Oct
02
2023
The short answer
The Director-General of Home Affairs can issue an order that will allow a foreign ex-spouse who applies for a visitor’s or relative’s visa to stay in the country.
The long answer
There was a recent case (June 2022) brought to the Western Cape High Court by several foreign ex-spouses wanting to stay in South Africa as they were contributing to their...
May
19
2023
Legal Resources Centre says these delays are “incredibly worrying”
By Bernard Chiguvare
Refugees living in Limpopo say they have not been able to renew their status for a number of years at the Department of Home Affairs.
As a result they cannot get social grants for their children.
The Legal Resources Centre says people not being able to renew permits at...
Feb
28
2023
The short answer
Yes, both partners in a civil union can choose what surnames they will be known by.
The long answer
The Civil Union Register allows both spouses to choose the surnames by which they will be referred after their marriage, and Part E of the Civil Union Register allows them to indicate the surnames they wish to be recorded in...
Nov
08
2022
The short answer
You can phone their hotline but you will probably have better luck if you get help from a non-government organisation.
The whole question
Dear Athalie
I have been trying to get a birth certificate for my 5-year-old son since 2019 but Home Affairs still hasn't granted me an interview. Every time I go to the office to ask if there...
Oct
20
2022
After a court battle lasting ten years, the new centre is set to open next year
By Tariro Washinyira
The long-awaited Cape Town Refugee Reception Centre in Epping is finally taking shape, with builders hard at work on the site of the new building.
The office is due to be opened early next year after court battles which have lasted ten...
Aug
02
2022
The short answer
You could make a sworn affidavit explaining your circumstances, but you may need legal help.
The whole question
Dear Athalie
How can my 19-year-old brother get a birth certificate when he has no proof of birth (he was born at home), his father's whereabouts are unknown, our late mother did not have an ID? My mother's death certificate is handwritten,...
Jul
28
2022
The Zimbabwean Immigration Federation seeks to defend the rights of Zimbabweans living in South Africa
By Tania Broughton
The Zimbabwean Immigration Federation is to challenge the decision by the South African government to scrap permits for Zimbabweans.
The federation says the permit system was a solution that substantially reduced pressure on asylum management and curbed the ineffective deportation of Zimbabweans.
It...
Oct
08
2021
Asylum application backlog set to grow, with Refugee Reception Offices closed since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic
By Tariro Washinyira
Refugees who arrived in South Africa after March 2020 have had no way to apply for asylum status.
Accumulating new applications will put further pressure on attempts to clear an already huge backlog of asylum claims.
A UNHCR-funded joint project...
Apr
30
2021
Organisations analysed letters denying LGBTI applicants refugee status
By Tariro Washinyira
A report released on Thursday by several civil society organisations has found evidence that LGBT refugees are being denied asylum in South Africa despite being “eligible for protection under international and domestic law”.
The authors of the report surveyed denial letters for 67 asylum applicants who had applied for asylum on the basis of...
Mar
23
2021
Still no functional refugee reception office in Cape Town
By Tariro Washinyira
Despite court orders, since Home Affairs closed its refugee reception office in Cape Town it has not reopened a new one.
Home Affairs dragged the matter through the courts for six years, losing every time.
Since 2017 it has made little progress in reopening a “fully functional refugee reception...