20 Jul The DHA’s Silence on Persisting Backlog Issues
Despite the Department of Home Affairs’ (DHA) announcement of clearing the visa processing backlogs that date back over a decade, a lot of foreign nationals are still facing frustrations regarding application processing times.
At the end of 2024, Minister of the DHA Dr Leon Schreiber published a video celebrating the eradication of the visa processing backlog that the department has been struggling to clear for over a decade.
The video also contained a statement indicating that by the end of 2024, the department will be able to shift its focus to remaining unresolved appeals.
However, June Luna, managing partner of June Luna Immigration Attorneys in Cape Town, has expressed concerns regarding the ongoing issues that foreign nationals continue to face with the South African immigration system and the DHA’s lack of acknowledgement of these persisting problems.
Persisting Admin Issues Met with Silence
Despite all the positive publicity that South Africa’s immigration affairs have been receiving, foreign nationals continue to face hardship due to the continued failure of the DHA to deliver basic services to foreign nationals. Luna states that after a brief meeting with Schreiber, he expressed optimism, stating that he hoped that, as an immigration attorney, Luna was seeing an improvement in the immigration system.
“I wanted to believe the positivity around the Department of Home Affairs’ publicity – the cleaning up of corruption, speedier civic services for South African citizens and an eradication of a backlog of applications for tax-paying foreigners in South Africa.” Says Luna.
Although on the 23rd of September 2025, a new directive for foreigners in South Africa was released, which acknowledged that the DHA is still facing a backlog, but only for those with pending appeals, waiver applications, and permanent residency applications.
The directive made no mention of temporary residency applications for skilled workers, business owners, spouses, retirees, or international travellers in the country.
Immigrants’ Struggle Continues
Luna further observes that the appointment of a new minister won’t be an instant fix, and that decades of corruption, staff shortages, and infrastructural decay are all problems that will take years of dedication to remedy. However, instead of keeping quiet about persisting challenges, Schreiber needs to acknowledge that these problems are widespread and still exist.
Foreign nationals who have timeously submitted their applications have been waiting for six months and even longer for an outcome.
Thus, leaving these individuals in a world of panic, being unable to reunite with their spouses in South Africa, unable to run their business due to frozen bank accounts, and unable to travel abroad to visit ill family, all due to the DHA’s administrative delays and failure to provide these individuals with a timely solution.
At June Luna Immigration Attorneys, our lawyers are knowledgeable about how the DHA operates and work with them on a daily basis. We have assisted numerous clients in successfully obtaining desired outcomes on their applications, whether it be for temporary or permanent residency, or to review a decision made by the DHA.
CONTACT US today and allow our team of professional immigration experts to assist you in obtaining your desired outcome on your application.