In January 2022, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) consolidated all visa processing through the Head Office in Pretoria. Further, DHA  introduced an updated delegation process that required the Director-General’s signoff on most visa applications, particularly long-term visas. This process, which applied to all visa applications submitted globally,  has created a significant backlog, and as a result, the visa processing times have increased to approximately eight (8) months (or longer).

As of September 1st, the DHA has announced that it will partly revoke the above measure and permit the South African missions to process visa applications again. While this is good news, we expect the processing times to be still delayed due to the backlogs created at the South African missions. 

The delegation process remains for visa applications submitted in South Africa, and visa applications still require the Director-General’s signoff. We will notify you if DHA announces any changes to this process. 

Find the official announcement of DHA here.

This alert was prepared by our partner Judith Kubasch and her team from Judith Kubasch Immigration Service, and published with their permission.