Sharing information on the new changes emanating from the country’s amended Immigration Act and its regulations was one of the main points of discussion during a meeting between DUT’s Department of International Education and Partnerships in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) this week.

Held at the ML Sultan Campus, the meeting was also held to inform tertiary institutions about the key changes with regards to immigration compliance matters for international students and staff, discuss challenges faced by the tertiary institutions and find solutions with regards to dealing with standard operating procedures for critical skills.

Various representatives and academics from DUT, UKZN, UniZULU and MUT were present at the meeting.

Director of International Education and Partnerships at DUT, Dr Lavern Samuels, welcomed DHA’s Seipati Ditsoane, Deputy Director: Critical Skills Acquisition and Advocate Tsieti Sebelemetja, who both gave an overview of the amended Immigration Act and what procedures should be followed by foreign internationals studying or working at DUT.

Adv Sebelemetja formed part of the team that was developing the amendments of the Act from 2009 when former Minister Nkososani-Dlamini Zuma was given the Home Affairs portfolio.

“We started the journey with amending and implementing pieces of the legislation with regards to immigration, refugees and citizenship. So from last year, the DHA has implemented new amendments to citizenship and this year in March 2014, further amendments were introduced. However, what attracted the most questions are the immigration regulations around the country and world as it affects a number of people who come into the country. In 2013-2014, South Africa welcomed 13.5 million foreign nationals who visited South Africa as visitors. The DHA is committed to facilitating the entry and exit of legitimate travelers efficiently and humanely. However, the DHA spends a lot of tax money for deportation and so due to the abuse of the influx of tourists coming in and overstaying their welcome, new amendments are necessary. What the DHA has done now is that we are taking our borders to outside of South Africa, so if you need to come to South Africa, one must now apply from their country of origin, which is what all other countries do,” he said.

“Foreign students now need proof of medical cover which has to be renewed annually for the period of study, and the medical aid must be a medical scheme registered with the Medical Schemes Act in South Africa,” said Ditsoane. “Also, the holder of a study visa at a tertiary institution can do part-time work for a period not exceeding 20 hours per week. However, a study visa issued shall automatically lapse if the holder thereof fails to register with or is deregistered from the tertiary institution at any time during the period for which his or her visa has been issued,” she said.

To find out more about application statuses, visit the Visa Facilitation Services Centre website at www.vfsglobal.com/dha/southafrica.

-Waheeda Peters

Pictured: Ms Seipati Ditsoane, Deputy Director: Critical Skills Acquisition.