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Pretoria - Proposed amendments to the Immigration Act will have far-reaching consequences for foreigners wanting to invest and work here, as well as for the domestic immigration industry.
Foreigners will now personally have to visit offices of the department of home affairs or a foreign embassy to apply for permits to enter the country.
It would make no difference whether the applicant was the chief executive of a multi-million rand company or a student wanting to study in South Africa.
In terms of the amendments, no one may in future apply on behalf of an applicant.
Leon Isaacson, chairperson of the Forum of Immigration Practitioners, said serious problems already exist in terms of the advice provided by staff at embassy offices.
Many of the offices, he said, were in a deplorable state. To expect someone to stand in queues in those crowded and filthy centres would certainly discourage anyone from coming to the country – whether a student, chief executive or investor.
The amendments also threatened almost 20 000 jobs in the immigration industry.
The reason was the scrapping of Section 46 of the Immigration Act – which regulates the industry – in the draft amendment act on immigration.
Isaacson said the scrapping of Section 46 meant that any Tom, Dick and Harry might in future give advice on immigration.
To date the act has allowed only an attorney, advocate or immigration practitioner to represent any other person in terms of the processes and procedures of the Immigration Act.
The draft act was published on Friday, leading to large-scale unhappiness among practitioners and their clients.
MaXuba Immigration chief executive Jaco van der Merwe said there was considerable concern over the amendments.
Most companies in South Africa, he said, made use of a practitioner or attorney to submit their applications on behalf of senior employees who did not have the time or experience to submit their applications themselves.
It has also been proposed that the status or conditions of a permit not be altered without the approval of the minister.
For example, it would not be possible for a study permit to be converted into a work permit without the minister's approval.
Where on earth would the minister find the time to handle these applications, asked Van der Merwe.
He explained that if a foreign engineering student had completed his studies in South Africa, he would first have to leave the country to apply for a work permit in another country.
The same would, for instance, apply to a chief executive with a short-term work permit to set up business operations in the country.
Should he wish to convert it into an ordinary work permit, he would first have to get the minister's approval or leave the country to apply for an ordinary permit outside South Africa.
Van der Merwe said his team was studying the other amendments and would soon decide on the steps required.
Meanwhile, Isaacson confirmed that the forum would be meeting its legal representatives on Wednesday regarding a group action against the department of home affairs.
This action related mainly to the massive backlog that had built up over the past nine months for all categories of permits.
It included temporary work, student and corporate permits.
He said his team believed the department had a statutory obligation to issue the permits within the prescribed 30 days.
- Sake24
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