Home Affairs Minister Motsoaledi says visa renewal reports are ‘overblown’

18 Mar 2024

Aaron Motsoaledi says he knows of only five cases at Cape Town International Airport and one that was referred to him by Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille’s office, which suggests the issue is motivated not by the intention to help affected people, but rather to tarnish Home Affairs.

A defensive Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has finally addressed the contentious issue of visa renewals, claiming it was never his department’s intention to chase away tourists.

The department had issued a directive instructing the Border Management Authority that visitors here on a short-term visa who had not yet received their visa renewal outcome by 23 February 2024 should leave South Africa by 29 February to avoid being banned.

In an official statement posted on the DHA website, he suggested that since the tourism department had received only a single complaint and he had heard of five other cases at Cape Town International Airport, the issue was being overblown — possibly motivated not to help affected people, but rather “just to throw mud at the department”.

His office failed to respond to queries in January about the visa renewal fiasco. About three weeks later, Motsoaledi claimed in Parliament that “(The) directive is clearly misunderstood by all and sundry. This was meant to be an internal memo, to guide new BMA officials at the ports of entry. Unfortunately, it even touched on issues that clearly needed no directive. We are being accused of chasing tourists out of South Africa…”

Talk is cheap

The fact that the memo was “internal”, as he claimed, made little difference: BMA officials have taken the directive to mean it is the department’s official position and have said they cannot accept the minister’s speech in Parliament as anything more than a speech.

Since then, dozens of tourists, lawyers and immigration consultants have complained about bannings, despite them having receipts for visa renewals.

The most recent matter involved a Filipino woman who was banned on Saturday at Cape Town International Airport. She has been travelling to South Africa for years, as her partner owns a property in the country.

In a surprise briefing on Sunday, Motsoaledi addressed three issues, starting with the visa matter, raised by Daily Maverick in January (and to which he has yet to respond directly); the matter of a Zimbabwean national who was trying to stop his deportation, and the President’s proclamation for the Special Investigating Unit to probe visa issues at the Department of Home Affairs.

Motsoaledi said they needed to check at the borders if there had been a significant spike of people who had visited South Africa as tourists “and are leaving”.

‘No spike’

“If there was such a spike, we wanted to act in mitigation. In this regard, we reasoned that if tourists are in trouble, their first port of call will be the tourist industry operators and the ministry of tourism. If the industry feels threatened, they will approach the tourism ministry.”

With that in mind, the Department of Home Affairs approached Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille to find out how many people had approached her as a result of actions emanating from the circular, he said.

However, De Lille reportedly told Motsoaledi’s office that only one case had been referred to her department, which she immediately directed for his attention, “and the matter was resolved to the satisfaction of the individual concerned”.

Doubling down on his statement in February to Parliament that a receipt for visa renewal would be sufficient to remain in the country, Motsoaledi said the receipt’s reference number helped to trace applications.

“In case your visa expires before the department has responded to your application, that receipt will act as an extension of your visa until such time you get a response, negative or positive.

“This means that no law enforcement officer, immigration officer or officials at the port of entry may trouble you while you are carrying such a receipt.

“As I said earlier on, when the circular was issued, it was an attempt to guide BMA officials because they were regarded as new at the borders.

“If there is anybody who was declared undesirable whilst they were carrying their receipt, they need to present themselves to the department so that their undesirability status can be removed.”

He said since they had identified only one person through the tourism department and five at Cape Town International Airport, they were not in a position to conclude that these were the only people who had been negatively affected by the circular.

“So, today we are making a call to the people in the industry or any other institution which are in a position to identify such people so that we can immediately resolve their issues. Up to so far, the accusations directed at Home Affairs are full of generalities and anecdotes and no specific cases were given to us.

“We are pleading today that anybody who wants to accuse must please be specific because accusations without providing specific details won’t help the individuals affected, except of course if the intention was never to help such affected people but just to throw mud at the department.”

Not enough

However, the Federated Hospitality Association of SA (Fedhasa) believes the circular has already damaged SA tourism internationally.

In a statement on Monday, Fedhasa said: “While the minister regards the ensuing media storm and the distress among the tourism sector as unintended consequences of an internal document, the reality presents a starkly different picture.

“The experiences shared globally by ‘swallows’ – tourists who migrate seasonally in search of warmer climates – attest to a more distressing outcome.

“These narratives, far from being isolated, have reverberated through international communities, painting South Africa as a destination fraught with visa challenges.”

Rosemary Anderson, national chair of Fedhasa, said it was a “matter of fact” that the circular, though intended for internal use, became a public concern that significantly dented the image of South Africa’s tourism sector.

“The delay in addressing and retracting the circular allowed for widespread dissemination of negative experiences, solidifying a perception of South Africa as unwelcoming.”

She said the incident underscores a recurrent theme in our visa regime’s history, where well-meaning policies inadvertently deter tourism and tarnish our reputation on the global stage.

“This incident may not only have affected the immediate plans of many international visitors but has also sown seeds of doubt about South Africa’s openness as a tourist destination.

‘Beyond mere inconvenience’

“The damage inflicted by the circular — including forcing individuals to leave and marking them persona non grata for a period — goes beyond mere inconvenience.

“It has eroded the essential confidence and security that tourists seek when choosing a destination.”

She said that by targeting “swallows” in particular — people who contribute significantly to our economy through their extended stays — highlights a missed opportunity in our visa policies.

“These individuals, who seek refuge from the harsh European winters, are not merely tourists but are economic contributors who invest their time and resources into our local communities and businesses.

“The need for a more accommodating visa policy, one that recognises the value and potential of such long-term visitors, has never been more apparent,” Anderson said.

Fedhasa believes the discussions should not simply revolve around rectifying the fallout of the circular, but also encourage a reassessment of visa policies to be more flexible and welcoming, especially towards tourists from countries with a strong track record of compliance and economic contribution. DM

If you’ve been banned or had problems with your visa renewal, please email [email protected].

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Business Maverick

Talk is cheap

‘No spike’

Not enough

‘Beyond mere inconvenience’