Cape Town - A British pensioner couple who have lived in South Africa for almost 20 years are at their wits end after being sent from pillar to post by Home Affairs regarding their visa applications submitted more than a year ago.
David Reid, 83, said he and his wife, now living in Noordhoek, came to live in South Africa 18 years ago.
“My wife and I are now quite old and we have lived here in South Africa on a ‘retired persons visa’ and so every four years we have had to apply to the Department of Home Affairs for a four-year extension,” said Reid.
As the couples’ visas were expiring in October last year, they submitted their applications jointly in July.
“Both our visas were presented jointly because my wife’s visa is linked to my visa and so they cannot be separated. Ten months (after) we submitted our visa applications, Home Affairs in Pretoria informed my wife that her retired person’s visa had been turned down. The reason is that although she had submitted her application along with mine, the staff in the Home Affairs Department in Pretoria had separated them and my retired person’s visa is still sitting in someone’s in-tray and has not yet been processed.
“This is such a frustrating process for us. This visa application cost me R1 600 and we have now got to go through an appeal process, which has cost me another R1 600. Three days ago my wife was informed yet again that her visa had been turned down because it was not jointly presented with mine.”
Reid said their worst nightmare was that despite her age, his wife will now have to fly back to the UK on her own and he will have to find accommodation for her for twelve months while looking after their home and pets here.
Siya Qoza, spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said: “The reason for the rejection was that there was no visa of her husband attached to her application as per requirements for an accompanying spouse visa.
Subsequently, she submitted an appeal, which was also rejected as her husband’s retirement visa was still in process.
“She then submitted a second appeal application and this application is still in process and will be finalised after her husband’s retirement visa is finalised.”
Qoza said lockdown had resulted in some services of the Department being closed leading to backlogs as well as delays in the processing of visa applications because of the reduced numbers in staffing.
“The Department will finalise the husband’s application as part of the backlog. The Appeals unit, in dealing with her application, will consider the husband’s outcome.”
“She may continue to sojourn the Republic until September 30, 2022, as per the current Ministerial Concession for those whose applications are pending with the Department.
“The husband is also covered by the same concession.” Meanwhile, the DA blamed Motsoaledi’s decision to centralise visa application processing for issues experienced.
“Minister Motsoaledi’s decision to centralise visa adjudication processes in the office of the Director General, while having no operational plan in place or the necessary resources to do the job, has created a substantial backlog on applications across all visa classes and is threatening to kill South Africa’s attractiveness as an investment destination,” DA Shadow Minister of Home Affairs, Angel Khanyile said.
Cape Times