What are the key services a Visa Consultant Provide?

SA Migration - Immigration Consultants

Why would I hire an Immigration consultant to apply for a Visa? This was the question in the mind of Tanuj, when he was planning to apply for a South African PR visa for the very first time. In fact, this is the question that comes in the mind of every Visa applicant when he goes on to apply for a foreign visa. Well, let’s first find out what happened to Tanuj?
Tanuj had heard a lot about a few consultants involved in wrong practices and making money out of the immigration applicants by misguiding them. So, he decided to apply himself, despite having very little knowledge about visa process of South Africa. Unfortunately, he failed to register properly on the online immigration system of South Africa and also got stuck with the procedural guidelines. Now, finally he decided to contact a consultant for immigration to South Africa and begun the process again. Luckily, this time round he got successful and received an invite from authorities to apply for visa. what Tanuj said...?
If I had gone with SA Migration the first time I would have saved myself so much heart ache , cost , disappoint – They know their subject – I can highly recommend them
Can you apply for a Visa without immigration Consultant?
This might have happened so many times around you. A person applies for the visa himself, gets it wrong, and finally opts to hire a consultant. It’s not that you can’t apply without the help of a consultant however, it depends on the individuals, i.e. how knowledgeable or well versed you are with immigration procedure of the country you are applying to.
If you are confident and informed enough about visa procedure and immigration guidelines, you can apply on your own and secure your visa too. On the other end, if you are not sure about immigration procedure, it is strictly advised not to go for it on your own and take service from a genuine and registered immigration consultant. Immigration to any country involves several procedural things and legal terms, which if you misinterpret, can result in the unwanted delay or denial of your visa.
What are the Services an immigration Consultant offer?
It’s crucial to understand here that not every immigration consultant is fraudulent. There are consultants who are genuine and offer the quality immigration services as well to ensure that you get timely visa approval. Hence, it all depends how you choose a visa consultant to apply for immigration to another country. Always select a registered immigration consultant that offers all the key immigration services. Below are the key services an immigration consultant usually offers:
• Pre-Assessment: Reviewing the profile of an applicant and doing thorough assessment to determine his/her eligibility for the given visa category or program.
• Documentation Assistance: Informing the candidates about all the key documents and helping them in obtaining essential certifications (i.e. IELTS Test, skill assessment, ECA through WES, etc.)
• Letter Drafting: Preparing a letter to be written to the authority.
• Visa Application: Filing visa application to the immigration office, and entering all the details with 100% accuracy to avoid any delay and denial.
• Resume Rebuilding: There are a few immigration consultancies which provide the Resume Rebuilding service as well. They assess your resume and upgrade it, keeping in mind the employers and job market of your destined country.
• Refusal Case Analysis and Refiling: Handling the denial cases and filing the visa again with the authorities after efficiently removing the rejection.
How to Choose a Genuine Immigration Consultant?
As already discussed, the first thing you need check is that the immigration consultant you choose is registered with the immigration regulatory body of your destined country. Apart from this it’s also vital to read the testimonials and review about the company from various online and offline sources.
Explore the website of your immigration consultant closely and find out the key details, i.e. accreditation, testimonials, office address, content quality posted on website (i.e. Blogs, articles, news, and immigration procedures, etc.).
To get further assistance in this regard you may write us to our email id- info@samigration.com .com. We at S A Migration are the leading and registered immigration consultancy service in India specialized in South Africa and Australia immigration. You may visit our website, i.e. www.samigration.com for inclusive information with regard to visa and immigration process of South Africa, Australia, USA, UK, New Zealand, Germany, South Africa, Hong Kong, etc
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The Children’s Institute has taken Home Affairs to court over its late birth registration backlog. Illustration: Lisa Nelson
• At least 250,000 people have waited up to seven years for Home Affairs to process their late birth registration applications.
• Without birth certificates, children face numerous complications in life and struggle to access schools and grants.
• The Children’s Institute wants the Western Cape High Court to declare the Department of Home Affairs’ delays unconstitutional.

At least a quarter of a million people have been waiting years for their applications for late birth registration to be processed. And this is a conservative estimate, the Children’s Institute says in its papers filed with the Western Cape High Court. The court application seeks to put the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) on terms to take action to tackle the backlog.

The institute, represented by the Legal Resources Centre, says the department’s tardy approach to this issue, which affects fundamental rights of children and their parents and caregivers, must be declared unconstitutional. It wants the court to order that the DHA develop a clear and comprehensive plan to tackle the backlog and prevent future backlogs.

The court papers are full of personal stories of how some people are left waiting for up to seven years to have their applications decided, and how it affects them.

One, the mother of a now 15-year-old, described how she grew up without a birth certificate and was constantly threatened that she would not be allowed to write matric. Now her son is having the same experience, though she applied for his birth certificate when he was eight. A keen soccer player, he could no longer participate in tournaments and had a recent brush with the law.

Parents of a 13-year-old, said she had been “expelled” from school twice because she had no birth certificate. She was eventually accepted at a school far from home, where she felt ostracised.

Generally, without birth certificates, children cannot get identity documents. And without proof of identity it is very difficult to access the schooling system. They cannot operate within the formal economy and battle to access social grants.
“They find themselves pushed further and further to the fringes of society,” legal researcher Mbonisi Nyathi says in his affidavit.

Since launching the application on behalf of 15 affected clients, the DHA has taken action to resolve these particular cases.

In a “briefing note”, senior researcher Paula Proudlock says the 15 caregivers involved in the case are primarily mothers, while others are fathers, relatives, foster parents and prospective adoptive parents, who have all lodged applications with Home Affairs for the late registration of their children’s births (and in two instances for their own births).

“Despite submitting all the necessary documents and complying with the provisions of the Births and Deaths Registration Act and its Regulations, they have been forced to wait for between two and seven years for Home Affairs to decide their applications. Most of them have followed-up multiple times over the years, incurring high transport costs, only to be told to go home and wait for a call for an interview,“ Proudlock said.

“Since belatedly becoming aware of the litigation in late May 2025, Home Affairs had prioritised holding interviews to finalise the applications of the 15 caregivers who are involved in our case,” she said. “Concerningly, these interviews have generally focussed on questioning the circumstances which caused the late registration to be necessary and coercing mothers to admit they were negligent, in order for the interview to be short and successful. Ten of the 15 individuals have to date been issued with birth certificates.”

In the court application, Nyathi said that while the institute supported the policy that births should ordinarily be registered within 30 days, there were many reasons why this does not happen, so there would always have to be a system to deal with late birth registration.
He said some babies were born at home in isolated rural areas, where sometimes cultural practices required mother and child to remain at home for up to three months.

Many mothers did not have their own IDs because they were young (between 15 and 21) and either had not applied for an ID or were also victims of the LBR system. Without an ID they could not use the birth registration desk at the hospital or clinic where they gave birth, Nyathi said.

He said the late birth registration process was arduous because it involved verifying documents and because of the insistence by DHA on conducting interviews, despite this not being required by law.

There was no co-operation between offices in different provinces and applications were being dealt with manually, in paper folders in local offices, making them “invisible to national office and more susceptible to loss and neglect”.
“A significant contributing factor is the DHA’s failure to acknowledge the backlog and the factors within its control that have created it,” Nyathi said.
He said while the DHA had promised to address backlogs for temporary resident and permanent resident permits and unabridged marriage and death certificates, no mention had been made of the late birth application backlog.

“Ultimately this situation is untenable and violates the constitutional rights of hundreds of thousands of children and adults,” Nyathi said.
“Not only does this impact their own lives, but it creates an intergenerational ripple effect, ultimately resulting in their children also remaining unregistered after birth for significant periods of time.”

The government respondents, including the Minister and Director-General of Home Affairs, have filed a notice of opposition but have not filed opposing papers within the stipulated deadline.

The suspects face charges of corruption, fraud, and contraventions of the Identification Act and Immigration Act.

The seven suspects arrested in connection with the issuing of fraudulent passports have been remanded in custody after appearing in court on Tuesday.
Philani Mmeli Zaca, 41, Fumani “Guru” Hlayisi,35, Zime Anita Shange, 38, Bongiwe Kubheka, 48, Thandiwe Pretty Khwela, 43, Lungisani Siyanda Mzobe, 32, and Lindokuhle Bongumusa Mpanza, 31, briefly appeared in the Specialised Commercial Crimes court sitting in the Durban Magistrate’s Court following their arrests by the Pretoria-based Serious Corruption Investigation component of the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (Hawks).

Five of the suspects were arrested on 14 June in an ongoing operation, one was arrested on Monday, while another handed himself over on Tuesday morning.
They face charges of corruption, fraud, and contraventions of the Identification Act and Immigration Act.

Their case was postponed to Friday for legal aid and a formal bail application.

Complaint from the Department of Home Affairs
Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale said the operation emanated from a complaint from the Department of Home Affairs, relating to the issuance of fraudulent passports to undocumented foreign nationals between February 2020 and July 2023.

The group allegedly facilitated the fraudulent acquisition of South African passports by foreign nationals at the department’s offices in Durban, specifically the Commercial Street branch.

“These unlawful activities took place outside of regular business hours, including evenings, weekends and public holidays, when the Department of Home Affairs offices were officially closed,” Mogale said.
“Preliminary investigations by the [department] confirmed that the criminal activities were indeed conducted on off hours, where the local citizens offered R300 to R1 000 in exchange for their cooperation – especially at offices in Isipingo, Durban Central and Eshowe – resulting in a case being opened for investigation by Serious Corruption Investigation,” Mogale added.

Arrests since 2022
To date, a total of 38 suspects have been arrested in connection with this matter since September 2022.
Seven of them are Home Affairs officials, while 31 are private citizens.
“24 individuals, of whom four are [Home Affairs] officials, have been convicted and sentenced to a combined 310 years’ imprisonment,” Mogale said.
She added that the Hawks are not ruling out the possibility of more suspects being arrested.

More than 800 cases
In May, Home Affairs Deputy Director-General for Counter Corruption and Security Conny Moitse revealed a growing number of cases under investigation by the department.

According to Moitse, at least 805 cases have been investigated over the past three financial years.

A Pakistani national has been apprehended by members of the Patriotic Alliance (PA) for allegedly entering into a fraudulent marriage with a young South African girl in a bid to obtain citizenship. The arrest took place following suspicions that the marriage was not based on genuine intentions but was rather a calculated move to circumvent South Africa’s immigration laws and secure legal residency in the country.

According to reports, the foreign national unlawfully married the South African minor, raising concerns about both the legality and morality of the union. Community members and activists were quick to respond, leading to the involvement of PA members who acted on the matter and ensured that the suspect was taken into custody. Authorities are now investigating the circumstances under which the marriage was arranged and whether other individuals were complicit in facilitating the illegal union.

This incident has highlighted serious concerns regarding the abuse of South Africa’s immigration and civil registration systems. Section 42 of the Immigration Act, 2002, explicitly prohibits anyone from aiding, abetting, assisting, or enabling an illegal foreigner to remain in the country unlawfully. Violators of this law face serious legal consequences, and in this case, those who might have played a role in organizing or officiating the unlawful marriage could also be subject to prosecution.

The Patriotic Alliance has been vocal about the need to curb illegal immigration and protect the rights of vulnerable South African citizens. The arrest is being hailed as a step toward addressing the loopholes in immigration enforcement and marriage registration, which are often exploited by foreign nationals seeking permanent residency through deceptive means.

Authorities are expected to conduct a thorough investigation to determine how the illegal marriage was allowed to proceed and to hold accountable any officials or individuals who may have failed in their duties or knowingly enabled the act. The case serves as a stern warning against exploiting young South African women for immigration benefits and underscores the importance of upholding the rule of law.

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Capitec’s CEO argues that SA’s jobless rate is as low as 10% and not 32,9% as stated by StatsSA — he’s right, and the numbers are equally as wrong regarding poverty and inequality.

Capitec CEO Gerrit Fourie argues SA’s jobless rate is as low as 10% and not 32,9% as stated by Stats SA – is he right? Dineo Faku of the ST reports that many don’t think so. Stats SA argues their quarterly labour force survey includes the self-employed. Peter Bruce warns that ‘you ignore the gut of Fourie at your peril, with 24 million customers he knows a lot more that Stats SA does’.
Clearly few have read the work of GG Alcock ‘Kasinomics Revolution’ who has made a career out of studying informal entrepreneurial endeavour across the townships of SA. His finding are that ‘real’ as opposed to ‘official’ unemployment does not exceed 12%.

For 30 years our unemployment, poverty and inequality conventional wisdoms, trotted out by all and sundry, have remained the same:
• SA’s unemployment is amongst the highest in the world
• 55% of South Africans live in poverty
• South Africa is the most unequal society in the world.

There is no question that over the past 30 years many of the unemployment, poverty and inequality numbers have changed significantly. I am going to argue that Gerrit Fourie is more right than wrong and that the ‘official stats’ are more wrong than right.
1. Conventional Wisdom: SA has the highest unemployment in the world at 32,9% with youth unemployment at 45.5%:
GG. Alcock, his book Kasinomics Revolution has comprehensively researched the size of the informal sector. Here are some numbers:
• Spaza shops account for R190-billion across 100,000 outlets.
• The fast food sector accounts for R90-billion across 50,000 outlets.
• The beauty sector accounts for R10-billion annually.
• The taxi sector accounts for R50-billion a year across 250,000 vehicles.
• The multi-sector is worth around R18-billion per year.
• Savings stokvels are worth R44-billion per year.
• The backroom rental sector in townships is worth R20-billion annually.
• The spaza shop rental economy is around R25-billion per year.

And there are a multitude of other businesses in these sectors including:
• Kasi building, renovations, gates, burglar guards, chrome gutters etc.
• Services — plumbing, electricians, catering and event suppliers tent, toilet and chair hire.
• Alcohol — taverns and shebeens.
• Cultural — muti, livestock, sangoma, inyanga, unveilings, funeral.
• Financial — mashonisa, stokvel, masicwabisane.

Youth unemployment at 45.5%
Mamapudi Nkgadima of Africa Response Survey writes “To solve South Africa’s dismaying youth unemployment challenge we must end the pervasive narrative that South Africans, and particularly young unemployed South Africans, are reliant on the government.

It’s quite simply not true, as a recent African Response survey has revealed. Among the respondents who classified themselves as unemployed and looking for work, 41% are earning up to R15 000 a month through income-generating activities such as baking, building and hairdressing. What this shows is that many of our young people are resilient and inventive about making ends meet. We need to reinforce that and build their confidence so that that attitude catches on.”

The EY Global Shadow Economy Report 2025 confirms ours is at 26% amongst the highest globally.
Based on these numbers alone it would seem that the informal sector could be approaching R1 trillion (25% of GDP) per annum where +/- 8 million people are involved in income generating activities.

Reality Check: If these numbers are representative real unemployment is somewhere between 10 and 15%
• Conventional Wisdom: 55% of South Africans live in poverty
There are three categories of poverty (The Economist):
• Abject poverty: defined as “a wretched life where people lack education, healthcare, proper clothing, hygiene, access to fresh water and shelter, and enough food for physical and mental health.”
• Moderate poverty: A measure of being poor, ‘poor’ being defined as between a lower-bound and upper-bound poverty line,
• Relative poverty: A measure of inequality, what the GINI co-efficient sets out to do.

The World Bank ranks poverty on the basis of income. In South Africa (SA), the national poverty lines are measured as the minimum amount of money you need to afford basic necessities like food and other essentials. The poverty lines are categorised as follows: the food poverty line (FPL) is R796 per month, the lower-bound poverty line (LBPL) is R1,109 per month (R4,436 for a family of four) and the upper-bound poverty line (UBPL) is R1,634 per month (R6,536 for a family of four). In 2024, it was estimated that 13.2 million people in South Africa lived in extreme poverty, according to Statista. Additionally, approximately 55% of the South African population, or 30.3 million people, lived below the national upper-bound poverty line.

But these numbers do not include government transfers, subsidies and the like — see below (using 2023 figures).

If you were to estimate the monetary value of the distributed “income and consumption” of the above for a family of two parents/or guardians, one pensioner, and two children it would be as follows:
• Child grant at R530 x2= R1,060
• Pensioner foster care x 1 = R1,,180
• Old age pension x 1= R2,080
• Free schooling x 2 = R1,200*
• Free food at school x 2 = R1,000*
• Subsidised school transport x 2 = R400
• Subsidised water = R300*
• Subsidised electricity = R300*
• Subsidised housing = R1,200*

Total = R8,720 per month per household, before any earned income is added!
*Here are my estimates of the monetary value of these benefits/subsidies as consumption.
Therefore, to claim that 55% of South Africans live below the upper-bound poverty line and that 22% live in extreme poverty cannot be defended in terms of the numbers above.

Reality check: If the above numbers were included in the calculation of poverty, would it change the ‘stats’? I would submit that 10% of our population would be defined as living in abject poverty (Economist) with 35% living in moderate poverty (poor).
Conventional wisdom: South Africa is the most unequal society in the world.
The GINI co-efficient, the measure of inequality, is defined as “measuring the extent to which the distribution of income or consumption among individuals or households within an economy deviates from a perfectly equal distribution. A Gini index of 0 represents perfect equality, while an index of 1 implies perfect inequality”.
Our score, which hasn’t changed over 30 years, is between .61 and .65 and states that our income inequality is among the “worst in the world”.

Definitions
Would it be fair to argue that the distribution of “income or consumption” includes all the income a household receives no matter the source, both earned and unearned; and that consumption is of all that is used by the household, whether as a result of government transfers and free services, or personal choice.

SA over the past 30 years
According to the 2024 South Africa Survey published by the Institute of Race Relations, expenditure on social services has risen from R63-billion (1995) to R1.27-trillion (2023), a 1,900% increase in nominal terms (at 5% inflation over 30 years R63-billion would have risen to R272-billion — a 330% increase).
The number of formal houses has trebled in the last 30 years, 60% of which are owned.

So do the sums!
• 8 million people working in the informal sector with 41% of unemployed youth hustling at R15 000 per month.
• Government transfers have increased from 2,046702 recipients in 1996 to 18,829716 in 2023.
• Child support grants increased from 0 in 1995 to 13,147937 in 2023.
• There are 15 372 000 formal housing structures, 90% of which have access to electricity and water (with four people to each household that would account for 61488 000 citizens with permanent shelter.
• A family of two kids, two guardians and a Gogo would access approximately R8,000 in government transfers.

CONCLUSION
So the question is, why are reputable organisations, think-tanks, research houses, political parties, NGO charities, labour unions and Stats SA constantly reminding us that we are the most unequal society in the world, that poverty remains stubbornly high at 55%, and that unemployment is on the rise at 32.9%?
• Is it a government agenda, aimed at justifying BBBEE, Equity legislation, grants and a welfare state – all in the pursuit of justifying the National

Democratic Revolution?
• Is it a think-tank agenda, aimed at proving that 30 years of ANC rule has delivered nothing?
• Is it an NGO agenda, sticking to the ‘old’ numbers to justify their ‘current’ needs?
• Is it a labour union agenda, using apartheid legacy ‘numbers’ to defend non-CPI related wage demands?
• Is it a Stats SA agenda aimed at justifying the spend on government transfers and grants?

I’m not for one minute suggesting that unemployment, poverty and inequality are not fundamental challenges bedeviling transformation and hampering redress in South Africa. But I am suggesting, as does Gerrit Fourie, that the numbers reflect our changing reality and that there has been positive upward movement which the official stats do not represent.

We need more people like CEO Gerrit Fourie, author GG Alcock, researcher JP Landman, think-tank The Institute of Race Relations who are doing the research, digging up the facts, calling out the numbers to shout louder and change our current conventional wisdom madness