Immigration
Immigration Act 13 of 2002, critical skills visas, and a constitutionally protected asylum system
Entry and residence are governed by the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 and its regulations, administered by the Department of Home Affairs. Work visas are category-specific: the critical skills work visa follows a published occupations list, while the general work visa requires a Department of Employment and Labour certificate that no suitable citizen or permanent resident is available. Asylum is dealt with separately under the Refugees Act.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — The Department of Home Affairs decides visas and permits; the Refugee Appeals Authority hears asylum appeals; the High Court reviews immigration decisions under PAJA.
- Deadline — Visa renewal: applied for at least 60 days before expiry
- Deadline — Asylum: report to a Refugee Reception Office to apply, with the s 22 permit renewed as directed pending determination
- Deadline — Appeal against a visa refusal: internal appeal to the Director-General within 10 working days of notification
Governing law
- Immigration Act 13 of 2002 and the Immigration Regulations 2014
- Refugees Act 130 of 1998 as amended — non-refoulement and the right to work and study pending determination
- Citizenship Act 88 of 1995
In practice
Immigration is one of the most heavily litigated administrative fields in the country. Courts have repeatedly set aside blanket departmental practices — on the rights of asylum seekers to work, on the treatment of spousal and life-partner visas, and on the termination of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit dispensation — on the basis that they were adopted without rational consideration or fair procedure. Practitioners therefore treat PAJA review as an ordinary rather than exceptional part of immigration practice.