The Department of Home Affairs have once again appeared before Parliament for a presentation to the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs. This is fortuitous as it enables the general public to gain some insight into issues such as the visa backlog and processing times. The Department of Home Affairs generally do not like the general public to have insight into this kind of information. The picture is unfortunately not a pretty one.

The most concerning figures are the following:

Backlog of Temporary Residence Visa Applications: There are presently 75 000 temporary residence visa applications outstanding. In December 2022 it was reported that there were 56 000 visa applications outstanding so either this figure has grown or the incorrect number was reported then. Either way this figure is alarming.

Backlog of Permanent Residence Applications: There are presently 49 529 PR applications outstanding. Some applications in this category were submitted as far back as 2016.

Both of the above figures are mind boggling and it is difficult to imagine how this backlog will ever be properly addressed without some kind of drastic intervention.

Further insight reveals that about 70% of the 75 000 pending visa applications are for Spousal Visas. According to DHA the reason for this is that firstly they are concerned with fraudulent marriages, and secondly they don’t consider Spousal Visas as important for economic growth.

The final insight that is also concerning is that the current rejection rate is at 45%. The very high rejection rate has been evident since DHA started experiencing the large backlog.