Hours before foreign visitors’ permits and visas expired, South African home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi updated the Coronavirus-related immigration rules. This extended the validity of permits and visas for refugees, asylum seekers and some other visitors to 31 October 2020.
Motsoaledi gazetted a new set of directions to extend the validity of already-extended permits and visas. This prevented many foreign visitors from being declared ‘undesirable’ after having overstayed their visas.
Some visitors who entered SA after 15 March 2020 now have permission to remain until at least 31 October. They will face no penalty on exiting SA before that date, regardless of the date on their paperwork.
For refugees, asylum seekers, and holders of special Lesotho permits, the extension is automatic, and no application is required. Conditions attached to visas and permits also remain unaltered. This means those who were not allowed to seek employment still may not do so.
Concessions for foreigners who found themselves stuck in SA as borders closed were first introduced in late March. In June, extensions were also granted on asylum-seeker permits, refugee status, and users of a special permit for Lesotho citizens who were in SA before September 2015.