Immigration Directive NO. 6 of 2026 - Temporary VISA concession to passengers and crew of airlines who are affected by airspace closures in the Middle East and the Gulf Region

1. I, Dr L A Schreiber, MP, Minister of Home Affairs, with the powers vested in me in terms of section 31(2)(c) of the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act No. 13 of 2002) (Immigration Act), and in an attempt to assist passengers and crew of airlines who are affected by airspace closures in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Qatar, Bahrein, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan and Oman due to military strikes in the Middle East and the Gulf region have made the following temporary concessions:

  1. Passengers and crew of airlines who are affected by airspace closures, whose long-terms visas are due to expire up until 31 March 2026 and who are able to meet all the prescribed requirements, be allowed to apply for visitor’s visas as contemplated in section 11(1)(a) of the Immigration Act, on or before the expiry of the current visa. No change of status or conditions will be allowed.
  2. Visitor’s visas: Passengers and crew of airlines who are affected by airspace closures, whose visitors’ visas have reached their maximum validity period and are technically not renewable in terms of section 11(1)(a) of the Immigration Act, will be allowed to apply for the same visa with the same conditions for a period not exceeding three months. No change of status or conditions will be allowed.c) Insofar as passengers and crew of airlines who are affected by airspace closures, whose temporary residence visas have expired, are allowed to submit renewal applications for their visas without the need to first obtain a FORM 20 (Authorisation for an illegal foreigner to remain in the country pending an application for status).
  3. Any passenger or crew member of an airline who is affected by airspace closures and who has an application pending for adjudication and may be able to board a flight once available, should not be declared an undesirable person for having overstayed the validity of his or her visa.
  4. Any passenger or crew member of an airline who is affected by airspace closures, who was unable to depart on time and was declared undesirable on departure dating from 26 February 2026 due to circumstances influenced by the closure of airspace, may submit an appeal accompanied by reasonable evidence to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

2. This temporary visa concession is applicable only to passengers and crew of airlines who are affected by airspace closures and who were legally admitted into South Africa through a port of entry, and will apply until 31 May 2026 or until the date of declaration of a ceasefire that reopens travel in the affected region, whichever comes first.

 

DR L.A. SCHREIBER, MP

MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS