Progress on reducing the impact of the immigration regulations – Home Affairs

Home Affairs is continuing to roll out measures aimed at mitigating the unintended consequences that the Immigration Act has had on South Africa, said Malusi Gigaba, South African Home Affairs Minister addressing the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs this week.

Highlighting progress already made in the past three months, Minister Gigaba said his department was considering using family advocates to make it easier for single parents to travel out of and into South Africa with children. This, he said, was to make it easier in situations where one parent had disappeared or was being uncooperative. Currently, parents are advised to seek a High Court interdict.

According to Minister Gigaba, over 4 400 minors were refused permission to leave or enter South Africa over the festive season, of which 2 753 were South African citizens.

Meanwhile, the Department has introduced measures to facilitate school groups by developing a standardised template for school principals to complete which is available as a download on DHA’s website. School principals are therefore now enabled to provide one affidavit confirming permission for South African children to travel on school tours, in lieu of having to provide individual parent consent forms.

The Parental Consent Affidavit (PCA) has also been extended from four to six months. An internal directive informing staff of this measure was issued on 18 December 2015.