I would like to thank you all for your presence today as we inaugurate one of the eleven (11) Visa Facilitation Centres that we shall operate around the country in order the better and easier to facilitate the application for different kinds of visas.  

The Department of Home Affairs has the responsibility to manage immigration effectively and securely in the best interest of the nation to advance the socio-economic development of our country.  

In pursuit of this strategic goal, we have modernized the immigration service by overhauling the administration of the permitting processes, although this is by no means complete. 

In this regard, we appointed VFS Global to receive and manage visa and permit applications in South Africa. 

The company is given the mandate to automate the application processes, develop a solution for biometric intake in line with the new immigration regulations, manage a dedicated permitting call centre and deliver outcomes to clients efficiently and timely. 

The current measures being introduced in the country add impetus to similar ones the Department made in high volume missions such as Nigeria, China, Ghana, DRC, Angola and Kenya. 

In these missions, and as part of improving services to clients, the Department had to cut long queues and reduce turn-around times to adjudicate visas.  

This intervention had a positive impact on South Africa’s adjudication of visas. 

Through the introduction of VFS in South Africa, clients are now required to apply on-line, set-up appointments and visit the visa facilitation centres for biometric intake.  

Unlike in the past, clients can now pay using electronic methods for both the handling fee for VFS and visa fees due to the state.  

All of this constitutes a radical departure from the existing mode of manual application processes that are responsible for inefficiencies within the permitting environment, creating massive inconveniences to clients. 

In making this paradigm shift in our visa and permitting regime, VFS Global has established 11 Visa Facilitation Centres in all of our nine provinces, with Gauteng and the Western Cape Provinces each having two centres in light of their high volume of applications. 

It is critical to note that the decisions to either approve or reject applications remain with the Department.  

We exercise full control over the decision-making processes to ensure that our national interests and security imperatives are served at all times. 

DHA is a learning department, and quite clearly the previous visa and permitting process was not working as applicants were frustrated by long lead times and poor tracking of applications. 

The department determined that partnering with a specialist service provider was the best way quickly to improve efficiencies and turnaround times.  

We are building on the work we have done since we embarked on the modernization of Home Affairs, by bringing more technological innovation to improve services.  

In this way we will also be able to reduce possible acts of corruption associated with the manual permit processing system. 

The handover of application intake to VFS has enabled DHA Immigration Services to focus its efforts on automating and improving the adjudication process and deploy some of the resources previously utilised for visa and permit applications to other critical services. 

Results are beginning to show. 

Where previously our 8 week turnaround time was frequently missed, already applicants who applied for visas and permits in mid-June are beginning to receive decisions.  

An indication of the enthusiastic response to the new system is that 4000 applications were received in June alone. 

The decision on our part to appoint a private service provider for visa facilitation services should be understood within the broader context of the work we are doing to strengthen South Africa’s immigration policy to meet the country’s goal of transforming the economy, attracting investment, creating sustainable jobs and improving the lives of our people. 

South Africa is open for business and to all people of goodwill around the world who want to contribute to her development. 

While we remain committed to helping the country create a climate conducive for investment and to assist in bringing critical skills to contribute to economic development, it remains critical for us as a country to upgrade security, in the interest of our citizens and foreign nationals in the country, as is the case everywhere else in the world. 

Socio-economic development and security cannot be portrayed as antithetical to and mutually-exclusive of one another; one without the other can and will fail. 

Furthermore, we urge all applicants for visas to bear with us as this system is still new and is bound to confront some technical glitches. 

This is only natural and with time, it will be addressed and everyone will be happy. 

I thank you for giving us this opportunity to address you on this significant improvement in our immigration management services. 

I thank you.