The centre was the applicant in the case which took aim at sections of the Act, which provided that an asylum seeker was automatically deemed to have abandoned their asylum application if they did not renew their visa within one month of its expiry.
In the unanimous ruling handed down on Tuesday, the Constitutional Court categorised refugees as an `especially vulnerable group`, adding that `their plight calls for compassion`.
JOHANNESBURG - The Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town has welcomed a Constitutional Court ruling setting aside sections of the Refugees Act stating that it’s going to make a marked difference in the lives of those fleeing persecution.
The centre was the applicant in the case which took aim at sections of Act, which provided that an asylum seeker was automatically deemed to have abandoned their asylum application if they did not renew their visa within one month of its expiry.
In February, the Western Cape High Court ruled in Scalabrini’s favour, and on Tuesday, so too did the Constitutional Court.
The centre’s head of advocacy and legal advisor James Chapman said: `It’s going to be very, very impactful, very meaningful, because in 2020 when the amendment came out, it meant an asylum seeker who had been struggling with the backlogs and challenges of accessing asylum was routinely cut out of the asylum

process, and subjected to arrest, detention, deportation and being returned to a persecutory environment`.
`So, now they have the solace, they have the protection that they`re not going to face being returned to their country where they wouldn`t be safe, where their life, liberty, fundamental human rights would be at risk,` he added.
LANDMARK JUDGEMENT
In the unanimous ruling handed down on Tuesday, the Constitutional Court categorised refugees as an “especially vulnerable group”, adding that “their plight calls for compassion”.
And it found the sections in question were “directly at odds” with this approach, as well as with the principle of ‘non-refoulement’, which provides that refugees or asylum seekers should not be made to go back to a country where they’re liable to be subjected to persecution.
It also found these sections “fly in the face” of the Refugees Act’s own provisions barring the return of individuals to countries where they’re under threat, as well as that they “infringe the right to dignity, unjustifiably limit the rights of children and are irrational and arbitrary”.
The Department of Home Affairs was ordered to pay costs in the matter. V.5119

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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