Home Affairs Update

IMCOSA August Newsletter
Home Affairs Update


The Department of Home Affairs’ backlog, as far as IMCOSA’s submissions are concerned, has been largely cleared. The general processing time for temporary residence applications submitted within South Africa is currently 3-4 months (plus minus a month), provided that the application itself is unflawed and a tight follow-up process is applied.

Major problems are caused through the large number of applications going missing in the system, i.e. not being logged onto the Department’s electronic “track & trace” system correctly. Again, a complex set of steps has to be followed to ensure that these applications are processed and finalized correctly.


Another major headache is the large percentage of errors found in the permits that are being issued. Across the industry, the general consent seems to be that over 50% of permits are issued incorrectly, with errors ranging from incorrectly spelt names, wrong employer names being inserted, incorrect categories of permits being used, permit types being confused amongst family members (e.g. the father receives a study permit, whilst the 5-year-old daughter receives a permit to work as the CEO of company XYZ), permits being given incorrect validity periods, etc. We are finding that the process to rectify these errors regularly takes significantly longer than the original applications.


A serious concern is the fact that in early July 300 contract staff who had been assisting with the permitting process at the Department of Home Affairs’ head office, were released from their duties at once, presumably because their contracts ended. Due to this sudden and enormous drop in capacity, substantial backlogs are expected to build up in the coming weeks and months.

For the moment, the process has however become more predictable and the situation has somewhat stabilized, but whether this trend continues remains to be seen.


http://imcosa.co.za/en/news/147-immigration-news-aug-2011.html