Immigration rules: have your say
Matome Sebelebele
1 February 2005
The government has called on business, organised labour, academics, NGOs and the general public to comment on South Africa's proposed new immigration regulations, released on Monday for public comment.
The regulations set out procedures and conditions for issuing, withdrawing or refusing immigration documents such as work permits, tracing and identifying illegal immigrants, and the arrival and departure of persons in the country, consistent with the Constitution.
The regulations also spell out the fees to be charged for the application and the issuing of visas, temporary and permanent residence permits and certificates.
Comments or representations on the proposed regulations should be sent, by not later than 2 March, to:
The Director General
C/o Ms D. Tlhagale
Department of Home
Affairs
Private Bag X114
Pretoria
0001
Fax: (012) 810 7307
E-mail: imr@dha.gov.za
Besides being available on the Home Affairs website, copies of the Immigration Regulations will also be available at various Home Affairs district offices. Inquiries at provincial level can be directed to:
Gauteng West: (011) 4762336/ 2382
Gauteng East: (012) 3262450
Kwazulu-Natal : (035) 7891366/7
Mpumalanga: (013) 7528164
Eastern Cape: (043) 6434689/99
North West: (018) 3845443/8
Free State: (051) 403 9138
Limpopo: (015) 2955220/1
Western Cape: (021) 46551183
Northern Cape: (053) 8395434
The release of the long-awaited regulations comes after a court battle involving former Home Affairs Minister Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who published an earlier set of regulations against the wishes of the Cabinet.
President Thabo Mbeki's administration had argued that certain clauses of
the draft regulations would make it easier for drug pushers and human traffickers to come into the country, while making it difficult to deport illegal immigrants.
This, the government argued, would have gone against the establishment of an immigration policy capable of stimulating investment, economic growth and tourism while failing to attract foreign skills needed by the country's fast expanding economy.
The standoff was eventually settled when the Cape High Court dismissed the regulations as invalid, and set aside an earlier court order that mandated the former minister to go ahead and publish the regulations.
Home Affairs officials say the new regulations are in concert with the Immigration Amendment Act that Mbeki signed into law last October, and will contribute towards the development of "an immigration policy framework that responds to both the developmental and socio-economic needs of our country, the continent and the world."
Source: BuaNews
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