Update on South Africa's immigration, travel and Home Affairs servicesThe pandemic has resulted in many changes to the way we live and travel, as well as substantially impacting the administrative processing of personal and travel documents in South Africa and around the world. Level 1 lockdown came into effect in South Africa from 1 October 2021, coinciding with the reopening of offices of the Department of Home Affairs. There have been numerous recent developments and guidelines regarding the processes around domestic and international travel, in addition to the resumption of Home Affairs services. These developments are summarised below. Image source: © Alexey Poprotsky – 123RF.com International and domestic travelInter-provincial travel is now permitted. The 20 land borders that were fully operational before 1 October remain open and the 33 land borders which were previously closed, remain closed. Traveling to and from South Africa is now permitted, subject to the below:
Validity period of different categories of temporary visasThe validity period of legally issued visas or asylum permits, which expired during the lockdown period, has been extended to 31 December 2021. This extension applies to people who have applied for waivers in terms of section 31(2)(c) of the Immigration Act, 2002, and holders of asylum seeker visas or permits or refugee status. Holders of such visas are permitted to remain in the country under the conditions of their current visas until the expiry of their applicable extension. Those persons who wish to be repatriated to their countries of residence within this period can depart without being declared undesirable persons. The extension, however, does not apply to people who entered South Africa from 15 March 2021. People who enter South Africa from 15 March 2021 will have to adhere to the normal validity period of their respective visas. People who arrived in South Africa between December 2019 and 14 March 2021 with valid visitor visas and who have not departed South Africa since the announcement of the National State of Disaster in March 2020, were deemed to have been valid until 30 September 2021, and were given an opportunity to extend their visas or leave South Africa on or before 30 September 2021. Refugee Reception Centres remain closed to walk-ins. The validity period of asylum and refugee permits that expired during the lockdown and whose holders could not use the online extension service has been extended until 31 December 2021. Asylum seekers and refugees are encouraged to continue renewing their permits via the online platform. Holders of a visa or permit in South Africa must adhere to the terms and conditions of their visa and any activity not endorsed onto their visa or permits is prohibited. Department of Home Affairs resumption of servicesThe operating times of the front offices of the Department of Home Affairs were temporarily extended by two and a half hours from 8am – 5.30pm from 18 October 2021. This extension is to assist with the high demand for services that the Home Affairs offices are currently experiencing. Some 197 of the 412 Home Affairs offices are modernised Live Capture offices, which are able to process Smart ID cards and passports. These are the offices that will operate for extended hours. Applications for identity documents (IDs) are now open for people who were issued with temporary ID certificates and those who have lost their IDs. These IDs will be available for collection within 13 days from the day of application. The suite of services available at Home Affairs are:
About the authorAhlisha Yesmariam, Immigration Paralegal, Employment Practice, Baker McKenzie Johannesburg |