What is an Immigration service?
An immigration officer is a law enforcement official whose job is to ensure that immigration legislation is enforced.
Immigration South Africa Contact Details
Postal Address:
- Private Bag X114, PRETORIA, 0001
Street Address:
- Hallmark Building, 230 Johannes Ramokhoase Street, PRETORIA
Phone: 0800 60 11 90,012 406 7070
E-mail: directorgeneral@dha.gov.za
The Department’s core Immigration services duties are
- Administering admissions into the country
- Determining the residency status of foreigners and issuing permits thereof
- Custodianship of refugee affairs
- Inspectorate
Policy directives
These are achieved by issuing the following types of documents:
- Visas
- Temporary Residence Permits (Business permits, Work permits, Corporate permits, Study permits, Exchange permits, Retired persons’ permits, Relatives permits, and Medical treatment permits)
- Permanent Residence Permits
- Refugee and asylum papers
How can I check my immigration status in South Africa?
Call the Department of Home Affairs to call center on 0800 6011 90 to follow up on your application and you may leave notes to the official in charge of your application but keep your reference number on hand for the call center consultant.
How to immigrate to South Africa?
The present immigration policy places emphasis on the broadening of the economic base of South Africa by concentrating especially on the obtaining of those immigrants who are in a position to render a meaningful contribution in this regard.
The South African immigration policy is embodied in the Immigration Act (No 13 of 2002) which prescribes certain requirements which are to be met by an applicant who wishes to immigrate permanently to South Africa.
The requirements are:
- The applicant must be of good character
- He/she must be a desirable inhabitant
- He/she must not be likely to be harmful to the welfare of the Republic of South Africa
- Most importantly – he/she must not follow an occupation in which there is already a sufficient number of persons available to meet the requirements of the country
These requirements are aimed at the individual selection and all applications for permanent residence are considered on merit by an autonomous statutory body, the Immigrants Selection Board.
In particular, cognizance should be taken of the legal provision which places an obligation on the Board to ensure that only those applications are approved where the applicants will follow occupations for which a proven demand exists in the RSA.
Categories of Immigration / Immigration procedure by category
Those eligible to apply for permanent residence must fall into one of the categories listed in the Immigration Act.
The South African immigration Act, 2002 (Act No 13 of 2002) makes provision for various categories of Permanent Residence. The various categories are as follows:
- A person who has been the holder of a Work Permit for 5 years;
- The Spouse of a South Africa Citizen or Permanent Holder;
- The Child under the age of 21 years of a South African citizen or Permanent Residence holder;
- A person who received an offer of Employment;
- Where a person has extraordinary skills;
- Opening a Business;
- A refugee;
- A retired person;
- A relative of a South African citizen or permanent resident holder (restricted to mother, father, or brothers and sisters).