'I want to be in school but... we have no papers': Undocumented children struggle to find schools

News24 | 16 Jan 2023

It is 10:00, and 9-year-old Michael is begging at a set of traffic lights in Johannesburg. Most children his age are back at school after the holidays. But Michael is undocumented.

He has not been in school since 2021, when he used to attend a private school. His family could not afford to keep him there, and the school also gave him notice that he should provide some documentation if he wanted to continue classes, GroundUp reported.

His two siblings and their mother, a widow, sometimes join Michael at the traffic lights to beg from motorists. They usually spread out to increase their chances of getting something.

Michael and one of his sisters were born in South Africa. The younger one was born in Zimbabwe and came to South Africa as a baby. The older sibling used to attend school but the younger one has never been to school.

"Why are you not in school?" motorists have asked. The children don't know how to answer. They want to go to school.

"I want to be in school, but my mother says we have no papers. Standing at the robots is boring, but we have no choice because we need food," said Michael.

Michael's mother said: "Not being able to send my children to school is heartbreaking. My children have neither Zimbabwean nor South African papers because we have been in Johannesburg for a long time."

The online school placement system requires documents for registration, so parents go to schools in person, door to door, only to be turned away. Michael's mother tried several public schools, but they insisted she provide documents.

The online school placement system requires documents for registration, so parents go to schools in person, door to door, only to be turned away. Michael's mother tried several public schools, but they insisted she provide documents.

Some private schools will take undocumented children, but charge fees ranging from R500 to R1 500 a month. Most undocumented immigrant parents do not have a sufficient or stable enough income to cover this.

Smangaliso, from Bulawayo in Zimbabwe but originally from Mozambique, only acquired Zimbabwean citizenship a few years ago. She brought her grandchildren, aged 9 and 11, to Johannesburg three years ago after their father died. She has not found a public school that is prepared to take them without documents.

"It's not easy back home in Bulawayo. At least here (Johannesburg) I can buy food with the money I make from selling sweets… My grandchildren need an education… I don't know what to do," she said.

Rudo, a secretary by profession, lost her job because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Her children have been at home for the past year because she cannot afford the R950 a month she was paying to keep them in a private school.

Zimbabwe Isolated Women in South Africa (Ziwisa) has compiled a database of children living in the inner-city of Johannesburg who are in this predicament.

"There are close to 1 000 migrant children from Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, Congo and Lesotho [who] we have registered so far, who are not going to school due to lack of documentation," said Ethel Musonza from Ziwisa.

"While some [children] might be lucky enough to be enrolled into primary school, it's difficult to get placed in high schools," she said.

The matric certificates of immigrant children are missing the 13-digit South African ID number, and their validity is often doubted.

"In Johannesburg, there are a number of private schools offering the University of Cambridge high school system to allow migrant children to have usable certificates, but such schools are expensive," said Musonza.

SA passport makes gains on global index

News24 | 11 Jan 2023

• Global investment migration consultancy Henley & Partners compiles a quarterly passport index.
• The South African passport has moved up on the index to take 53rd spot after Egypt was added to the visa-free destination.
• The SA passport offers visa-free access to 106 of 227 destinations measured by the index.

The South African passport has moved up on a global index ranking to take the 53rd spot with its visa-free access offered to 47% of the world's destinations.

This is two places higher than in July 2022, according to the latest passport index by investment migration consultancy Henley & Partners, based in London. The SA passport's upward move is due to the addition of visa-free access to Egypt since then.

The SA passport offers visa-free access to 106 of 227 destinations measured by the index. It beats passports including those of Qatar, Botswana, Saudi Arabia, China, Namibia, Thailand, Malawi, and Kenya.

Mauritius is the only other African country with greater visa-free access than SA. It is in 34th place, along with Grenada, with access to 146 visa-free destinations.

The Henley Passport Index is based on research by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Henley & Partners research team.

In terms of "passport power" - the percentage of global GDP a passport can access visa-free - SA passport holders can access about 15.36% of the global economy.

By comparison, Japan's passport provides visa-free access to 193 destinations. Japan is at the top of the Henley Passport Index, with visa-free access to 85% of the world's economy. 

Next on the list is Singapore and South Korea, in joint second place with a visa-free destination score of 192. Germany and Spain are in joint third place with 190 visa-free destinations, followed by Finland, Italy, and Luxembourg in joint fourth place with a destination score of 189.

Austria, Denmark, The Netherlands, and Sweden are jointly in 5th place with access to 188 visa-free destinations. The UK passport is in 6th place, along with France, Ireland, and Portugal, with a destination score of 187.

The US passport is in 7th place, along with Belgium, the Czech Republic, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland, with visa-free access to 186 destinations. Australia, Canada, Greece, and Malta are jointly in 8th position with a destination score of 185.

The lowest-ranked passport is that of Afghanistan. It is in 109th place on the list, with visa-free access to 27 destinations. Among some of the other countries at the bottom end of the list are Somalia (35 visa-free destinations), Yemen (34), Pakistan (30), and Iraq (29).

SAPS captain arrested after she allegedly detained foreign nationals, demanded R10 000 for their freedom

IOL | 11 Jan 2023

It is alleged that the detained individuals were working at a construction site in Witbank.

“We cannot allow ourselves to be associated with corruption, and the law will have to take its course against such who break the law, including those within our ranks without fear of favour,” she said.

Just Like UK, Canada, South Africa Invites Nigerians to Apply for Its Visas, Offers Permanent Residency

Legit.ng | 11 Jan 2023

• South Africa has joined the list of countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States offering easy visas to smart, wealthy Nigerians. 
• The visa application includes a clear five-year path to permanent residency for skilled.
• Nigerians Business leaders also have the opportunity to apply for a 10-year visa with the option of staying in the country.

South African government has presented an open invitation to Nigerian business leaders, and skilled workers to the country. Bobby Moroe, the South African Consul General announced this on Monday, January 9, 2023, at a roundtable with the Lagos business community. According to him, South Africa is ready and open for business and has worked to ease the plight of Nigerians seeking visas to enter the country. 

Moroe who was represented by Ntakuseni Lambani, head of immigration at the Consulat also disclosed that South Africa will now issue long-term visas of up to ten years to proven Nigerian businessmen. 

South Africa skilled visa 

The Consul General of South Africa also revealed offers that the country has a critical skill work visa for Nigerians. According to The Punch, he said that Nigerians who enter the country and work for up to five years will be given the option to get full resident status. Moroe's words: “I am happy to announce to you that the government of South Africa has been reviewing its visa processes and a lot of improvements are being recorded. "Today we can say that henceforth, we will be able to issue 10-year multiple-entry visas to the business community in Nigeria." 

More promises from South Africa to Nigerians

 The Consul General also noted that his country was keen to promote investment into South Africa by Nigerians and that visa applications under the country’s investor immigration category will be treated expeditiously. 

The Consulate receives about 120 visa applications in Lagos daily, but business leaders have long been complaining about the dehumanizing treatment they suffer while applying for South African visas and it is expected that the new offer will ease that pain. He also acknowledged that mistakes had been made in the past, but said: “We have been listening and this session with you is a continuation of that process." He also insisted that with the commencement of the issuance of visas for as long as three years recently, the feedback has been good. Moroe added: "It is expected that with the offer of long-term visas, the number of applications will drop, and this should in turn cut the turn-around time for visa application."

www.samigration.com

SUPREME COURT OF APPEAL OF SOUTH AFRICA

The Registrar, Supreme Court of Appeal | 25 November 2020

STATUS Immediate
The Minister of Home Affairs and Others v Jose and Another (Case no 169/2020)
[2020] ZASCA 152 (25 November 2020)
Please note that the media summary is intended for the benefit of the media and does not form part of the judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Today the Supreme Court of Appeal (the SCA) dismissed an appeal by the first to fourth appellants,
collectively referred to as the Department of Home Affairs (the DHA), against a decision of the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Pretoria (the high court).

The first respondent, Joseph Emmanuel Jose (Joseph), was born on 12 February 1996 and the second
respondent, Jonathan Diabaka “Junior” (Junior), was born on 28 August 1997. They were born in South Africa where they have lived their entire lives. The parents of the respondents are Angolan citizens, who fled that country in 1995 and sought asylum in South Africa. The respondents, together with their parents, were granted refugee status in 1997. This endured until January 2014, when they were informed that their refugee status had been withdrawn. Joseph was then 17 years old and Junior 16. In August 2013, they were informed by the DHA that their refugee permits would not be renewed and they were referred to the Angolan Embassy, where they were advised that in order for them to remain lawfully in South Africa, they had to apply for Angolan passports, failing which they faced ‘repatriation’.

The respondents have never been to Angola. They have no family there and know little about Angola
or the way of life in that country. Neither speaks any Portuguese. Each speaks only a little Lingala. In
that regard, repatriation would be a forced removal from their country of birth and home country to a foreign land. When the respondents experienced difficulty in obtaining identity documents from the DHA, they approached Lawyers for Human Rights, who advised them that they were eligible to apply for citizenship in terms of s 4(3) of the South African Citizenship Act 88 of 1995 (the Citizenship Act).
However, by August 2017, all efforts to obtain citizenship had come to nought. The respondents
accordingly applied to the high court to direct the DHA to grant them South African citizenship in terms of s 4(3) of the Citizenship Act. The application succeeded with costs. The learned judge granted leave to the DHA to appeal to this Court only on the question whether it was competent in the particular circumstances of the case to order the Minister to grant (as opposed to consider) the respondents’ applications for citizenship.

The SCA held that s 4(3) of the Citizenship Act provides for citizenship to be granted to a child who
meets four requirements, namely, the child must have: (i) been born in South Africa; (ii) been born of parents who are not South African citizens and who have not been admitted into the Republic for
permanent residence; (iii) lived in the Republic from the date of their birth to the date of becoming a
major; and (iv) had their birth registered in terms of the Births and Deaths Registration Act 51 of 1992.
On the facts, the first three requirements of s 4(3) of the Citizenship Act were plainly met. Insofar as the
fourth requirement is concerned, s 4(3) applies to a child whose birth has been registered in accordance with the provisions of the Births and Deaths Registration Act, ss 1 and 5(3) of which provide that the registration of birth of a child born to non-South African citizens occurs through the issuing of a certificate of birth. In the case of each of the respondents, the DHA had issued certificates of birth. In the circumstances, the respondents satisfied the fourth requirement of s 4(3) of the Citizenship Act.

The next issue for determination was whether a court could direct the DHA to grant the respondents’ application for citizenship. The SCA recognised that whilst the doctrine of the separation of powers must be considered, that does not mean that there may not be cases in which a court may need to give directions to the Executive. Based on the precedent of the Constitutional Court, it is a firmly established principle that citizenship does not depend on a discretionary decision; rather, it constitutes a question
of law. On the facts, the SCA held that given that it is already absolutely clear that the respondents
meet all four requirements contained in s 4(3) of the Citizenship Act it would be purposeless to remit
the matter to the Minister of Home Affairs to make a fresh decision.

The SCA held that on the issue of costs, recent precedent of the Constitutional Court affirmed that a
court may direct the DHA to grant citizenship to an applicant. Although the precedent was set after the DHA’s heads had been filed, its position ought to have changed with the delivery of the Constitutional Court’s judgment. The DHA, however, continued as if nothing had changed and took no steps to limit the incurring of further costs. Plainly, it was obliged to have reconsidered its position, which it failed to do. The SCA held that the conduct of the DHA was beyond the pale; and an award of costs on an attorney and client scale was warranted. In the circumstances, the appeal was dismissed with costs on the punitive scale.

www.samigration.com