Immigration Directive No 4 of 2025

Extension of Temporary Concession for Foreign Nationals due to processing delays of appeals

and manual applications contemplated in Section 30(1)(h) of the Immigration Act, read with

Regulation 27(3) of the Regulations.

 

The Department of Home Affairs (the “Department”) has, since issuing Immigration Directive No 16 of 2024 dated 18 December 2024, addressed the backlog in its visa and permitting regime. However, many outcomes of applications will not be ready for collection prior to the deadline of 31 March 2025 on the previous concession, primarily due to delays in the printing process. Furthermore, the processing of the resultant appeals, as well as some manual category applications, will not be completed by the expiry of the current concession, and is now the focus of the Department’s work.

 

The following temporary measures will therefore apply with immediate effect:

1) APPLICANTS WHOSE WAIVER APPLICATION OUTCOMES ARE STILL PENDING

  • Visa holders, who have applied for a waiver and whose waiver application is still pending as at the date of signature of this Directive, are granted a further temporary extension until 30 September 2025, to enable the Department to process the applications, as well as to allow for applicants to collect their outcomes and submit applications for the appropriate visas.
  • Those applicants who wish to abandon their waiver applications and depart from the Republic of South Africa (“the “Republic”) should be allowed to depart from the Republic before or on 30 September 2025, without being declared undesirable as contemplated in section 30(1)(h) of the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act No. 13 of 2002), (the “Immigration Act”), read with regulation 27(3) of the Immigration Regulations, 2014 (the “Immigration Regulations”). A visa holder who needs to travel but is awaiting the outcome of a waiver application should be allowed to depart and re-enter the Republic at a port of entry up to and including 30 September 2025 without being declared undesirable as contemplated in section 30(1)(h) of the Immigration Act, read with regulation 27(3) of the Regulations.
  • However, non-visa exempt applicants who travel out of the country with a waiver application receipt are required to apply for a port of entry visa, which would allow them re-entry into the Republic.

 

2) APPLICANTS WHOSE VISA APPLICATIONS ARE STILL PENDING

  • Visa holders who have applied for long-term visas as contemplated in terms of section 11(1)(b) of the Immigration Act, up to and including sections 20 and 22 of the said Act, and whose visa application is still pending as at the date of signature of this Directive, are granted a further temporary extension of their current visa status until 30 September 2025. Applicants are not allowed to engage in any activity other than what the visa conditions provide for.
  • Visa holders who need to travel, but are awaiting the outcome of a long-term visa application, should be allowed to depart from and re-enter the Republic up to and including 30 September 2025 without being declared undesirable as contemplated in section 30(1)(h) of the Immigration Act, read with regulation 27(3) of the Regulations.
  • However, non-visa exempt applicants who travel out of the country with a long-term visa application receipt are required to apply for a port of entry visa, which would allow them re-entry into the Republic.

 

3) APPLICANTS WHOSE VISA APPEAL APPLICATIONS ARE STILL PENDING

  • Visa holders who have appealed a negative decision on an application for a long-term visa as contemplated in terms of section 11(1)(b) up to and including sections 20 and 22 of the Immigration Act, are granted a temporary extension of their current visa status until 30 September 2025. Applicants are not allowed to engage in any activity other than what the visa conditions provide for.
  • Visa appeal applicants who need to travel but are awaiting the outcome of an appeal application for a long-term visa should be allowed to depart from the Republic and re-enter up to and including 30 September 2025, without being declared undesirable as  contemplated in section 30(1)(h) of the Immigration Act, read with regulation 27(3) of the Regulations.
  • All appeal applicants are required to produce a copy of the rejection letter, together with a receipt and/or confirmation indicating that such a person has submitted an appeal application, on departure from and re-entry into the Republic. Non-visa exempt appeal applicants who travel out of the country with an appeal application receipt and/or confirmation, are required to apply for a port of entry visa, which would allow them re-entry into the Republic.

 

The above temporary measures will apply only to those foreigners who have been legally admitted into the Republic. This concession is also only applicable to applicants who have submitted an application via VFS Global and who can produce a verifiable receipt for such application against the VFS Global tracking system.

Applicants awaiting the outcome of an application for a permanent residence permit are required to ensure that their residential status in South Africa is kept valid at all times while waiting for an outcome. Therefore, the above temporary measures will not apply to permanent residence applicants.