Chief Justice Raymond Zondo handed down a unanimous judgment where the court upheld the applicants’ contention that parts of the Immigration Act infringed on their human dignity as foreign nationals.
The Constitutional Court has ruled that the Immigration Act was inconsistent with the Constitution and that it infringed on a foreign national’s right to human dignity.
Chief Justice Raymond Zondo handed down judgment on Monday. According to the Act, foreign parents or caregivers, even if they work in South Africa, had to stop working and leave the country if they ended their relationship with their spouse, which resulted in them leaving their South African-born children, sometimes without care or financial support.
The matter was brought to the Apex Court by parents Tereza Rayment and Richard Anderson, who were both foreigners, split from their South African partners.
They both were granted a spousal visa in terms of Section 11(6) of the Act and had been residing and working in South Africa. However, since their split from their respective partners, they faced deportation. The Act states that when the relationship ended, the foreign national’s visa lapsed, and they had to leave the country and apply for a new visa status.
However, since this could take many months and some may not be granted

another visa, it would put the parent in an `invidious` position where they would either have to take the child with them or leave the child in South Africa and be separated from the child for a long time.
It also meant the parent would no longer be able to provide for their child after losing their job.
In a unanimous judgment penned by Zondo and agreed with by eight other ConCourt judges, the court upheld the applicants’ contention that it infringed on their human dignity.
“This court could not find any justification for the limitation or infringement of these fundamental rights,” Zondo said.
The Chief Justice made an order of constitutional invalidity that was to be suspended for two years to enable Parliament to “correct the defects” related to the Immigration Act identified in his judgment.
He further stated that during the period of suspension, such a visa will be deemed valid, pending the outcome of an application by the foreigner for a new visa within three months at the end of the good-faith relationship or marriage.
Further, he ruled that a parent or caregiver of a child with South African citizenship should be allowed to work in the country for the full duration of their visa. V.5111

Australia’s plan to cap the number of new international students to 270,000 starting in 2025 has sparked widespread concern within the education sector. However, the proposal, which still needs parliamentary approval, is unlikely to have a significant impact on students from African countries planning to study in Australia. The National Planning Level (NPL) for 2025, which includes the limit on the number of international student enrolments, aims to reduce overall migration to pre-pandemic levels. V.5595
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Bethuel Ngobeni, Dumisa Moyo, Nhlanhla Magwaca, Moseki Sechele, Thabo Sechele and Khudzai Mashaya appear in court to face illicit gold mining charges. Image: Thapelo Morebudi An investigation into illicit gold mining has uncovered how one of the accused obtained a fraudulent identity document, 12 years after arriving in SA. V.5594
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• Lesotho has rekindled moves to implement localisation rules for certain types of businesses dominated by foreigners. • Indians, Chinese and South Africans dominate the 47 reserved businesses. • SA firms will be under pressure to use local distributors, and not contract Basotho labour via SA-based agents. V.5587
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Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said that plans were underway for the Department of Home Affairs to switch from working manually to digitally. CAPE TOWN - Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said that long queues, off-line systems, and paper-based applications at department offices would soon be a thing of the past. Schreiber said that plans were underway for the Department of Home Affairs to switch from working manually to digitally. V.5588
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‘There are various pathways and provisions in the law that recognise that people should not be stateless, and we are failing to ensure that these people have papers,’ says Global Movement Against Statelessness’ Christy Chitengu. Christy Chitengu was born in South Africa and regards herself as a South African, despite her parents being Zimbabwean. V.5589
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Inspection at workplaces set to increase Newly appointed home affairs minister Leon Schreiber will increase inspections at restaurants, spaza shops, farms and mines to heighten the crackdown on undocumented workers in these industries. Schreiber said while SA welcomes those who contribute to the country legally through skills, investments and as tourists, it needed to do more to combat illegal immigration. V.5592
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CAPE TOWN - Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber says since March, his department already reported 109 cases of document fraud to its counter corruption unit. Three officials have been convicted and sentenced during this same period. V.5593
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Key Takeaways • As of August 28, Canada has banned temporary residents on visitor visas from applying for work permits within the country. • The policy`s early termination is part of IRCC`s efforts to manage the influx of temporary residents and combat immigration fraud. • Starting September 26, 2024, Canada will cut the number of temporary foreign workers by about 65,000. Canada has recently launched a new policy that prohibits temporary residents on visitor visas from applying for work permits within the country, a decision that significantly impacts their ability to work and stay in Canada. V.5583
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The United Kingdom has long been a favoured destination for South Africans seeking work or residency, thanks to shared language, time zones, and historical ties. However, according to JP Breytenbach from Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants, the profile of South African migrants is changing. “There is a significant increase in business migration, with companies aiming to expand into the UK as a gateway to Europe or the US,” he shared in an interview with Biznews. Many of these South Africans businesses feel they have reached a ceiling in their local markets or are tech entrepreneurs who believe their products are not yet viable in South Africa. This year, new UK immigration rules are set to take effect as the country seeks to limit net migration. V.5584
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Applicants who prefer hard copies of ZEP waiver letters will still be able to collect them at branches. Leon Schreiber, Minister of Home Affairs, during the swearing-in ceremony of the new national executive members at Cape Town International Convention Centre on 3 July, 2024 in Cape Town. Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has announced that the first batch of Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) waiver applications has been processed. ZEP holders will no longer need to go to Home Affairs branches to find out the outcome of their applications. The department will be sending them out digitally. V.5585
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