Home Affairs Directed to Grant Visa to UK Accounting Professional Within 30 Days

The Home Affairs department has been directed to issue a critical skills work visa to a British professional within 30 days, following a lengthy two-year wait. This comes after a prior ruling from the Pretoria High Court instructed the department to process the visa immediately.

The same court has determined that the Minister of Home Affairs and the department’s director general are in contempt for not adhering to a previous court order from 2024 regarding the visa approval.

The court’s ruling affirms that the British applicant has the right to enter, reside, and continue working in South Africa, as well as to exit and re-enter the country while the visa is under review.

Additionally, the court has barred the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) from arresting, detaining, labeling the applicant undesirable, or deporting him back to Britain during the visa application process.

Read/listen: New visa changes to facilitate entry into SA

Unreasonable grounds for denial

The reasons provided for the visa denial were found to be unreasonable, given that the professional is associated with recognized accounting institutions both in South Africa and globally, as clearly indicated in the visa application. The court has mandated that Home Affairs issue the visa within 30 days.

Benjamin van Zyl, an immigration consultant and attorney at Xpatweb, who represents the visa applicant, highlights that while the DHA has made progress in tackling the visa backlog since Leon Schreiber took office, the department still faces challenges from ongoing appeals related to the previous administration’s delays.

Immigration consultants speaking with Moneyweb have noted that even though the visa backlog may be decreasing, the rates of visa rejections have increased, potentially skewing the backlog statistics.

Read/listen: Home Affairs making efforts to reduce waiting times and visa backlog

‘Significant backlog’

Stefanie deSaude Darbandi, who was recently appointed to the Immigration Advisory Board by Schreiber, noted an unusual trend of illogical visa rejections during December and January. “Since that period, there has been some improvement, but we find ourselves approximately back where we were before the backlog arose.”

“Many decisions are still being poorly executed, and the overall rejection rate remains excessively high, along with a considerable backlog in both new applications and appeals.”

Immigration attorney Steven de Andrade mentioned that he has faced numerous visa rejections, which only adds to the appeals backlog.

While Home Affairs may have resolved the visa backlog, this has translated into a new backlog of appeals.

Van Zyl remarks that the effort to accelerate visa processing seems to have led to new issues, including an increase in application rejections and a surge in subsequent appeals.

‘No response on her appeal’

DeSaude Darbandi observes that these appeals are often met with little response. “We are seeing improvements in processing times, but appeals often go unanswered. A client reached out to us in distress this morning. She submitted her application two and a half years ago, her initial visa was mistakenly denied, and she is the spouse of a South African.”

“She filed her appeal about a year ago without receiving any feedback. She even addressed a letter directly to the minister and received a response months ago, yet her appeal is still unresolved.”

“There remain numerous legal cases approaching contempt [of court], resulting in rushed decisions with poor outcomes, leaving clients stuck in the appeal cycle or forcing them to litigate again.”

“I want to stay hopeful, especially with the new minister, but there is still a long road ahead.”

Another lengthy delay

Despite some improvements in visa processing, complex historical cases are still unresolved, according to Van Zyl. One notable case involves a wealthy UK citizen who applied for a “financially independent permit” to permanently reside in South Africa five years ago. She has proven her net assets far exceed the required R12 million minimum and has appealed two refusals from the DHA over the past three years.

During this time, she maintained long-term temporary residency in South Africa through a four-year ‘retired person’s visa’ while waiting for her permanent residence appeal to be adjudicated.

Read: Why SA is an appealing retirement destination

Another unexpected rejection occurred when she sought to renew her retired persons (RP) visa, especially since she had been previously granted an RP visa.

Ultimately, establishing a more efficient and transparent visa system will benefit all stakeholders; however, until then, legal intervention remains a necessary recourse in certain situations, particularly for legacy backlogs, says Van Zyl.

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