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Home Affairs extends visa concessions
Cape Argus
|April 01, 2025
THE Department of Home Affairs has issued a new immigration directive granting temporary relief to foreign nationals affected by persistent delays in the processing of visa waivers, long-term visa applications, and appeals.
The directive was signed on Friday, days before the March 31 concession deadline was set to expire.
In Immigration Directive No 4 of 2025, signed on by Minister of Home Affairs Dr Leon Schreiber, the department has extended the validity of temporary visa statuses until September 30 for affected applicants, citing ongoing challenges with application processing and the printing of outcomes.
"The department has, since issuing Immigration Directive No 16 of 2024 dated 18 December, addressed the backlog in its visa and permitting processes. However, many outcomes of applications will not be ready for collection prior to the deadline of 31 March, primarily due to delays in the printing process," the directive states.
The department said the key categories of affected applicants included:
This story is from the April 01, 2025 edition of Cape Argus.
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