Home Affairs to pounce on illegal immigrants
"Owners have a responsibility to make sure their tenants have a valid visa."
Employers and landlords will be charged and jailed for non-compliance should they be found to be housing illegal immigrants.
This was revealed by officials from the Department of Home Affairs at a meeting held in Bedford Gardens last Wednesday.
Body corporates managing the blocks of flats along Leicester and Kirkby roads expressed concerns of overcrowding in the buildings.
They said many foreign nationals living in the flats do not have proper documentation to prove their legality in the country.
Ms Sylvia Motona, head of the department’s immigration component in Ekurhuleni, said property owners have the responsibility to comply with the Immigration Act.
“Owners have a responsibility to make sure their tenants have a valid visa. They also need to verify the documents presented to them by their prospective tenants before allowing them into their property. These need to be kept in a register and made available to immigration officers when they come for inspections,” said Ms Motona.
She said the same rule applies to residents employing foreign nationals.
The department’s regional head, Ms Makhong Moeketsi, said residents should take it upon themselves to know what to look for when verifying visa documentation.
“As far as work permits are concerned, Zimbabweans had a special dispensation that allowed them to be in the country despite offering non-specialised skills. To this end, visas given to Zimbabwean nationals will only state that the holder is to take employment in South Africa, whereas with all other countries the visas need to be specific and state who the employer is,” said Ms Moeketsi.
Mr Farouk Jogiat said some foreign nationals renting apartments in the buildings have a total disregard the law.
Sharing his sentiments were managers of neighbouring buildings who accused foreign nationals of being a law unto themselves.
“One person will move in with the proper documentation, but a week later seven other people move in with him and by that time it’s too late for us to ask for documentation. They are violent and team up to threaten security guards,” said one building manager.
Ms Moeketsi encouraged the body corporates to hold owners accountable.
She said domestic workers hailing from Lesotho and working in Bedfordview should look out for the new, special permits dispensation that opened as of March 1.
