(1)Whether there are any specific challenges and/or constraints within his department that have contributed to the delays in visa processing; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what strategies are being implemented to overcome the challenges;
(2) (a) how is his department communicating with applicants who are experiencing delays in their visa applications and (b) what support mechanisms are in place to provide (i) information and (ii) assistance to those affected by the delays;
(3) what steps has he taken to (a) address the backlog of visa applications and (b) improve the efficiency of the visa application and processing system, with the aim of reducing delays and ensuring a smoother application process for future applicants;
(4) on what date is it envisaged that issues of certain applicants (details furnished) will be attended to?
1) In responding to your question, I think it is very important to mention that South Africa has 17 (seventeen) different types of visas. Not all of them have any challenges and not all of them have backlogs. It would have helped for the question to be specific on the type of visas backlog being referred to. Be that as it may, challenges with ...
What (a)(i) is the progress on developing documented policies and procedures to guide the collection of money due to his department for fines and penalties issued in terms of sections 50(3) and 50(4) of the Immigration Act, Act 13 of 2002, and (ii) is the timeline for the completion of the process and (b) is the quantum in rands of uncollected monies due to his department for fines and/or penalties issued to transport operators in terms of the specified sections of the Immigration Act, Act 13 of 2002?
(a)(i) The Policy relating to the management of administrative fines was approved and signed-off by both the Department of Home Affairs and the Border Management Authority on 31 May 2023. The Policy prescribes the process to guide the collection of revenue due to the Department for fines and penalties issued in terms of sections 50(3) and 50(4) of the Immigration Act, Act No. 13 ...
(a) What recent initiatives and policies aimed at promoting social cohesion, tolerance and the integration of foreign nationals has he initiated and (b) how is his department (i) addressing the root causes of xenophobic violence and (ii) working to ensure the safety and well-being of all residents in the Republic?
(1)(a)(ii) The Department of Home Affairs contributes to the APEX priority of government on Social Cohesion and Safe Communities. As such the Department supports the Department of Arts, Sports and Culture and the Department of Justice on matters of social cohesion, tolerance and integration by issuing enabling documents. The registration of births and issuance of identity documents to citizens are key to access rights ...
What are the relevant details that his department has for all eVisas (a) applied for and (b) issued for each country eligible for the eVisa regime for the period 1 January to 30 October 2023?
|
Country
|
Total Applications Received
|
Approved
|
Rejected
|
Pending
|
|
NIGERIA
|
10103
|
4250
|
5689
|
164
|
|
PAKISTAN
|
8706
|
5676
|
2947
|
83
|
|
INDIA
|
4607
|
1726
|
2715
|
166
|
|
CHINA
|
4577
|
2058
|
2454
|
65
|
|
EGYPT
|
1050
|
498
|
535
|
17
|
|
ROMANIA
|
828
|
311
|
502
|
15
|
|
LITHUANIA
|
441
|
164
|
260
|
17
|
|
PHILLIPINE
|
424
|
125
|
285
|
14
|
|
CAMEROON
|
422
|
192
|
223
|
7
|
|
ETHIOPIA
|
385
|
167
|
213
|
5
|
|
GHANA
|
375
|
65
|
288
|
22
|
|
CROATIA
|
322 ... |
(1)Whether, with reference to the release of over 750 illegal foreign miners who were detained during the September 2023 joint operation in Kleinzee, Northern Cape, on 24 October 2023, he has found that his department was adequately informed by the SA Police Service (SAPS) about the joint operation; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(2) (a) on what date was his department informed of the joint operation and (b) what is the name of the official who was informed of the operation in his department;
(3) whether any planning meetings were held with the SAPS prior to the joint operation; if not, why not; if so, on what dates;
(4) whether any debriefing was held between his department and SAPS on what went wrong and led to the release of the illegal miners; if not, why not; if so, (a) what were the findings, (b) who has been held responsible for the debacle, (c) what disciplinary actions have been taken against the relevant officials and (d) what number of the detained illegal foreign miners had their immigration status confirmed within the required 48 hours?
QUESTION NO. 3924
(1-3) Honourable member, in my previous response to parliamentary question 3586, I indicated that there is a need for better coordination at national level for similar operations by the NATJOINTS and Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster (JCPS) inclusive of all law enforcement Agencies, as well as DHA and Border Management Authority (BMA).
(4) Law enforcement operations are currently still underway ...
Whether (a) he, (b) the Deputy Minister and (c) any other official in his department attended the Rugby World Cup final in France in October 2023; if not; what is the position in this regard; if so, what (i) are the relevant details of each person in his department who attended the Rugby World Cup, (ii) is the total number of such persons and (iii) were the total costs of (aa) travel, (bb) accommodation and (cc) any other related costs that were incurred by his department as a result of the trip(s)?
(a-b): The Deputy Minister and I did not attend the Rugby World Cup final in France in October 2023.
(c) No official in the Department of Home Affairs attended the Rugby World Cup final in France in October 2023 in an official capacity.
The Department of Home Affairs did not incur any expenditure in relation to the Rugby World Cup final in France in ...
Whether, considering his recent statement that there is no backlog of critical skills applications with regard to work permits and noting that a report by The Presidency has revealed that it takes 48 weeks or more to process an application, he has found this to be a reasonable timeline for the processing of a visa; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, (a) what processes need to be followed that take up so much time, (b) what total number of critical skills applications are currently in the system and (c) by what date will the specified applications be completed?
a) The Work Visa Review Report by Operation Vulindlela did not state that it takes Home Affairs 48 weeks to process an application. What the Report pointed out was that a work visa applicant can take about 48 weeks across all entities to obtain supporting documents for an application. These entities are the applicant’s security authorities from country of origin for the Police Clearance ...
(1)Whether he will furnish Mr A C Roos with (a) a list of all the software licences that his department makes use of and (b) the expiry dates of each licence listed; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;
(1)(a)&(b) The Department is not in the position to divulge the information pertaining to software licenses that are used in our applications for security reasons.
END
What is the (a) total budget of the newly established Border Management Authority (BMA) in the 2023-24 financial year and (b) estimated total budget of the BMA in the next two financial years?
1(a) The total Budget for the BMA in the 2023- 2024 is R1 341 225 000.
1(b) The estimated total budget of the BMA in the next two financial years is R2 880 770 000 (R1 407 692 000 and R1 473 078 000 for 2024-25 and 2025-26 financial years respectively).
END
(1)In light of the Pan-African vision of a united and borderless Africa, what other African countries are engaged in talks regarding visa waiver;
(2) whether Nigeria is among the specified countries; if not, what are the reasons for not concluding visa waiver talks with Nigeria which is the biggest economy in Africa; if so, by what date will the visa waiver agreement with Nigeria be implemented?
1. Currently South Africa is engaged in talks of a visa waiver with Uganda.
2. Nigeria is currently not amongst the countries being considered as this is not amongst the issues being discussed with Nigeria. There is a process to follow when discussions on visa waivers are being considered. For now, Nigeria is one of 34 countries to which an e-Visa was extended.
END
