Home Affairs Update
After
having cleared
some of its
backlog around
mid-year, the
Department is
now back to an
average
processing
time of 4-6
months for
temporary
residence
(with the
exception of
corporate
worker
permits, which
are
“expedited”
and processed
within 2-3
months), and
about 12-18
months for
permanent
residence.
The occurrence of errors in permits that are being issued remains problematic. Errors range 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. The process to rectify these errors regularly takes significantly longer than the original applications (currently 9 months and more).
Earlier this month, the Department’s entire Head Office has (yet again) moved premises and returned to its location in the centre of Pretoria. The move is still on-going and has obviously brought many processes to a standstill and made officials even less accessible.
About one month ago, a policy change seems to have been implemented, in terms of which “section 11(2)” permits (short-term authorisations to work) were to be issued with greater caution and no longer available to certain industries (e.g. models and call centres). This has caused concern amongst some of our clients. Whether this policy change will be made into an official directive from Home Affairs’ Head Office is unclear at this stage. Excluding certain industries altogether from this permit category appears highly questionable from a legal perspective and is likely to be challenged. However, increased problems should be expected over the coming months and professional advice should be sought before applying.
http://www.imcosa.co.za/en/news/160-year-end-immigration-update.html
The occurrence of errors in permits that are being issued remains problematic. Errors range 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. The process to rectify these errors regularly takes significantly longer than the original applications (currently 9 months and more).
Earlier this month, the Department’s entire Head Office has (yet again) moved premises and returned to its location in the centre of Pretoria. The move is still on-going and has obviously brought many processes to a standstill and made officials even less accessible.
About one month ago, a policy change seems to have been implemented, in terms of which “section 11(2)” permits (short-term authorisations to work) were to be issued with greater caution and no longer available to certain industries (e.g. models and call centres). This has caused concern amongst some of our clients. Whether this policy change will be made into an official directive from Home Affairs’ Head Office is unclear at this stage. Excluding certain industries altogether from this permit category appears highly questionable from a legal perspective and is likely to be challenged. However, increased problems should be expected over the coming months and professional advice should be sought before applying.
http://www.imcosa.co.za/en/news/160-year-end-immigration-update.html
No comments:
Post a Comment