Incredibly High Rejection Rates Threaten South Africa

Why are rejection rates rising?

As South African immigration rejection rates grow, highly skilled workers and foreign direct investment become increasingly at risk.

During the past two weeks, we have witnessed a high number of?negative outcomes?from pending visa applications. One of our employees, who regularly submits and collects outcomes at the?VFS?offices in Cape Town and Johannesburg, has reported around 70-80% of the outcomes being collected are marked as negative.

Some reasons are ridiculous: one rejection claimed that since the doctor did not answer the phone, the applicant’s medical certificate could not be confirmed, and thus the application was rejected.

However, reasons for rejection have seemed to vary, with no coherent picture to be painted at all.

This trend is not only a reflection of applications we have collected, but a shared experience for many other immigration firms and lawyers. The sheer number of rejections leaving the VFS will lead to one thing only: The practical closure of our immigration system to highly skilled foreigners, investors, and other applicants.

What is the cause for this increase in rejections?

It seems this high rejection rate is an attempt by the?Department of Home Affairs?to clear the?massive backlog?of applications that they have accumulated during 2022 until 1 September. This includes locally submitted applications, and those submitted overseas.

As confirmed through conversation with DHA officials, the Department has indicated that they have been given a KPI to adjudicate 20 applications per day. To match this arbitrary number, and keep on track, they seem to be rejecting applications to mark them complete and reach their daily goal.

This abhorrent lack of care is costing applicants time, money, and emotional pain, and will only reflect negatively on the immigration landscape of South Africa. If over 70% of submitted applications for Critical Skills Visas are rejected, South Africa will no longer attract highly skilled foreign workers. The domino effect will continue, and with companies unable to employee international assignees, businesses will struggle to grow, and international investment will falter or stop completely.

Intra-Company Transfer Work Permit rejections

It seems the DHA assumes the sole purpose of an?Intra-Company Transfer?is the transfer of skills to locals. No consideration is being given to growing the economy or allowing employers to decide what employees they require for their business. It is becoming increasingly clear that adjudicators are transgressing on their discretion in nearly all cases. Furthermore, it was said by adjudicators that an Intra-Company Transfer Work Permit must be based on transferring a foreigner in a key position within the mother company. This is not mirrored in the legislation and is simply incorrect. However, adjudicators have decided not to follow the immigration act and regulations, opting instead to replace the law with their own personal interpretations.

What rejection reasons are given?

There have been a broad range of rejection reasons supplied for the?Critical Skills Work Visa?and other applications. A commonly cited reason is that membership to one of the professional bodies may be due to expire. However, when applications were made, these memberships were still valid for months, but since processing times are so long, memberships reach expiry. This correctly places blame on the long processing times and not the applicant, and the fact that this is not taken into consideration while adjudicating is ridiculous.

As mentioned previously, certain applications have been rejected due to a medical doctor not answering their phone to confirm the validity of a medical certificate. Nowhere in the law does it state that medical practitioners are expected to answer phone calls from the unknown number of a Home Affairs official. Home Affairs has also rejected applications when unable to get in contact with the employer of the applicant, yet another unlawful rejection reason.

What can you do when receiving a rejection?

The applicant has two options after receiving a rejection: they may re-apply or submit an?appeal?no more than 10 working days after receiving the outcome of the initial application. However, the current processing time for an appeal is already several months. Not only is Home Affairs dealing with a massive backlog, but their strategy of rejecting applications to ease this backlog is only going to cause more work and processing time, since they will soon be flooded with justified appeals.

Are any rejections justified?

While certain application rejections are justified, for example applications using fraudulent documents, or applications not meeting requirements stated in the Immigration Act, we are certain most applications have been submitted in good faith and with proper documentation and have been unjustly rejected.

This disregard of following law and regulations by the DHA is leading to the infringement of hundreds, if not thousands of foreigners who have carefully adhered to the requirements of South Africa’s immigration legislation. They are being denied incorrectly, and unlawfully.

This trend will only lead to an exodus of highly qualified workers from South Africa, workers that South Africa needs to successfully continue its economic growth.

If the Department of Home Affairs is not already aware of the consequences of their actions, we hope that this brings light to their behaviour, and the detrimental knock-on effect it will most certainly have.