Insights
Commentary and analysis on South African immigration law: what the rules say, how they are applied, and where they are heading.
When the marriage ends: foreign spouses, divorce and the Rayment judgment
A spousal visa ends when the relationship does. The Constitutional Court has held that a foreign parent of a South African child may not be forced to stop working or leave because of it. What the Court said, and why it matters.
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Governing by concession: the backlog and the rule of directive
Home Affairs has cleared most of a backlog that once exceeded 300,000 cases. But four years of rolling directives raise a harder question: how much of South African immigration law is still found in the law?
When the decision does not come: a guide to delayed applications
Months without an outcome, and a visa running out. The order in which you act matters: protect status, build a record, escalate, and if necessary ask the court to compel a decision.
Independent means: South Africa's financially independent permit
Permanent residence for a proven net worth of R12 million, with few continuing conditions. How section 27(f) works, where it is uncertain, and what the White Paper may replace it with.
Liberty at the threshold: detention, asylum and the Gauteng full bench
Two Gauteng judges disagree on whether a detainee who asks for asylum must be released. A full bench sits on 29 October 2026. What is really at stake?
A document is not a nation: citizenship, fraud and the Adetshina matter
Chidimma Adetshina's identity documents were withdrawn over alleged fraud by her mother when she was an infant. Her matters are pending. The legal questions go to the heart of citizenship by birth.
Counting merit: South Africa's points-based work visas
Since October 2024, general work and critical skills visas require a 100-point threshold. The system is a real step forward. The way it was introduced is open to question.
Ninety days of work: the section 11(2) visa and project mobility
Engineers, technicians and trainers fly in for weeks, not years, on a visitor's visa endorsed for work. What section 11(2) allows, where it stops, and the risks of using it for project rotations.
A judgment without a door: the asylum directive and its withdrawal
Home Affairs issued, then withdrew, an instruction to comply with Scalabrini II. The judgment still binds. What does that mean for the rule of law?
The sixty-day rule and its waiver: when procedure decides who may stay
A filing deadline turned into a reason for mass refusals. Directive 13 of 2026 has now waived it. Why the waiver is welcome, and why it is not enough.
Four years and home: the logic of South Africa's intra-company transfer visa
The intra-company transfer visa lets multinationals bring in their own people without a labour-market test, for four years and no more. Why the duty to return is the point of the visa, not a penalty.
Insights are general commentary on the law as at the date of publication. They are not legal advice on any individual matter.
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