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

The Home Affairs department has been instructed to issue a crucial skills work visa to a British professional within 30 days after a lengthy two-year delay, following a prior directive from the Pretoria High Court mandating that the visa be processed “forthwith.”

The same court has found the Minister of Home Affairs and the department’s director general in contempt for not adhering to a previous court ruling from 2024 that ordered the visa to be granted.

The court’s ruling confirms the British applicant’s right to enter, reside, and work in South Africa, as well as exit and re-enter the country while the visa is being processed.

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

Read/listen: New visa changes to facilitate entry into South Africa

Unfounded reasons for rejection

The stated reasons for the visa rejection were considered unfounded, given that the professional is associated with recognized accounting organizations in both South Africa and internationally, as detailed in the visa application. The court ordered Home Affairs to issue the visa within 30 days.

Benjamin van Zyl, an immigration consultant and attorney at Xpatweb representing the visa applicant, points out that although the DHA has made progress in tackling the visa backlog since Leon Schreiber took over as minister, the department still faces appeals stemming from the previous administration’s backlog.

Immigration consultants speaking with Moneyweb report that even though the visa backlog appears to be lessening, the rates of visa rejections have increased, potentially skewing the backlog statistics.

Read/listen: Home Affairs accelerating efforts to reduce queues and visa backlog

‘Notable backlog’

Stefanie deSaude Darbandi, who was recently appointed to the Immigration Advisory Board by Schreiber, noted a peculiar pattern of unreasonable visa rejections in December and January. “Although there has been some improvement since then, we’re still roughly where we were before the backlog emerged.”

“Many decisions are still poorly executed, the overall rejection rate remains too high, and there continues to be a notable backlog in both new applications and appeals.”

Immigration attorney Steven de Andrade has observed multiple visa rejections, which further adds to the appeals backlog.

While Home Affairs may have resolved the visa backlog, this has now resulted in an appeals backlog.

Van Zyl suggests that the recent push to expedite visa processing seems to have introduced new hurdles, such as an increase in application rejections and a rise in subsequent appeals.

‘No updates on her appeal’

DeSaude Darbandi has noted that these appeals appear to receive little attention. “We are noticing improvements in processing times, but when appeals are submitted, they are often met with silence. Just this morning, a client reached out in distress. She submitted her application two and a half years ago, her initial visa was wrongly rejected, and she is married to a South African.”

“She filed her appeal about a year ago and has not yet received a response. She even contacted the minister directly and received a reply several months ago, but her appeal remains unaddressed.”

“Numerous legal matters are edging towards contempt [of court], resulting in hasty decisions with poor outcomes, throwing clients back into the appeal loop or forcing them to litigate again.”

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

Another lengthy delay

Despite some progress in visa processing, complicated 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 live permanently in South Africa five years ago. She has proven that her net assets far exceed the required R12 million threshold and has appealed two DHA rejections over the course of three years.

During this time, she maintained long-term temporary residency in South Africa through a four-year ‘retired person’s visa’ while awaiting the resolution of her permanent residency appeal.

Read: Why South Africa is an appealing retirement destination

She later faced another rejection regarding her application to renew her retired persons (RP) visa. Van Zyl mentions that this second rejection was unexpected, particularly since she had previously been granted an RP visa.

Ultimately, a more efficient and transparent visa system will benefit all parties involved; however, until that happens, legal intervention remains a crucial safeguard in specific cases, especially for legacy backlogs, according to Van Zyl.

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