The Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber announced a welcome and timeous reprieve to foreign nationals with pending waivers, long-term visas and appeal applications, submitted in South Africa to travel and remain in the country with specific conditions, just days before the current concession comes to an end.

The extension was widely anticipated as the current concession is in place up to Monday, 31 March 2025. In a directive issued late on Friday, 28 March 2025, Minister Schreiber granted an extension up to and including 30 September 2025.

The Minister said in the directive many outcomes of applications will not be ready for collection prior to the deadline of 31 March 2025, primarily due to delays in the printing process. The processing of appeal applications, as well as some manual category applications, will not be completed by the expiry of the current concession, and is now the focus of the Department's work.

Jaco Brits, Head of Immigration at Xpatweb, welcomed the extension of the concession by the Minister, who has already extended the concession on two previous occasions due to challenges in processing applications at the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).

The key conditions of the extended concession are:

• Applicants who are awaiting the outcomes of waivers, appeals and long-term visa applications may remain in South Africa.
• The affected parties are allowed to depart and re-enter South Africa up to and including 30 September 2025 under specific conditions. 
• The concession allows for departure and re-entry without fear of being declared as an undesirable person.

Brits said it is important to note that applicants from non-visa-exempt countries who travel out of the country with a VFS application receipt are required to apply for a Visitors' Visa in terms of Section 11(1) of the Immigration Act, 2002, which would allow them to re-enter the Republic of South Africa.

The further extension of the concession protects valid visa holders against possible consequences regarding their lawful stay in South Africa while they still await the outcome of applications legally and timeously submitted to the DHA in South Africa. They may continue with their activities as per their current visa conditions, and travel in and out of the country unencumbered, with specific conditions for holders that are not from a visa-exempt country.

Brits said it is commendable that the DHA have eradicated close to 94% of the visa backlog in the last six months, but expediting the process seems to have created new challenges with a rise in the rejection of applications, and consequent appeals. The Minister's commitment in the directive that the DHA will now focus on the processing of the resultant appeals, is a positive development.

The concession was first necessitated in September 2022 due to the backlog in visa application processing at the DHA for submission made in South Africa. At one point, the visa backlog, dating back some 10 years, stood at 300 000.

DHA reiterated that the temporary measures announced will not apply to permanent residence applicants. "Applicants awaiting the outcome of an application for a permanent residence permit are required to ensure that their temporary resident status in South Africa is kept valid at all times while waiting for an outcome," the Directive reads.

Under Minister Schreiber's leadership the DHA continues to reach important milestones and have introduced several encouraging reforms to the visa regime. He has been consistent about his vision for efficient service delivery by embracing modern technological solutions and improving access to the department s services.

The Minister has also, on several occasions, committed to positioning the DHA as a powerful engine for economic growth, acknowledging the importance of highly skilled foreign professionals and how they can contribute to the South African economy. 

Written by Xpatweb