South Africa extends visa concession until December 2024

Due to ongoing delays in the visa process, South Africa has extended a temporary concession for foreign nationals who are awaiting the results of their visa, exemption and appeal applications. This extension, which runs until December 31, 2024, is designed to protect applicants from negative consequences while the Ministry of Home Affairs works through the backlog.

To ease the concerns of those awaiting decisions, the South African government has announced this extension, specifically for foreign nationals currently residing in the country.

This concession is only available to applicants who have submitted their requests through VFS Global. This ensures that foreign nationals will not face negative impacts while their applications are being processed.

Here is a description of what this extension means:

- This concession applies to foreign nationals who were legally admitted to South Africa and who have applied for a visa, exemption or appeal through VFS Global. Applicants must show a valid receipt for their application through the VFS Global tracking system. This measure is intended to help those who are stuck in a waiting period while their requests are processed by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

- Visa holders who have exemption applications pending until June 30, 2024 have now been given an extension until December 31, 2024. This gives the Ministry of Home Affairs more time to handle these applications, giving applicants the opportunity to receive their results and submit the correct visa application.

- Foreign nationals with long-term visa applications (such as visitor, business, study, relative and work visas) pending until June 30, 2024 have also been given an extension of their current visa status until December 31, 2024. This ensures they can legally remain in South Africa while waiting for a decision.

- Visa holders who have appealed a negative decision on their long-term visa applications will also have their current status extended until December 31, 2024. This gives appeals more time to process, without the risk of being left without documents.

- Those awaiting an appeal decision can leave and re-enter South Africa until December 31, 2024. They will need to show their rejection letter and appeal receipt when leaving and returning. Non-visa-exempt applicants will need a visa to re-enter even with an appeal receipt.

- Short-term visa holders (those with visas issued for 90 days or less) awaiting renewal must leave South Africa within 90 days of their visa expiring to avoid being labelled as undesirable. This situation may affect future entry into the country.

By extending this concession, the South African government aims to address delays in visa and waiver processing. The Department of Home Affairs is committed to reducing the backlog and ensuring that applicants, particularly those with the necessary skills, are not negatively impacted.