What to Expect from Minister Malusi Gigaba | Lessons from Immigration and Work Permit Professionals

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Streamlined Work Visas

Minister Malusi Gigaba was appointed as Minister of Home Affairs in May 2014. We have no specialist knowledge on his relationship with his former employees, however, dealing with the Department of Home Affairs on work visas daily, we have seen the positive transformation with him at the helm. The Department now have better processes, legislative direction and drastically improved administration (except perhaps in the case of an application for a “general” work visa which requires the Department of Labour’s blessing). Our sense is that the Minister has created a space for competent home affairs officials to get things done.

Some recent initiatives include the formal introduction of permanent residency for graduates, the introduction of VFS to outsource administration and a White Paper to completely revamp work visas and migration etc. There is, of course, unfinished business such as with regard to the law that obliges South African passport holders to travel with their passport in and out of South Africa and how South Africa should be dealing with the thorny matter of dual passport holders. However, the bottom line is that the Minister has done plenty in a short period of time and where many before him have failed dismally. As work visa and immigration specialists, we are sad to see him go and he leaves a much more robust Home Affairs department.

Some Negatives

Some of the less favourable examples of Gigaba’s legacy are, of course, the requirement of abridged birth certificates for children travelling to South Africa and the more recent inspections to ensure South African businesses comply with the requirement to employ a minimum of 60% South African citizens. In particular, how the abridged birth certificate issue was handled has raised many concerns and may have cost our country plenty.

Onto Finance and Tax

So, what does the Minister’s appointment mean for National Treasury and SARS, both being structurally sounder than the Home Affairs department which Minister Gigaba inherited? As he did with Home Affairs, the Minister will probably allow the good guys to get on with their work. There may be some winning over to do, as he comes in with a negative presumption on the reason for his appointment, however, if you consider where Home Affairs was a couple of years ago, compared to where it is now, I have more hope than most.

A bigger concern will be whether he intends to adopt any controversial positions. As he is now dealing with economic and tax policy, the cost will be far greater if the Minister should allow another abridged birth certificate type debacle. That matter has shown us that he takes principled policy decisions and drives them hard even where there is good evidence that a contrary view would be preferred.

The Minister has achieved much at an early age, which will hopefully come with the ability to learn from one’s mistakes and make a good recovery thereafter. He might even connect the long-waited dots between tax policy and immigration matters.

Rattling Some Cages

More accurate registering and tracking of foreign nationals was one of the Minister’s landmark initiatives while at the helm of the Home Affairs department. Sharing that ability with SARS to ensure everyone pays their taxes will no doubt make a difference to our tax collection. Coming down on employers of foreign nationals who do not play by the rules was something important to him, and now with the taxman doing his bidding, he should arrive with more purpose. On the passport matter, South African passport holders who contribute nothing to our fiscus and feel they owe the country nothing (even though they use our passport) may also find themselves on the wrong side of the Minister, especially with some recent policy announcements on expatriate taxes. Making a tax check on passport renewals is an easy step with the systems he has introduced.

I may be one of the few positive voices, but our work permit business has transformed under his stewardship, mainly due to the creation of an environment which looks after the ones who align themselves with good practice and compliance. Obviously, I will have to chin-up if by publishing there has been a presidency change, but if I can make one request to the new kingpin, it is that he transfer Minister Gigaba back to Home Affairs.

 

By Marisa Jacobs

Director – Head of Immigration and Mobility

Xpatweb

Citizenship for children born to foreign parents in SA under investigation

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According to Advocate Priscilla Jana, deputy chairperson of the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), the organisation has been unaware that unabridged birth certificates were not issued to such children.

Following confusion and disappointment after the implementation of the unabridged birth certificates visa regulations for minor travellers going in and out of SA, the SAHRC now says they will review why children born in the country to foreign parents are not automatically awarded citizenship by the Department of Home Affairs.

DHA spokesperson, Thabo Mokgola told Cape Argus earlier this week that the department’s policy was that “for record purposes, a notice of birth” is issued to children born to foreign parents in SA instead.

The DHA also says that despite the SAHRC claims, South Africa “legislation on this fundamental matter of citizenship is clear”.

“The basic principle of the South African citizenship is that a child follows the citizenship or nationality of his or her parents. If one parent is a South African citizen, the child will be a citizen by birth,” the DHA says. “A foreign child adopted by South African citizens becomes a citizen by descent whilst a naturalised citizen is one who has complied with the requirements for naturalisation as set out in section 5 of the South African Citizenship Act.”

Not South African citizens 

The DHA says that children can only become citizens of South Africa “in terms of birth, descent or naturalisation. Citizenship is not in every country based on nationality of territory. Children born of permanent residents follow their parents’ status.”

They say that children born outside of these requirements have to follow a different protocol. The notification of birth issued by hospitals in SA can “be taken to the parents’ countries of origin for registration and issuance of passport, after which the child will be issued with a derivative permanent residence permit status, upon application.”

According to Mokgola, a notice of birth, containing the child’s foreign parents’ details as correctly documented in their valid passports and visas, will be sufficient for the child to travel outside of the country to be registered.

Mokgola tells Traveller24 that children born to registered and documented refugees and asylum seekers will also be able to use the notice of birth to exit the country to gain citizenship from their parents’ country of origin.

Illegal foreign parents ‘disadvantaging their own children’

The DHA notes that when foreign parents are in South Africa illegally, and a child is born in the country to such parents, they are “disadvantaging their own children” as these children’s notice of birth will not be helpful in gaining the child citizenship.

Many foreign parents in SA are not registered, however, and their children are automatically disadvantaged and their human rights infringed upon because of this.

But the DHA insists that it’s the “parents who fail to take responsibility to safeguard their children’s identity and nationality, precisely because they themselves are in the country illegally”.

Infringement of children’s rights 

It is exactly here where the SAHRC along with Cape Town attorney Joy van der Heyde feels that children’s rights are infringed upon due to no fault of their own.

Van der Heyde tells Cape Argus that she deals with such cases, and has filed nine notices against Home Affairs in the Western Cape High Court. All notices related to the department’s alleged refusal to issue unabridged birth certificates to foreign parents.

Van der Heyde points out that the notice of birth is issued by the hospital when a child is born can not serve as an identity document, which means that the child cannot be registered at school or obtain social grants.

Furthermore, it is impossible to adopt a child without an unabridged birth certificate, which is a further disadvantage to children born in such circumstances.

Confusion for minor travel 

In cases where one parent is South African, and the other a foreign citizen, the latter parent’s details are also not included in the child’s birth certificate – which is both an infringement on the child’s rights as well as his or her right ability to travel.

As both parents won’t be listed on the unabridged birth certificate, the child will be unable to travel in and out of the country as they need the consent of both parents to do so.

It is every child’s right to have a name, identity number or a country of origin and the DHA’s refusal to issue children born in SA with the proper documents falls short of their basic human rights, hence the SAHRC involvement.

 

As published by traveller24.news24.com

Private Institutes To Be Registered With Department of Higher Education – WAIVED

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A ‘learning institution’ is defined as follows in the regulation –

  1. “An institution of higher education established in terms of the Higher Education Act, 1997 (Act No. 101 of 1997); or
  1. A college established in terms of the Further Education and Training Colleges Act, 2006 (Act No. 16 of 2006), but does not include-
    1. a school offering further education and training programmes under the South African Schools Act, 1996 (Act No. 84 of 1996); or
    2. a college under the authority of a government department other than the Department of Higher Education and Training; or
  1. A school contemplated in section 1 of the South African Schools Act, 1996 (Act No. 84 of 1996).”

The waiver states that when applying for a study visa, the applicants must comply with all the requirements, however will be accepted where Learning Institutes are still in the process of registering with the relevant Education Department.

Click here to view the directive.

Click to view the list of –

The list will be updated by the Department regularly.

ABOUT HLENGIWE MKHIZE

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Ms Mkhize is currently serving as the Minister of Home Affairs.

She was born on 6 September 1952. She served as a Member of Parliament since 2009. A founding member, and trustee, of the Children and Violence Trust since 1995, had been a trustee of the Malibongwe Business Trust from 2005. Professor Mkhize holds a BA degree in Psychology, Social Work and Sociology (University of Zululand); BA Hons (Psychology) and a Masters in Clinical Psychology from the University of Natal. She was a senior lecturer and researcher at Wits from 1990 until 1995. She was a board member of the South African Prisoner’s Organisation for Human Rights from 1994 to 1995; Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) Commissioner and Chairperson of the Reparations and Rehabilitation committee from 1995 to 2003. Prior to her appointment, Prof Mkhize was ambassador to the Netherlands, had a short stint as Deputy Minister for Correctional Services and most recently served as the Deputy Minister of Telecommunications and Postal Services.

Source: (info.gov.za and www.itweb.co.za)