South Africa faces a visa disaster

With no clear extension plans for the Department of Home Affairs’ visa concession, thousands of foreign nationals risk losing their legal status in the next two weeks and being forced to leave South Africa.

This is according to Immigration attorneys at Visa Litigation Services (VLS), who have successfully assisted many applicants to obtain certainty through the courts.

They explained that visa applicants with pending waivers and appeals are still stuck in the Department of Home Affairs’ processing backlog.

In less than two weeks, they could be forced to abruptly leave South Africa when the current visa concession expires, ending their legal stay.

The current concession ends on 31 March 2026. It was introduced to protect lawfully present foreign nationals from falling into undesired status while awaiting the Department of Home Affairs’ (DHA) outcomes on their applications.

Once it lapses, that protection falls away – potentially requiring affected individuals to depart the country and risking an undesirable status declaration upon exit, VLS said.

Although the concession has been extended several times since 2022, there is currently no clear indication that a reprieve will be granted again.

VLS said foreign nationals who find themselves in this untenable situation – which it squarely attributed to government processing delays – have limited choices.

They must either escalate the pending application through litigation or leave South Africa to avoid the serious consequences of overstaying their visa conditions.

If no further extension is granted, having a pending outcome may no longer be enough to protect lawful status. In some cases, departure may become unavoidable.

For many applicants, the cost of a last-minute flight will be far higher than the cost of escalation, while leaving South Africa does not resolve the matter.

Departing from South Africa may also have a negative effect on family members who stay behind in this uncertain period, VLS warned.

The cost of leaving

VLS noted that escalating these cases and drawing attention to an application that has been pending for too long will be cheaper than leaving the country in a hurry amid skyrocketing air fares amid the ongoing attacks in the Middle East.

Airlines across the globe have warned that higher prices are likely, and many have already raised air fares in response to surging oil prices driven by uncertainty over the war in Iran.

“Affected applicants who face this uncertainty deserve better,” one attorney said.

“Some have been in South Africa for decades, are married to South African citizens or permanent residents and have been waiting on DHA’s adjudication outcome since 2022. This is not their fault, and it is unacceptable.”

VLS stressed that litigation offers a more stable and controlled alternative. By escalating long-outstanding applications through the courts, applicants can compel the DHA to act while maintaining their legal status in South Africa.

“Litigation provides a structured, lawful way to remain in the country while your matter is being resolved,” VLS said. “Without it, applicants risk losing their status overnight.” This is particularly important for the following groups –

• Permanent residence applicants
• Section 11(6) visa holders (spouses of South African citizens or permanent residents)
• Critical skills and work visa holders with pending waivers or appeals

The question now is whether the concession, as a protection mechanism designed to fix the uncertainty and anxiety caused by processing delays, will end, and what the legal consequences will be if it does.

Whether through a further extension, an expanded protection framework, or alternative administrative measures, affected visa holders and employers should act now.

At the same time, they must remain attentive to DHA announcements, since the 31 March 2026 deadline is imminent.