What prompted his department to write a letter giving the Premier of Eastern Cape, Mr Oscar Mabuyane, the right to establish an international port of entry in an unused former homeland airport in Bisho?
The Minister of Home Affairs had at no stage given Mr Oscar Mabuyane, “the right to establish an international port of entry in an unused former homeland airport in Bisho”
Upon receipt of the request/application, the Minister acted in terms of section 9A of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 to designate Bulembu Airport in (Bhisho) as a port of entry and ...
What measures are being put in place to ensure that Palestinians who visit the Republic enjoy the same rights as their Israeli counterparts who do not need a visa to travel to the Republic whilst Palestinians are required to have visas? What measures are being put in place to ensure that Palestinians who visit the Republic enjoy the same rights as their Israeli counterparts who do not need a visa to travel to the Republic whilst Palestinians are required to have visas?
I have approved a waiver of visa requirements for diplomatic and official/service passport holders for Palestinian nationals. The drafting and finalisation of the Visa Waiver Agreement with the Palestinian Authority is at an advanced stage and I will make an announcement in due course.
As far as Palestinian ordinary passport holders are concerned, the Department intends to finalise waiver of visa requirements for this ...
Whether the United Arab Emirates president’s family did undergo the required customs declarations and inspections for any goods and/or items they brought into the Republic, in accordance with the customs and excise legislation; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Yes, customs officials performed their duties in the presence of members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) and Border Management Authority officials.
END
Whether the United Arab Emirates president’s family complied with all quarantine and health-related regulations upon arrival at the Bulembu Airport in Qonce, as required by the South African port of entry legislation; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Yes, the health related issues were complied with by the officials of the Border Management Authority which now comprise officials transferred from the Department of Agriculture.
END
(a) What number of naturalisation ceremonies have taken place from 1 May 2019 to date, (b)(i) on what date and (ii) at what location did each ceremony take place, (c) what number of approved applicants currently require a naturalisation ceremony and (d) what is the schedule for naturalisation ceremonies for the 2023-24 financial year in terms of (i) dates and (ii) locations?
(a) The were no naturalisation ceremonies that have taken place from 1 May 2019 to date.
(b)(i) No ceremonies have taken place.
(b)(ii) As indicated above there has not been ceremonies conducted.
(c) The “naturalisation ceremonies” were discontinued a long time ago.
(d)(i)(ii) There are no “naturalisation ceremonies” planned for the near and foreseeable future.
END
With reference to tourism visa (a) applications and (b) repeat applications (i) in the past three financial years and (ii) from 1 April 2023 to date, (aa) what total number of applications were (aaa) received and/or (bbb) issued in each month, (bb) from which countries were applications received in each month and (cc) what is the average time taken between an application received and a visa being issued in each month?
(a&b) Tourism visas applied for within the country are considered repeat applications as holders of such visas would ordinarily be extending a tourist visa already issued abroad. The visa volumes mentioned below are per calendar year (not financial year). They are as follows:
|
Year
|
Application count
|
|
2020
|
4562
|
|
2021
|
11482
|
|
2022
|
14615
|
(aa) From 1 April 2023 to 11 May 2023, there were ...
(1)What mechanisms are in place to ensure that once permits and/or visas expire, foreign nationals who are deemed illegal within the borders leave the Republic;
(2) whether the process stops with the visa denial; if not, what are the reasons that no further steps are taken; if so, what are the full relevant details
1. The following mechanisms are in place to ensure people with expired visas/permits leave the republic;
a) Immigration inspections/operations for detecting those without lawful documentation to be in South Africa;
b)Tracing of overstayers found on the movement control system
c) Overstay declaration and bans from re-entering the country from 1 to 5 years, depending on the length of overstay - Should a person with ...
(1) Regarding the challenges with information and communication technologies (ICT) and online application systems for the acceptance and processing of visa applications, what (a) are the ICT systems and software that are currently being used to process online visa applications, (b) is the budget allocated for the specified ICT systems, (c) percentage of the specified budget was spent in each year since 2009, (d) challenges have been identified in terms of the ICT systems and software that is currently being used, (e) measures will his department take to address the specified issues and (f) what date is it envisaged that the challenges will be addressed by;
(2) (a) what budget has been allocated for the improvement of the related ICT systems, (b) what does the specified budget aim to accomplish and (c) by what date will the ICT-improvement project be completed?
(1)(a) The Department currently uses the ICT Systems mentioned below to process online visa applications
|
SYSTEM
|
DEVELOPER
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DATE
|
|
DHA eVisa
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SARS/BBD
|
2019
|
|
VFS eVisa (Nigeria)
|
VFS Global
|
2022
|
|
DHA/VFS Online
|
VFS Global
|
2014
|
|
VAS (Adjudication)
|
DHA IT
|
2014
|
(1)(b) An amount of R5m is budgeted in the current financial year for the DHA eVisa support and maintenance. The VAS system has no dedicated budget ...
(1) Whether, in light of the fact that residents of Zwelihle in the Overberg are forced to travel 54 kilometres to access services, there is a mobile unit assigned to service the residents of Zwelihle; if not, why not; if so, (a) how often does the mobile unit travel to Zwelihle and (b) what total number of days does the mobile unit spend in Zwelihle;
(2) whether there are plans to make provision for a mobile unit in Zwelihle; if not, why not; if so, by which date?
(1) Yes there is a mobile unit assigned to service the Zwelihle Community. The mobile unit itineraries/ notice of intended visits are communicated through local Community Leaders, stakeholders as well as the Local and District Municipality social media platforms.
The most commonly used venues where services are mostly rendered from is the Qhayiya Secondary School in Zwelihle and Moffatt Hall which is less than ...
(1)What number of (a) foreign nationals have been appointed at the Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) to date, (b) the specified foreign nationals possess scarce and critical skills that could not be found in the Republic and (c) foreign nationals have acquired permanent residence status in the Republic;
(2) whether he has found that the process of acquiring permanent residence status of the foreign nationals at CGE was legitimate; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;
(3) how has he found (a) was a certain person (name and details furnished) appointed at the CGE in the first job which did not require scarce skills, for the specified person to end up being promoted to the position of chief executive officer and (b) did the person acquire the permanent residence status in the Republic?
Honourable member you are asking us about the activities of a chapter 9 institution. I wish to refer you to Chapter 9, section 181 (4) and (5) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, Act 108 of 1996.
181 (4) No person or organ of the state may interfere with the functioning of these institutions.
(5) These institutions are accountable to the ...
