The Department of Home Affairs proposed premium service would not be about fast-tracking document applications, but about offering delivery options, home affairs minister Leon Schreibers spokesperson has said.Schreibers spokesperson, Duwayne Esau, was responding to a MyBroadband report based on statements made by a home affairs official in parliament last week.The deputy director-general for civic services, Thomas Sigama, told the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs about the idea.We are looking at the possibility of a so-called premium service wherein¦ you will get your documents in a very short space of time, Sigama said.Of course, that will have to go with cost. Well look into that and also come back and present those initiatives to the committee. Everything is in full swing.However, Schreiber, through his spokesperson, has clarified that the concept was about delivering documents to people and was still being fully developed.The Department will communicate when more details are available, he said.What we can indicate, however, is that doorstep delivery of Home Affairs documents is one important element of our five-year vision to deliver Home Affairs @ home.Sigama made his comments following a presentation on the departments efforts to combat corruption and fraud affecting South Africas identity documents, including passports and visas.This anti-corruption endeavour is linked to Schreibers Home Affairs @ home vision.Schreiber previously said Home Affairs long-term goal to eliminate fraud and corruption was to digitally transform the institution and minimise opportunities for human intervention in document applications.He said their future end-to-end digital platform will handle all applications, adjudications, and communications between South Africans and the department.After an online application for an ID, passport, certificate, or visa is submitted, a machine-learning-based risk engine will verify

the completeness of the application.The system will authenticate users, check for fraudulent documents, conduct facial recognition checks, cross-reference databases, process cashless transactions, and communicate the outcome to the applicant all within seconds.No more standing in queues, no more waiting months or years for an outcome, no more being kept in the dark about the status of an application, Schreiber said. And no more space for officials or syndicates to solicit bribes for a transaction to be processed.Once the system is in place, Schreiber said Home Affairs could deliver services to South Africans anywhere in the world.There is also no logical reason why we cannot offer a service where IDs and passports are delivered to the door of the applicant anywhere in the world again, exactly like we already do in the banking sector with debit and credit cards, he said.The platform will allow citizens to access Home Affairs services online through a secure portal, comparable to widely used online banking platforms.Schreiber said they could create secure profiles of every citizen and visitor to South Africa using existing facial and fingerprint recognition technology, such as the Face ID and fingerprint features found on smartphones.He said if the department gets this right, the need to visit Home Affairs for routine transactions will be eliminated.This shift would also enhance the work environment for department staff, allowing them to focus on more exciting and productive tasks.This would include devoting our staff to serving those who truly need it most, said Schreiber.Including the poorest members of our society, people in rural areas, the 10% of South Africans who dont yet use smart devices, and those exceptional or complicated cases that require more resources to resolve. V.5696

For the past three years, an 11-year-old girl from Mpumalanga has lived apart from her mother and siblings, longing for a reunion that seemed just out of reach.Since her mother accepted a diplomatic role in Mauritius when she was nine, the child has been under the care of her paternal grandparents in Mohlaletse village near Grobersdal in Limpopo, waiting for the day she could join her family.Now, after an emotionally charged legal battle, the Mpumalanga High Court in Mbombela recently ruled in favour of reuniting the child with her mother and siblings.This decision grants her the chance to finally leave South Africa and start a new life with her family in Mauritius. And it promises stability, familial love, and the academic opportunities she has missed. V.5695
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Authorities clamp down on labour law violations in KZN, arresting foreign nationals during freight and logistics sector inspections.Weeks after inspections at restaurants across the country revealed 1,941 foreign national employees and the arrest of 81, officials in KwaZulu-Natal have nabbed seven foreign nationals in the transport industry.The Department of Employment and Labour (DEL), alongside eThekwini Metro Police, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), and Saps on Thursday conducted a two-hour joint inspection operation of road, freight, and logistics sector on the M7 freeway in Clairwood.According to departmental spokesperson Teboho Thejane, the seven were arrested during the inspection. Two of the arrested were found to have had previous warrants issued against them and five were working in the country illegally. V.5698
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Botswana`s new president intends to legalize undocumented Zimbabwean migrants, saying migrants `perform jobs that otherwise not get done`.Newly inaugurated President Boko made the remarks after winning the country`s historic election last week, which unseated the party governing Botswana since 1966. Boko said he wants undocumented Zimbabweans to be legalized by granting them temporary work and residence permits, reported BBC.Since Zimbabwe`s economy collapsed due to hyperinflation two decades ago, thousands of Zimbabweans are moving back and forth to Botswana, with some seeking political refuge. According to statistics, Zimbabweans make up 98% of `irregular migrants`. V.5699
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The Canadian government has ended the expedited study permit processing routes Student Direct Stream (SDS) and Nigeria Student Express (NSE) stream. This will affect study permit decision wait times for prospective students from 15 countries. All international students must now apply for study permits through the regular processing streamCanada began to offer fast-tracked study permit processing to international students from select countries in 2018 with the launch of the Student Direct Stream (SDS). Over time, the SDS expanded to include more countries in 2019, 2020, and 2021, and a separate Nigeria Student Express stream (NSE) was launched in 2020.But Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is now closing the SDS and NSE streams and will require all international students to apply though the regular study permit process, as per an official announcement from 8 November 2024: V.5700
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South Africas Home Affairs and Employment and Labour departments have high-risk employment sectors in their sights and could soon crack down on illegal workers in the on-demand delivery space.This could pose a significant challenge for on-demand and fast food delivery services like Bolt, Checkers Sixty60, Pick n Pay asap!, and Uber Eats.While these companies vet and check driver identity documents as part of their signup processes, Home Affairs appears to have a significant fraud problem, and many of the asylum documents or work permits held by drivers may be fraudulent.Minister of Employment and Labour Minister Nomakhozana Meth, in response to recent parliamentary questions, said her department plans to target high-risk sectors.In partnership with law enforcement, the Departments of Home Affairs and Employment and Employment and Labour have been conducting raids at restaurants nationwide to identify and remove illegally employed foreigners. V.5694
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Diaspora remittances by Kenyans living and working in South Africa have posted a recovery after years of subdued performance in the post-pandemic period largely on difficulties in getting work permits for skilled workers despite a visa-free deal between the two countries.Yes, the amount of money sent home by Kenyans in South Africa has increased despite difficulties with work permits: Remittances are up V.5692
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The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) Counter Corruption and Security Services branch has busted various individuals, including the kingpin of a syndicate that helped businesses bring in illegal foreign nationals on forged documents.Thirty-four individuals have been dismissed from the department, of which 13 have been sentenced. Depending on their level of involvement, those convicted face jail time ranging from four to 26 years.This was revealed in the DHA Counter Corruption and Security Services branchs presentation to the Portfolio Committee of Home Affairs on Tuesday, 29 October 2024.The branch said it employed a multi-disciplinary approach to catch those involved in the syndicate after a whistle-blower informed it about foreign nationals getting South African passports through photo swap fraud. V.5693
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A new legal framework is being touted to maximise the potential of the township economy.Minister of Corporate Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Velenkosini Hlabisa last week gazetted a draft by-law aligned with the Municipal Systems Act of 2000.Informal traders in economically underdeveloped areas have been central to the debate around food poisoning which has claimed the lives of at least 20 children in the last few months. V.5697
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Germany and Somalia reached an agreement to deport undocumented Somali nationals from Germany.The German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, said migrants without the right to stay in Germany would be repatriated quickly and effectively.At present, 65,000 Somalis live in Germany.The leaders of Germany and Somalia have agreed to step up the repatriation of undocumented Somalis in Germany. V.5690
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Only an immigration officer may arrest a person deemed an illegal foreignerThe process of deporting illegal foreigners in South Africa is governed by the Immigration Act which empowers the home affairs department to arrest, detain and deport people who are not entitled to stay in the country. Home affairs minister Leon Schreiber, in a reply to a parliamentary question, said the department spent close to R53m between April and August to deport 19,750 illegal foreigners.The Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town, a nonprofit organisation which helps migrant communities and displaced people, details the process which must take place after someone has been found to be illegally in the country. V.5691
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