‘Backlog Bomb Squad’ misfire? DHA staff are reportedly under pressure to meet processing quotas. Picture: Moneyweb
Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber recently celebrated clearing a 306 000 visa backlog with the help of a “Backlog Bomb Squad” but immigration agents say this comes with a huge visa rejection rate – up to 80%, according to one.
“I have five high-net-worth individuals who easily qualify for visas based on assets alone, and four of them were rejected,” says Steven de Andrade of Synergy Immigration Specialists.
“I’ve been doing this for 18 years and we’ve learned that the rejection rate mysteriously jumps around November to about March, then normalises thereafter.”
Spokesperson for Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber, Duwayne Esau, says the official data shows 73% of applications in the backlog were approved while 27% were rejected. This is in line with historical trends.
The reason why it occasionally appears like rejections are increasing, is because our backlog team has worked so hard that Government Printing Works has periodically struggled to keep up with printing the labels required for successful applications. As a result, whenever the labels are unavailable, only rejections go out until the labels for approved applications are restocked.
Home Affairs is also ready to deal with any appeals flowing from the backlog in due course.
Stefanie de Saude-Darbandi of immigration law firm De Saude-Darbandi Attorneys says about three of out five visa applications are being rejected by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), and “not one of those rejections has been lawful”.
“It seems like the focus is purely on clearing the backlog rather than making quality decisions,” she says.
“We have no idea who this so-called ‘Bomb Squad’ is and what their background or training is, but if they are responsible for these decisions, it’s clear they don’t know what they’re doing.
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“Please don’t get me wrong, I genuinely believe this minister is the best we’ve had,” she adds.
“Having worked in this industry for nearly 20 years and seen multiple ministers come and go, he’s a breath of fresh air. But I don’t think he fully understands what’s happening on the ground. It could be that his delegates are misleading him, giving him inaccurate information and making the wrong recommendations.”
One German businessman who has invested millions of rands in SA in properties and businesses says he was forced to take the DHA to court – at a cost of R300 000 – to force it to process his application for permanent residence, which he eventually got. Trying to go through the normal channels yielded no result after three years, says the businessman, who asked not to be named. In the end, the court compelled Home Affairs to do its job.
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The SA Migration Forum reports that clients are seeing a surge in seemingly arbitrary rejections by Home Affairs, between 70% and 80%.
“This alarming trend appears to be part of an effort by the Department of Home Affairs to manage an overwhelming backlog of applications, which has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
In one case, a doctor’s visa application was rejected because he did not answer the phone to confirm a medical certificate. Such reports have raised concerns among immigration specialists over the department’s apparent lack of coherent criteria for decision-making.
DHA staff are reportedly under pressure to meet processing quotas, resulting in many justified applications being denied.
Some of the documents being requested are not required by law – for example, spouses in civil marriages are being asked for proof of financial responsibility and cohabitation.
Many applications appear to have been rejected for insufficient financial documentation, creating uncertainty as to what documents DHA considers satisfactory. This has occurred even where VFS Global, which handles applications on behalf of Home Affairs, has indicated that the documents supplied are adequate.
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The high rejection rate means the backlog will likely return in the form of a massive appeals queue by applicants whose visas were rejected.
“Many applicants report receiving vague or no explanations for their rejections, which complicates the appeal process,” says SA Migration International in a recent post.
“The Department is required to provide written reasons for any rejection, but this is often not adhered to, leaving applicants uncertain about how to address the issues raised.”
Schreiber has been lauded for addressing a multi-year backlog at Home Affairs that accumulated under the previous minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, who has since been appointed Minister of Health.
Schreiber recently said the visa backlog deprived our economy of the investment and skills it needs to grow, which is why it was receiving such urgent priority at Home Affairs.
“Some outcomes are still to be issued over the coming weeks and then our teams will deal with appeals flowing from rejections. All of this while we intensify our efforts to digitalise and automate the system to prevent future backlogs,” says Schreiber.
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In apparent recognition of the high number of rejections, which are likely to be appealed, the DHA extended the deadline for submitting appeals to 10 days after the receipt of the outcome. This applies until the end of March 2025.
“As a result of the high number of visa and permit outcomes produced as part of the visa and permit backlog project, the appointment system at VFS Global for submission of appeals applications has been constrained,” was the reason given for the extension by Home Affairs Director-General Livhuwani Makhode in November last year.
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The backlog issue and high rejection rate have spilled over into the courts.
“Even our court cases are falling into contempt, with some orders now in contempt of previous contempt orders,” says De Saude-Darbandi.
This article was republished from Moneyweb. Read the original here.
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