Visa shambles: help to hand

People struggling with the more stringent immigration laws can now get help from visa facilitation centres.

Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba opened the 11th centre in Rivonia, Johannesburg, yesterday.

This despite parliament admitting yesterday - in response to the DA's July 4 question - that no impact assessment study was done prior to the decision to put new visa regulations in place.

Gigaba said yesterday that the new immigration regulations will not be changed.

Gigaba said an international service provider, VFS Global, has been awarded a five-year tender to process visa and permit applications.

He said the company would also develop a solution for "biometric intake" - a digital scan of applicants' fingerprints and photographs - in line with the new immigration regulations.

The company will also run a permit call centre.

Applicants can download the forms online, fill them in and submit them at one of the VFS Global facilities.

Business class customers who do not wish to stand in queues can choose an express service called premium lounge service, which will cost R500 a person.

This would be in addition to the R1350 service fee for application handling. Payments can be made electronically.

Gigaba said approval of all applications remained with Home Affairs. T he department has other visa facilitation centres in Cape Town, George, Durban, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth and Polokwane.

DA MP Haniff Hoosen said yesterday that the failure to do an assessment was deeply worrying considering the social and economic impacts that would arise.

In light of the parliamentary admission, the party would be calling on Gigaba to withdraw the regulations and continue with the impact assessment as soon as possible. The outcome, he said, should be scrutinised by parliament's oversight community on home affairs.