The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) revealed the average time it has taken over the past two years for a decision on work visas to be made, but poor administration has meant applicants have waited far longer than what the department claims.
During a parliamentary Q&A, the department was asked whether it has established standards for the time period a decision on an application will be made for each visa type made available to foreign nationals for entrance into South Africa.
This query comes in light of concerns that long waiting times for visa approvals where having a direct economic contribution as far as employment and investment are concerned.
The relevant visas of concern include critical skill work visas, general work visas, and business visas.
In response, the department said the standards regarding turnaround times are as follows:
• Critical Skill work visa: turnaround time is four weeks;
• General work visa: turnaround time is eight weeks; and
• Business visa: turnaround time is eight weeks.
Considering these standards, the department further provided the average time it has taken over the past two years for a decision on each visa type to be made and communicated to the applicants.
According to the data in the department’s Annual Performance Plan â€` the average number of weeks to finalise business and general work visas has been within the department’s standards â€` taking between 5.3 and 6 weeks over 2021/22 and 4.3 and 4.7 weeks over 2022/23.
However, critical skills work visas are of concern, taking much longer than the standard to be finalised. According to the

department, these visas took, on average, between 4.6 and 5 weeks in 2021/22 and 6 and 6.5 weeks in 2022/23.
This delay in critical skills visas are holding back skilled immigrants from working in South Africa, said Busi Mavuso, the CEO of Businesses Leadership South Africa (BLSA).
Concerningly, the CEO noted that some people have been waiting much longer than the average turnaround times the department claim, with some waiting over six months to receive a work visa.
“The current visa regime makes it more difficult for businesses to expand their operations,” said Mavuso.
“Foreign companies cannot commit to major investments in South Africa when they cannot be confident that they can send their top people into the country,” she added.
Included in the department’s parliamentary response, it said the volume of applications received and accepted daily by Home Affairs currently exceeds the available human resource capacity.
However, the department has already been open and transparent by publicly announcing that the current backlog will be cleared by June 2024, while the DHA has outlined an implementation plan to ensure the recommendations published in the report under Operation Vulindlela are adopted.
Recommendations made under the report include, but are not limited to:
• Improving efficiencies
• Streamlining documentation and adjudication processes
• Modernising and automating the IT systems
• Increasing capacity at immigration branches V.4843

The extensions will help address a backlog of applications. One of the first acts of new Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has been to give visa applicants a reprieve. Schreiber extended the temporary concession for foreigners awaiting the outcome of their visa, waiver and appeal applications. Home Affairs claims the move is aimed at addressing a backlog of applications and not prejudicing the applicants due to the expected delays. Protection for lawful contributors to SA V.5616
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Joel Sihle Ngubane of the uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) party and a member of the portfolio committee on Home Affairs have called on the department to prioritise local skills before issuing critical skills visas to foreigners. V.5617
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The White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection proposes a raft of legislative reforms. • One is that the period a foreign national resides in the country won`t be the main considering factor for granting permanent residency. • The Department of Home Affairs is looking to introduce a points-based system for foreign nationals to apply for residency. V.5618
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Here are the latest adjustments to 2024 car licence renewal fees in South Africa, as the department continues with stringent reforms … The new Transport Minister is taking the department to task over 2024 car licence renewal fees. However, motorists are reminded that when it comes to how much licence renewal will cost outright, it still varies from province to province. V.5614
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The news: South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has announced the government’s plan to digitise the department, eliminating the need for in-person visits. The government expects this online system to reduce, if not eliminate, in-person visits by transforming the current paper-based processes into an automated platform, allowing South Africans to access services like ID applications, passport renewals, and visas remotely. V.5615
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Germany`s Chancellor Olaf Scholz (R) and Kenya`s President William Ruto signed the deal in Berlin Germany has agreed to open the doors to 250,000 skilled and semi-skilled Kenyan workers in a controlled and targeted labour migration deal. Kenya is struggling with increasing difficulties in providing work and sufficient income for its young professionals, while Germany is facing a shortage of skilled labour. V.5609
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BEIJING - China said it would gradually raise its statutory retirement age, as the country grapples with a looming demographic crisis and an older population. Hundreds of millions of people in China are set to enter old age in the coming decades while the birth rate dwindles dramatically. V.5610
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A surprise inspection at a Pretoria restaurant resulted in the arrest of two foreign national employees who allegedly did not have documentation to be in the country. (Alex Mitchley/News24) • The Department of Labour has conducted a `blitz` inspection at a restaurant in Menlyn. • The surprise inspection came after a complaint alleging the flouting of labour practices by a former employee that started making the rounds on social media. • One of the restaurant owners dismissed the allegations. V.5611
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The Western Cape High Court has temporarily stopped the initiation of any process to deport a foreign national who has indicated an intent to apply for asylum, until their application has been finalised. • The Western Cape High Court has temporarily halted the initiation of any process to deport a foreign national who has indicated an intent to apply for asylum, until their application has been finalised. • The interim interdict will remain in place pending the outcome of the main court application brought by the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town. • The court is expected to hear that main challenge in February 2025. V.5612
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South Africa’s plan to attract more professionals to its skills-starved economy through the introduction of a so-called nomad visa for remote workers has been slowed by the need to amend tax regulations. The impediment comes after an initial delay when changes to the visa regime had to be temporarily withdrawn because mandatory public consultation procedures hadn’t been followed. V.5613
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