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SA Migration Newsletter
17 / 2024 |
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 SA Migration
International was created out of the need for a
specialist organization to assist people wishing to immigrate,
volunteer, work, bring family, study or open businesses in South
Africa.
South Africa’s new minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, says that the department is making headway in reducing its massive visa backlog, which has been cut to around 213,000 applications.
Schreiber, who took over as minister as part of the Government of National Unity in June, said that the department has set up a dedicated team to reduce the backlog and has cut through 92,886 applications out of a total of 306,042.
“This is a reduction of 30%. But we must do more because clearing this backlog is the only way to avoid another extension of the concession on visas, waivers and appeals that have already been granted three times,†he said.
Leon Schreiber laid out his priorities as Minister of Home Affairs during his maiden budget vote speech in Parliament on Monday, saying his department would prioritise, among other things, dealing with the visa backlog and stabilising the department’s online system.
The Department of Home Affairs has a budget of R10.49-billion for the 2024/25 financial year - a slight increase from R9.75-billion in the previous financial year.
Schreiber’s speech covered five key issues.
Visa backlog
Schreiber said the department had assigned a “dedicated team†to deal with the permit backlog.
Schreiber said he would reach out to the departments, including the South African Police Service (Saps), for joint operations.
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 Leon Schreiber says in the coming year, the department will intensify inspections at restaurants, spaza shops, farms and mines by over 50% to take action, including deportations, against people who are illegally employed.
Australia’s Home Affairs has pledged to improve oversight and timeliness in regulating migration agents by June 2025, after an audit exposed major flaws.
The Department for Home Affairs expects that all ANAO recommendations will be implemented by 30 June 2025.
The Australian National Audit Office released a report in May, in which it raised serious concerns regarding the processes of the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority - an office within the Department of Home Affairs.
The report found the department’s regulation of migration agents to be ineffective, stating that “appropriate arrangements are not in place to support the regulation of migration agents†and that migration agents in Australia are not currently “effectively regulatedâ€.
One day after he was sworn in as the new Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber made a range of announcements regarding extending temporary visa concessions and other arrangements affecting legal foreign nationals in South Africa.
It drew attention to him as one of the six new ministers of the DA in the Government of National Unity (GNU). Eleven new ministers were appointed from the DA, PAC, IFP, Patriotic Alliance (PA) and Freedom Front Plus and two from the ANC in the GNU.
passport holders can travel without visas to 35 African nations, 18 countries in the Americas, 17 in Asia, 16 in the Caribbean, 3 in Europe, 8 in the Middle East and 10 in Oceania. However, recent changes to visa regulations, such as Ireland’s adjustment, have reduced their global influence. South Africans should stay informed about evolving visa regulations to make the most of their passport’s opportunities.
What visa-free travel destinations are available for South African passport holders?
South Africans can travel without a visa to 35 African nations, 18 countries in the Americas, 17 in Asia, 16 in the Caribbean, 3 in Europe, 8 in the Middle East and 10 in Oceania. However, recent changes to visa regulations for South Africans, such as Ireland’s adjustment, have reduced their global influence. It is important for South Africans to stay informed about evolving visa regulations.
• The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs is not entirely happy with newly appointed Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber`s decision to extend the temporary concession for foreign nationals awaiting their visas.
• Several MPs serving on the committee raised concerns about capacity to ensure that undocumented individuals are deported.
• The committee also wants home affairs officials to join operations targeting spaza shops engaged in illicit activities more frequently.
Extending the visas of foreign nationals already in South Africa shifts focus and resources away from the needs of citizens. This is according to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs after newly appointed Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber`s decision to extend the temporary concession for foreign nationals who are currently awaiting the outcome of visa, waiver and appeal applications.
Police conducting an early morning patrol intercepted a bus carrying undocumented passengers
• Police found undocumented women and children inside a trailer attached to the bus.
• A passenger then intervened and offered one of the police officers R50 000 to release the passengers.
• Home Affairs Minister, Leon Schreiber announced last week that foreign tourists, students and visitors who have applied for visa extensions will be allowed to stay in the country until the end of this year . SA
Migration International
Tel.: +27 (0)71 632 9555 Fax: +27 (0)21 461 2611 Email: info@sami.co.za |
SA
Migration
Tel.: +27 (0)71 632 9555 Fax: +27 (0)21 461 2611 Email: info@sami.co.za
Table of Contents
1. About SA Migration
2. South Africa’s massive visa backlog hits over 200,000 3. Five key takeaways from Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber’s maiden budget vote speech 4. Home Affairs to intensify inspections at restaurants, farms for illegal employment 5. Australia’s Home Affairs pledges reforms after agent failures 6. Fixing Home Affairs will be a mountain to climb 7. A Paradigm Shift in South Africa’s Passport Influence: An In-depth Analysis of its Worldwide Reach 8. Visa extension for foreign workers raises ire of home affairs committee worried about `capacity` 9. Busted! Children found inside trailer after Paarl police intercept bus with undocumented passengers
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