The realities for anyone who applies for a South African work visa outside the “TES” scheme remains that they should expect a frustrating process. There are certain Embassy applications which are remarkably quick and efficient, but these remain the exception. It persists the better strategy to expect a challenging process and here are some pointers -
1. Submit as soon as possible, so you do not have a position where the application becomes late and there is a “self-created urgency”. You must ensure a first-time correct submission.
2. Each application category has very specific requirements in law and Regulations, however, this is the minimum requirement. There is also an additional layer of requirements based on internal adjudication protocols as well as Embassy specific requirements. It is very important that all bases are covered to ensure a first-time correct application.
3. The new standard for a South African work visa “submission pack” is that it must be at a litigation ready level. This does not only apply to the content of the application, but also ensuring procedural formalities when doing your submission. We ensure that all our applications are signed off by both an attorney and counsel, as you need to have comfort in your submission where legal escalation is needed.
4. Monitor the processing times and immediately escalated once overdue. We typically advise a client to start the legal groundwork a week or two before the deadline. Therefore, once a deadline is missed, you can immediately demand that your legal rights are not infringed by the delay in adjudication of the work visa.
Where the above approach is followed, we currently have overall positive experiences, but the market must be educated in knowing that the days of a simple work visa submission and expecting a timely positive outcome is over. There are the notably exceptions, and the market is very grateful for where the DHA or Foreign Embassy shows

efficiency, but that remains the exception.
High Court Agrees on Expeditious Processing
On 20 February 2024, the High Court in Pretoria, granted an order directing the Director-General of the Department of Home Affairs and/or the South African High Commission in the United Kingdom to promptly issue the Applicant with their visa.
The Applicant had applied for the visa in September 2023, but up until the court hearing, she had received no response on her application despite ongoing communication and escalation measures. Consequently, the delayed processing of her application led to the unfortunate separation of a mother from her children and her spouse, as her passport was retained by the High Commission for adjudication of her visa application, leaving her stranded in the UK. As a result, the family experienced tremendous financial and emotional strain, which could have been avoided had the application been adjudicated timeously. In addition, the Applicant was bogarted from rendering her contractual obligations towards the company who made the requisite undertakings in terms of her visa application.
Xpatweb current view on the matter is that whilst legal escalation unfortunate, the importance of getting a work visa timely issued and keeping families together outweighs all other factors. What is interesting to note from the High Court decision, is that the Court ordered not only for the application to be finalised immediately on the same day, but also that the visa is granted in favour of the Applicant, ensuring a positive outcome. Thus, the Court made the decision for the Applicant that the DHA failed, alternatively omitted, or refused to make.
While many remain frustrated with the immigration process and backlogs impact processing times, for applicants who have an overdue application a clear path is available. V.5209

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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