Home Affairs visa backlog plan welcomed, but reforms urged

The Select Committee on Security and Justice has commended the Department of Home Affairs' (DHA) progress in tackling visa-related backlogs, but has urged further reforms to prevent recurrence. The department detailed visa processing, appeals handling, overdue-reduction methods, and digital improvements in its briefing to the committee.

Notably, the DHA identified pending appeals as a major contributor to delays, with 13,148 (60.2%) of 21,847 pending appeals overdue as of July 28. Committee chairperson Jane Seboletswe Mananiso acknowledged the complexity of visa adjudication, especially in cases requiring verification or involving potential fraud and misrepresentation.

The committee welcomed the measures to reduce the backlog but emphasized the need for predictable, fair, and efficient turnaround times. The DHA aims to clear all overdue applications by March 31, 2027, and has investigated 41 corruption allegations since 2022, leading to 18 convictions. However, the committee stressed that enforcement must be complemented with preventive measures.

The department's progression towards electronic travel authorisation and the Population Master Database was welcomed, but the committee stressed that digital transformation must yield tangible efficiency, accountability, verification, and service delivery improvements. The committee also welcomed the extension of the temporary status for pending waiver, visa, and appeal applicants until June 30, 2027, to prevent law-abiding foreign nationals from falling into irregularity due to administrative delays.

The committee urged the DHA to maintain clear monitoring and reporting on overdue applications and ensure that current interventions build sustainable processing capacity, aiming for genuine end-to-end resolution rather than merely shifting applications between queues.