The Department of Home Affairs has extended the closing date of applications for the Lesotho Special Permits to 30 September 2016. Unregistered Lesotho nationals living, studying or running businesses in South Africa have now been given an extension of three months to get their documents in order and take advantage of the Lesotho Special Permit (LSP).
To date, only some 40 000 Lesotho nationals have applied for the LSP from an estimated population of 400 000 Basotho in South Africa.
With this extension, Lesotho nationals, particularly those who have been in South Africa since before 30 September 2015, are advised to apply for LSP on priority. The LSP is a joint project between the South African and Lesotho governments and aims to legalize the stay of Lesotho nationals in South Africa.
Basotho nationals can visit one of the 11 LSP Application Centres in South Africa to get assistance they need to validate their residency in South Africa (see list of centres in ‘Where to get your LSP’ box below). LSP Form Filling Desks are also being rolled out in key areas – one was recently launched in Maseru at Maseru Mall and Mondlo at the Dept. of Home Affairs Office.
Various community outreach programmes have been held in the townships to ease accessibility for Lesotho nationals living in remote areas to apply for the LSP.
• A series of Imbizos have been organised in the Free State, Gauteng and the Eastern Cape to ensure that undocumented Lesotho nationals are able to apply for the permit, and for their Lesotho IDs in South Africa, before the closing date with all the necessary documentation in hand.
• Mobile Facilitation Centres are being launched in some key areas – the next one is coming up in KwaZulu-Natal – to increase accessibility to the programme for Lesotho nationals.
• Applicants who may not have access to the Internet can walk-in to any LSP application centre (from 8 am to 1 pm), and complete filling and submission of their online form.
One of the possible reasons for the low number of applications has been due to applicants not having a Lesotho ID, a pre-requisite for the LSP. To address this, Lesotho ID card application desks have been set up for applicants alongside the LSP centres (see box below for locations).
Another challenge has been for Lesotho nationals to get proof of employment letters that are required for the LSP application. Both the DHA and Lesotho governments have appealed to employers and those having domestic workers from Lesotho to give the applicants these letters.
The governments of Lesotho and South Africa agreed to open the LSP programme on 1 February 2016. The special permit will be valid for three years, and will expire on 31 December 2019.
The South Africa and Lesotho Governments have earlier reiterated that Lesotho nationals who qualify must apply for their special permits before the closing date, so as to avoid the serious consequences of missing out on this opportunity, including loss of work, study and business prospects, arrest and deportation.
WHERE TO GET LESOTHO ID
1. Port Elizabeth – Department of Home Affairs Office, Govan Mbeki Ave & Bagshaw Street, Port Elizabeth, 6001
2. Sterkspruit – Department of Home Affairs Office
3. Bloemfontein – Lesotho Special Permit Facilitation Centre, 48 Glen Road, Hilton, Bloemfontein
4. Welkom – Lesotho Consulate, Room 201 Floor 2 Elizabeth Hse, Elizabeth St, City Centre, Welkom, 9459
5. Klerksdorp – Lesotho Consulate, 20 Neser St, Klerksdorp, 2570
6. Gauteng – Lesotho Consulate, 222 Smit St, Johannesburg, 2001
7. Pretoria – Lesotho High Commission, 391 Anderson Street, Menlo Park, 0007 Arcadia, Pretoria
8. Durban – Lesotho Consulate, 301 Westguard House, Corner West and Gardiner Streets, Durban
WHERE TO GET YOUR LSP
The DHA has dedicated LSP application centres through its partnership with VFS Global in:
• Limpopo: Polokwane
• North West: Rustenburg
• Western Cape: Cape Town and George
• Mpumalanga: Nelspruit
• Gauteng: Midrand and Bedfordview in Johannesburg
• Eastern Cape: Port Elizabeth
• Free State: Bloemfontein
• KwaZulu-Natal: Durban
• Northern Cape: Kimberley
The VFS Centres are listed on the VFS website www.vfsglobal.com/lsp/southafrica. Applicants for the special permit must fulfil the following requirements to qualify for the LSP, a Lesotho national must:
• Be registered on the National Population Register (NPR) system of Lesotho and a have a Lesotho ID card
• Have a valid passport or travel document with a unique Lesotho identity (ID) number
• Ensure that the passport is valid for a period of more than four years. If the validity period of the passport or the travel document is less than four years, the holder will bear the cost of the replacement of both the passport and the LSP into the new passport
• Lesotho nationals who are in South Africa for less than 12 months need to have a police clearance certificate from Lesotho that is not more than six-months old
• Applicants DO NOT need to apply for a South African police clearance certificate. The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) in South Africa will obtain the South African Police Service clearance on behalf of all LSP applicants
• Provide proof of:
o Employment or affidavit from employer – to be issued with an LSP work permit
o Business registration with SARS and CIPRO – to get an LSP business permit
o Registration with an educational institution – for an LSP study permit
*All supporting documents or letters from an employer, school or business must show that the applicant has been residing in South Africa since before 30 September 2015.
FRAUDULENT TRAVEL DOCUMENTS
Those applicants who may have fraudulently obtained South African documents need to surrender them to the designated DHA office, and obtain an amnesty letter. This amnesty is until 31 December 2016.
Below is the list of DHA offices where documents can be surrendered:
1. Limpopo: Polokwane
2. North West: Rustenburg and Klerksdorp
3. Western Cape: Cape Town large office
4. Mpumalanga: Nelspruit
5. Gauteng: Johannesburg Large office and Pretoria (Tirro)
6. Eastern Cape: Mthatha and East London
7. Free State: Bloemfontein, Maseru border post Ficksburg border post, Welkom and Bethlehem
8. KwaZulu Natal: Ethekhwini, New Castle and Kokstad
9. Northern Cape: Kimberley
