12 Sep How can I get Home Affairs to finalize my application?
With the number of visas that are applied for and issued each year, it is no surprise that there is a backlog with processing of applications. Even though the VFS Global website (who accepts applications on behalf of the Department of Home Affairs) states that a temporary residency application can take between 8 and 10 weeks, appeals 8-10 months and permanent residency 8-10 months, these timelines are often not adhered to.
If you have a pending application but are not ready to proceed with litigation to force the Department to finalize your application, you may want to consider contacting a home affairs official about your pending application. If you do so, it is important to remember to include your VFS reference number, type of application applied for and on what date and ideally a copy of your passport identity page. Any email that is larger than 1mb will not be accepted by the Department’s email server, so make sure you include all this information and attachments in the correct size.
Below is a list of email addresses that you can contact for various visa, permit, waiver and overstay applications. It is highly likely that you will not receive a direct response to your email, but it still may get noticed and your application may be processed in a more timeous fashion. Alternatively, you can contact us and we can guide you on other ways to expedite your application.
Visitors Visa’s in terms of section 11, medical treatment visas in terms of section 17, relatives visas in terms of section 18 and retired persons visas in terms of section 20:
Study visas in terms of section 13, Treaty visas in terms of section 14, Business visas in terms of section 15, Crew visas in terms of section 15, All types of work visas in terms of section 19 and corporate visas in terms of section 21:
Waivers and Exemptions:
Zimbabwe/Lesotho Special Permits:
Permanent Residence Permits of all categories:
All rejected applications, temporary or permanent which are now on appeal in terms of section 8(4) or section 8(6) of the act:
Overstay appeals: