South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is grappling with a significant visa backlog, now exceeding 92,000 applications.
The DHA has been overwhelmed, leading to delays that affect various visa categories, particularly family orientated visa applications.
Home Affairs Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi, detailed the backlog and the several visa categories that are causing the hold up in his response to a parliamentary Q&A this week.
The minister stated that the main culprit in the backlog is the spousal and family related visas. The backlog includes 18,661 applications for the complete spousal visa (Relative’s Visa), as well as 41,083 applications for the spousal visitor’s visa (with endorsement to work or conduct own business). The second most backlogged applications are for minor and major children relative visas.
According to prior reports, the minister stated that the effort required to verify the facts may cause the processing of family or spouse visas to take up to two years in certain situations.
The minister claimed that as of the date of January 31, 2024, there are currently no backlogs for Critical Skills, Business, and General Work Visas.
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