives” as to how “these people should plan,” he told DW.

In limbo without access to funds

Ngqabutho Mabhena, the chairman of the Zimbabwe Community in South Africa organization, said that it was an incredibly serious matter and that some South African banks had even announced they would freeze Zimbabwean bank accounts,

“What we have noted is that the banks are writing to the holders of the ZEP to produce their permits and informing them that if they do not do so, they are going to freeze their accounts,” he told DW.

Simba Chitando, a lawyer representing some Zimbabweans challenging the termination of their permits in court, said the wait could be longer than expected.

He said that the legal battle could be long as his clients were prepared to fight all the way to the highest court to eventually receive a favorable decision.

“If we are successful, then the government will have to make a decision whether they are going to appeal the judgment. And obviously if we are unsuccessful, I can guarantee we will appeal the judgement, if it is not in favor of the ZEP holders,” he added.

The Department of Home Affairs did not respond to DW’s questions about the matter

The Canadian government has announced visa-free travel for visitors from 13 different countries across Asia, Africa, Central and South America.

In a statement, Sean Fraser, the Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship said the visa-free travel is extended to Antigua and Barbuda, St Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, St Kitts-Nevis, Panama, Argentina, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Morocco, Seychelles, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Thailand and the Philippines.

While North Africa’s Morocco and East Africa’s Seychelles joined the list, Ghana, Nigeria the most populous African nation didn’t make the cut.

It said “An expansion of the electronic travel authorization better known as the eTA programs makes it easier for “known travelers” from those countries to come here for fun and business.”

It added that the expansion not only enhances convenience for travellers, it will also increase travel, tourism, and economic benefits, as well as strengthen global bonds with these 13 countries.

“The known travellers from these countries can save a lot of money as a result of the visa exemptions,” the statement read.

A visitor visa currently costs $100 per person and $500 for a family of five or more, but an eTA only costs seven dollars per person and is valid for as long as five years.

According to the government, introducing visa-free air travel will make it faster, easier, and more affordable for thousands of travellers to visit Canada for up to six months for either business or leisure.

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has extended the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP) for another six months.

According to Motsoaledi, the validity of the ZEP will be extended from 30 June to 31 December 2023.

The extension comes after the department had `approved thousands of waiver applications of the affected Zimbabwean nationals` and was `considering and approving waiver applications daily`.

`This has resulted in a significant increase in the number of visa and waiver applications. The Departmental Advisory Committee (DAC) led by Dr Cassius Lubisi is now dealing with the increased number of visa applications,` Motsoaledi said.

The department, said Motsoaledi, has been receiving between 1 000 and 1 500 visa and waiver applications daily, and more officials have been deployed to assist in processing the applications.

The extension period will now end on 31 December 2023.

Under the extension, no holder of a valid ZEP may be arrested, ordered to depart the country or be detained for deportation for any reason related to them not having a valid exemption certificate.

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The holder of a ZEP will be allowed to enter and exit South Africa, provided they comply with all entry or exit requirements. 

ZEP holders would not be required to present an exemption permit or authorisation letter to remain in the country during the extension period, Motsoaledi said.

During the economic and political strife in Zimbabwe in 2008 and 2009, many of the country`s citizens fled to South Africa.

At the time, the South African government created a blanket exemption so that Zimbabweans could get permits to live and work legally.

The permits were effectively extended by creating another permit over the years, which has since become known as the ZEP. More than 178 000 ZEP holders have been in South Africa for over a decade.

In December 2021, Motsoaledi announced that the ZEP would not be renewed.

The special permits were due to expire in December 2022, but an initial six-month extension was granted to allow people to apply for other available visas.

Motsoaledi is expected to request that International Relations and Cooperation Minister Naledi Pandor issue a note verbale (a diplomatic communication from one government to another) to the Zimbabwean ambassador informing him of the extension