NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 239
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Friday, 22 February 2013
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 2 of 2013
Mr G B D Mc Intosh (Cope) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether (a) foreign nationals with (i) temporary or permanent work
permits,
(ii) temporary or permanent residence permits and (iii) refugee status
and (b) asylum seekers are categorised according to their countries of
origin; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, how many
countries had more than 2000 people in each of the categories (aa) in
(aaa) 2009, (bbb) 2010, (ccc) 2011 and (ddd) 2012 and (bb) since
1 January 2013;
(2) whether there are any bilateral agreements in place with any
specified countries in relation to (a) work seekers, (b) refugees and
(c) asylum seekers; if not, what is the position in this regard; if
so, with which countries in each case?
NW256E
REPLY:
Temporary work and permanent residence permits:
(1)(a)(i) & (ii) Foreigners applying for temporary residence permits and
permanent residence permits are not categorised according to
their countries of origin. The information where 2000 or more
permits were issued in respect of a specific country is
specified in the table below.
2(a) There are no bilateral agreements in place with any specified
countries in respect of work seekers. The Department of Home
Affairs is in the process of rreviewing its immigration policy
to regulate work seekers.
Temporary work permits:
|Country of origin|2009 |2010 |2011 |2012 |2013 |
|Angola |0 |0 |2165 |2275 |0 |
|Bangladesh |0 |2022 |3027 |3133 |0 |
|China |0 |6431 |8838 |7309 |0 |
|Democratic |0 |0 |3067 |3284 |0 |
|Republic of the | | | | | |
|Congo | | | | | |
|Germany |0 |2483 |2998 |2865 |0 |
|Ghana |0 |0 |2013 |0 |0 |
|India |0 |6045 |8740 |8711 |0 |
|Lesotho |0 |2366 |3127 |2796 |0 |
|Malawi |0 |0 |2265 |2045 |0 |
|Nigeria |0 |8810 |10608 |11028 |0 |
|Pakistan |0 |3806 |5376 |5928 |0 |
|United Kingdom |0 |4015 |4762 |4361 |0 |
|Zimbabwe |0 |142689 |99282 |52826 |4926 |
Permanent residence permits:
More than 2000 permanent residence permits were not issued in respect of
any country in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and since 01 January 2013.
Refugees and asylum seekers:
(1)(a)(iii) Asylum seekers applying for refugee status are not
categorised according to their countries of origin. The
information where 2000 or more permits were issued in respect of
a specific country is specified in the table below:
|Year |Country |Number of asylum |
| | |seekers |
|2009 |Zimbabwe |253240 |
| |Malawi |30203 |
| |Ethiopia |26096 |
| |Democratic |21055 |
| |Republic of the | |
| |Congo (DRC) | |
| |Bangladesh |18048 |
| |Republic of Congo |13926 |
| |Pakistan |9667 |
| |Somalia |9082 |
| |India |7673 |
| |Peopleâs Republic |6767 |
| |of China (PROC) | |
| |Mozambique |6634 |
| |Niger |6256 |
| |Tanzania |5950 |
| |Uganda |4416 |
| |Burundi |4164 |
| |Nigeria |3706 |
| |Ghana |2809 |
| |Cameroon |2017 |
| |
|2010 |Zimbabwe |231622 |
| |Ethiopia |24354 |
| |DRC |23663 |
| |Bangladesh |19914 |
| |Malawi |14747 |
| |Somalia |13897 |
| |Republic of Congo |12734 |
| |Pakistan |11229 |
| |Nigeria |5661 |
| |India |5579 |
| |PROC |5224 |
| |Uganda |4550 |
| |Burundi |4213 |
| |Mozambique |4171 |
| |Tanzania |3434 |
| |Niger |3205 |
| |Ghana |3085 |
| |Cameroon |2252 |
| |
|2011 |Zimbabwe |136491 |
| |Ethiopia |39594 |
| |DRC |29717 |
| |Bangladesh |24382 |
| |Somalia |19075 |
| |Republic of Congo |14169 |
| |Pakistan |13296 |
| |Malawi |12323 |
| |India |6136 |
| |Nigeria |6102 |
| |Uganda |5503 |
| |Burundi |5226 |
| |Ghana |3381 |
| |PROC |3298 |
| |Niger |2760 |
| |Mozambique |2601 |
| |Tanzania |2497 |
| |Cameroon |2453 |
| |
|2012 |Zimbabwe |87521 |
| |Ethiopia |44453 |
| |DRC |32035 |
| |Bangladesh |26355 |
| |Somalia |16667 |
| |Pakistan |15764 |
| |Republic of Congo |13541 |
| |Malawi |12645 |
| |Nigeria |12618 |
| |India |8513 |
| |Uganda |6621 |
| |Burundi |5434 |
| |Ghana |5247 |
| |PROC |3963 |
| |Cameroon |3074 |
| |Mozambique |2957 |
| |Niger |2319 |
| |
|01/01/2013 to|Zimbabwe |22083 |
| | | |
|25/02/2013 | | |
| |Ethiopia |18520 |
| |DRC |12722 |
| |Bangladesh |10408 |
| |Pakistan |6056 |
| |Republic of Congo |5470 |
| |Nigeria |4719 |
| |Somali |4465 |
| |Malawi |3977 |
| |India |3096 |
| |Uganda |2644 |
| |Burundi |2229 |
The following countries had more than 2000 new applications
approved for refugee status in each of the requested years. The
information is specified in the tables below. For 2013, no
country has reached 2000 applications of recognised refugees.
|Year |Country |Number |
|2009 |Somalia |12633 |
| |DRC |9452 |
| |Ethiopia |5399 |
| |Republic of |2639 |
| |Congo | |
| |Zimbabwe |2161 |
| | | |
|Year |Country |Number |
|2010 |Somalia |12984 |
| |DRC |7357 |
| |Ethiopia |4769 |
| |Zimbabwe |2847 |
| | | |
|Year |Nationality |Number |
|2011 |Somalia |18024 |
| |DRC |10223 |
| |Ethiopia |8204 |
| |Republic of |2689 |
| |Congo | |
| | | |
|Year |Nationality |Number |
|2012 |Somalia |12761 |
| |DRC |8711 |
| |Ethiopia |6604 |
| |Zimbabwe |2668 |
(2)(b)&(c) The Refugee Steering Committee of the Refugee Commissionersâ
Sub-Sub Committee of the Public Security Sub Committee
(PSSC) within SADC Secretariat, has facilitated the
development of the draft framework for regional bilateral
engagements. Once adopted, it will guide the negotiations
for during bilateral agreements. Currently, the Department
of Home Affairs does not have bilateral agreements with any
specified countries on asylum seeker and refugee management.