http://www.pmg.org.za/node/29273
QUESTION 1105 / NW1227E
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 01 April 2011
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 10 of 2011
Ms A T Lovemore (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) With reference to her Department’s 2011/12 to 2013/14 Strategic Plan, why has (a) the turnaround time for issuing permanent residents’ permits increased from 6 month in the 2009/10 financial year to 8 months in the 2010/11 financial year, (b) the turnaround time for issuing temporary residence permits increased from 4 weeks in the 2009/10 financial year to 16 weeks in the 2010/11 financial year and (c) the turnaround time for the second issuing of identity documents increased from 40 days in the 2009/10 financial year to 47 days in the 2010/11 financial year;
(2) why does the Strategic Plan not indicate any improvement on the 2009/10 turnaround times referred to for the years 2011/12 to 2013/14?
NW1227E
REPLY:
(1)(a)&(b) In November 2010 the Department undertook a process to completely transform, and stabilise the issuance of permits to foreign nationals. It must, however, be known that we have to take into account security, as well, and not, just, speed.
(1)(c) With respect to identity documents, relatively, small fluctuations in turnaround times are to be expected. This is, usually, due to short-term operational challenges, or the introduction of new processes, such as those aimed at strengthening security. The overall trend, regarding turnaround times, over the medium, has been upwards.
(2) The Department adjusted the turnaround times in the 2011/12 to 2013/14 Strategic Plan to 8 months for permanent residence permit applications, and 16 weeks for temporary residence permit applications, respectively, as a result of the new centralised adjudication process.
Similarly, the turnaround times of identity documents have, also, been adjusted in the Department’s 2011/12 to 2013/14 Strategic Plan, as a result of specialised operational procedures, and security enhanced processes. Therefore, it is due to the current procedures, and in the interest of ensuring maximum quality, and security enhancement.
Showing posts with label backlog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label backlog. Show all posts
Thursday, 29 March 2012
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Backlogs: Update
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
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Class Action Success: Temporary Residency
Court Action against Home Affairs
“Despite the (department’s) protestations to the contrary, the inescapable inference is that, irrespective of whether they have the best will in the world, they have dealt with the applications of the applicants’ various clients in a manner which can only be described as ‘administrative bungling’.”
One can only hope that Home Affairs will take this judgment as a warning and put additional focus on its performance regarding the processing of temporary residence applications.
http://www.imcosa.co.za/en/news/160-year-end-immigration-update.html
Thursday, 24 November 2011
Monday, 3 October 2011
Residence Permit System in Chaos
SA residence permit system 'in chaos'
By: Amanda Visser2011-05-22 13:19
Pretoria - The department of home affairs' residence permit system is in total disarray.
That is the principal reason for an urgent application lodged against the department, its minister and its director general in the Western Cape High Court.
The application has been submitted by a Cape firm of attorneys, Eisenberg & Associates, two individuals and another immigration company, Visa One.
Gary Eisenberg from the firm of attorneys said the application was being submitted on behalf of 108 applicants who had all been waiting for longer than six months for their permanent residence permits to be processed.
In the court papers he said that applications had previously always been handled within six months. Now they simply disappeared or were never heard of again.
In February this year Eisenberg had also turned to the court because of delays with temporary residence permits.
That action had been instituted after it had come to light that 70% of more than 400 applications for temporary permits had vanished.
In a sworn statement Eisenberg said that the department appeared to be either unwilling or unable to do anything to trace the applications.
Some of the applications had been submitted five years ago. That was, he said, with respect, a travesty of justice and an embarrassment for South Africa.
In the court documents Eisenberg said that the struggle with permanent residence permits had been characterised by a total lack of support or even simple interest.
The court documents state that, from July 2010 to the present, innumerable email messages and other correspondence, as well as several telephone messages, had failed to elicit any reaction.
A total of 108 outstanding applications for permanent residence made up the court application.
The two individuals who have joined the court application are Yung-Li Yen from Taiwan and Fokelina Wijngaarden from Holland.
Yen is a fisherman who first came to South Africa in 1974. In October 1992 he married his South African bride, Narriman, from Cape Town.
The first of their three daughters was born in 1986. In 2007 he applied for his permanent residence permit after being advised by department staff to do so.
Wijngaarden and her life partner, Jan Koornneef, had opted for retirement in South Africa. Koornneef’s application (which was basically the same as hers) was processed six months after submission, but Wijngaarden has been waiting for two years.
The court papers ask the court to set a deadline for the processing of the outstanding applications.
The applicants claim an application unprocessed after six months is “unreasonably overdue”.
Eisenberg and the other applicants have asked for their application to be heard on June 28.
Leon Isaacson, chairperson of the Forum for Immigration Practitioners (Fipsa), told Sake24 that there had been a definite increase in overdue applications.
- Sake24
By: Amanda Visser2011-05-22 13:19
Pretoria - The department of home affairs' residence permit system is in total disarray.
That is the principal reason for an urgent application lodged against the department, its minister and its director general in the Western Cape High Court.
The application has been submitted by a Cape firm of attorneys, Eisenberg & Associates, two individuals and another immigration company, Visa One.
Gary Eisenberg from the firm of attorneys said the application was being submitted on behalf of 108 applicants who had all been waiting for longer than six months for their permanent residence permits to be processed.
In the court papers he said that applications had previously always been handled within six months. Now they simply disappeared or were never heard of again.
In February this year Eisenberg had also turned to the court because of delays with temporary residence permits.
That action had been instituted after it had come to light that 70% of more than 400 applications for temporary permits had vanished.
In a sworn statement Eisenberg said that the department appeared to be either unwilling or unable to do anything to trace the applications.
Some of the applications had been submitted five years ago. That was, he said, with respect, a travesty of justice and an embarrassment for South Africa.
In the court documents Eisenberg said that the struggle with permanent residence permits had been characterised by a total lack of support or even simple interest.
The court documents state that, from July 2010 to the present, innumerable email messages and other correspondence, as well as several telephone messages, had failed to elicit any reaction.
A total of 108 outstanding applications for permanent residence made up the court application.
The two individuals who have joined the court application are Yung-Li Yen from Taiwan and Fokelina Wijngaarden from Holland.
Yen is a fisherman who first came to South Africa in 1974. In October 1992 he married his South African bride, Narriman, from Cape Town.
The first of their three daughters was born in 1986. In 2007 he applied for his permanent residence permit after being advised by department staff to do so.
Wijngaarden and her life partner, Jan Koornneef, had opted for retirement in South Africa. Koornneef’s application (which was basically the same as hers) was processed six months after submission, but Wijngaarden has been waiting for two years.
The court papers ask the court to set a deadline for the processing of the outstanding applications.
The applicants claim an application unprocessed after six months is “unreasonably overdue”.
Eisenberg and the other applicants have asked for their application to be heard on June 28.
Leon Isaacson, chairperson of the Forum for Immigration Practitioners (Fipsa), told Sake24 that there had been a definite increase in overdue applications.
- Sake24
http://m.news24.com/fin24/Economy/SA-residence-permit-system-in-chaos-20110522
Thursday, 29 September 2011
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
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
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Court action against Home Affairs: Update
IMCOSA August Newsletter
Court Action against Home Affairs
The court application against Home Affairs by a group of immigration companies on behalf of about 600 of their clients in a bid to press the Minister and Department to finalize long overdue applications, has lost much of its relevance to our clients, as all IMCOSA clients involved in this process have in the meantime received their permits. There are important benefits that a judgment in the form of a declaratory order could still yield (e.g. the right to start or continue working after 30 days of having waited for a result), and the matter is therefore still being pursued by us. The next hearing is expected to take place later in the year, and we will continue to serve our clients' best interests in any legal proceedings.
http://imcosa.co.za/en/news/147-immigration-news-aug-2011.html
Court Action against Home Affairs
The court application against Home Affairs by a group of immigration companies on behalf of about 600 of their clients in a bid to press the Minister and Department to finalize long overdue applications, has lost much of its relevance to our clients, as all IMCOSA clients involved in this process have in the meantime received their permits. There are important benefits that a judgment in the form of a declaratory order could still yield (e.g. the right to start or continue working after 30 days of having waited for a result), and the matter is therefore still being pursued by us. The next hearing is expected to take place later in the year, and we will continue to serve our clients' best interests in any legal proceedings.
http://imcosa.co.za/en/news/147-immigration-news-aug-2011.html
Monday, 26 September 2011
FICA and Freezing of bank accounts
IMCOSA AUGUST NEWSLETTER
Fica and the Freezing of Bank Accounts
More and more foreigners with local bank accounts are experiencing problems when they apply for an extension or change of permit and do not receive their new permits before expiry of the original one. Certain banks have started, systematically and as a matter of policy, to freeze the bank accounts of foreigners on the day that their permits expire. The freezing is done irrespective of whether applications for extensions have been made to Home Affairs, and whether such applications were made well in advance of the expiry date. No intervention has been found to stop or reverse this and letters issued by the regional office of Home Affairs acknowledging responsibility for the delay, or even written support by the Banking Council, have fallen on deaf ears.
The effect of this is that law-abiding persons, apart from having to endure the stress of their new permits not arriving in time and them not being allowed to continue their work or other activity, now have the added pleasure of not being able to access their own funds, of debit orders not being processed, etc.
Fortunately, there are alternatives to this scenario and there are respectable banks who very well understand the problems caused by Home Affairs delays. The freezing of your bank account is therefore avoidable, provided that the necessary steps are taken in advance. Please approach our team if you have questions in this regard or require assistance.
http://imcosa.co.za/en/news/147-immigration-news-aug-2011.html
Fica and the Freezing of Bank Accounts
More and more foreigners with local bank accounts are experiencing problems when they apply for an extension or change of permit and do not receive their new permits before expiry of the original one. Certain banks have started, systematically and as a matter of policy, to freeze the bank accounts of foreigners on the day that their permits expire. The freezing is done irrespective of whether applications for extensions have been made to Home Affairs, and whether such applications were made well in advance of the expiry date. No intervention has been found to stop or reverse this and letters issued by the regional office of Home Affairs acknowledging responsibility for the delay, or even written support by the Banking Council, have fallen on deaf ears.
The effect of this is that law-abiding persons, apart from having to endure the stress of their new permits not arriving in time and them not being allowed to continue their work or other activity, now have the added pleasure of not being able to access their own funds, of debit orders not being processed, etc.
Fortunately, there are alternatives to this scenario and there are respectable banks who very well understand the problems caused by Home Affairs delays. The freezing of your bank account is therefore avoidable, provided that the necessary steps are taken in advance. Please approach our team if you have questions in this regard or require assistance.
http://imcosa.co.za/en/news/147-immigration-news-aug-2011.html
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
More backlogs? 400 contract workers not reinstated
Lapsing of contracts: DG wants answers
INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPERS
Director-general of Home Affairs Mkuseli Apleni addresses the media about the administration of the department. Picture: Sizwe Ndingane
Senior managers at the Department of Home Affairs’ Pretoria offices will have to explain why they let contract workers continue performing their duties when their contracts had ended.
It has come to light that about 400 contract workers whose contracts expired last Thursday were allowed to continue working last Friday and on Monday after their contracts had expired.
Some claimed they had been asked to carry on working as their contracts would be extended, as they had been in March.
The workers, mostly based at the department’s Watloo offices, said they were stopped from working only on Tuesdday and told to leave the premises when they reported for duty.
Home Affairs director-general Mkuseli Apleni said if it was proven that workers were allowed to work while out of contract, the senior managers responsible would have to explain how this happened.
“If it is true, that means some managers did not comply with the contracts the department had signed with the contract workers.
“The contracts clearly state that June 30 was their last day in the service of the department and they were not supposed to work beyond that,” Apleni said.
The workers claimed to have been unfairly dismissed by the department, and said they should have been given sufficient notice before their contracts were terminated.
Requesting anonymity for fear of victimisation, they explained that when their contracts came to an end at the end of last month, they were asked to continue working because there was still a big workload.
One said: “They promised us three-month contracts to last until the projected end of the project in September, but they also said we should expect an extension after that - until December, because of the huge workload.”
On Friday and Monday they went about their normal duties, which included processing applications for Zimbabwean nationals who wished to live and work in South Africa, but when they arrived at work on Tuesday, they said, they were told to stop working and to leave immediately, because they no longer had contracts with the department.
“We were told to hand in state equipment and to take all our belongings, or risk being thrown out by security (guards) if we did not leave.”
They said the workload consisted of more than 147 000 untouched files which were waiting for outstanding requirements like fingerprints, letters from employers and passports, and an additional pile of completed files waiting for approval.
“We should have been given a month’s notice, because we have families to support, bills and installments to pay – what will we do now?” another asked.
Apleni said the department had advertised a total of 558 posts and had received more than 143 000 applications for the positions.
Only 104 contract workers were retained for the permanent positions, and more contract workers would be released from the department leading up to the July 31 deadline for processing applications by Zimbabweans wishing to stay and work in South Africa. - Pretoria News
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