Mailbox: Shambles and incompetence in the DHA - SA red tape blocks spouse of 33 years

Key topics:

• DHA rejects spousal visa over incorrect, baffling reasons

• Long-term couple faces delays, costly appeals, separation

• SA risks losing global talent due to bureaucratic failures

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By Stefan Hendriks

Hello Alec

My wife and I are regular consumers of BizNews and we find it refreshing to follow your many interviews in South Africa.

I am a South African citizen and Roz is an Australian.  We have been married for 33 years.  We are both highly qualified individuals.

We own a home in Paarl and we are working on establishing ourselves there.  To that end, we have been working since 2022 on obtaining permanent residence for Roz in RSA .  

After struggling for a year to get traction through the South African Embassy in Canberra, we finally gave up and submitted her application in October 2024 in Cape Town through the VFS agency using Nova Immigration as attorneys (Canberra Embassy seems to be no more than a holiday enclave for embassy staff: They maintain one telephone line and it is never answered.  Appointments are required to see anyone, but no times can be scheduled.  Embassy staff advised by email that such matters are better attended to with RSA!).  When we lodged through Nova, we were told that there was a waiting list and that waiting times have stretched to 3 years in the past, but that since the advent of the GNU, Minister Schreiber has worked to reduce that dramatically.

Well, in May 2025 we were pleasantly surprised by advice that the result of Roz’ application as available at VFS, only to discover that her application was rejected on the grounds that we were divorced (nonsense, we remain as married as ever), that Roz’ entry visa was not submitted (it was, in the documents supporting the application) and that her entry was not recorded on the DHA system (surely their problem, not that of the applicant?).  We were told by the attorneys that more than 70% of the applications had been rejected, spuriously they believe.  For example, one was the rejection of the application of an 8 year old boy on the grounds that he was not married?!

This outcome meant immediately filing an objection, paying the attorneys more fees and going back to waiting patiently.

Read more:

However, as a South African citizen returning the country of my birth, I am perplexed and insulted:

1. Surely there must be a fast track for the spouses of long standing of South African citizens (30 plus years is NOT a marriage of convenience!), 

2. The management of the DHA is negligent in that, it seems, in order to meet a time line for clearing backlogs, they simply got staff to mass issue rejections,

3.  My wife and I either have to fly in and out on an ongoing basis or live separately (obviously there are conditions that can ameliorate this outcome, but we would need to dedicate or lives to regular visits to the DHA offices and airlines).

So, short of boring you, is there some benefit to air the incompetence and willful obstructionist behaviour of the DHA’s management and that of its minions, or at least highlighting this state of affairs to the Minister?  I am aware that one can attempt to contact him directly, but I have the impression that DHA staff censor what gets through to the Minister.

Please see the brief email trail below.  It gives a flavor, but is not every blow and thrust in this saga.

If you look at Roz’ qualifications, it does make one wonder about the amount of talent that the country is losing (in addition to the talent lost through emigration, of course).  Roz is a DVM, MBA, PhD and a specialist in technology commercialization, a successful start-up entrepreneur (advising SA universities, amongst others, from overseas, a Director of companies and medical institutes.  I am a Chartered Accountant, double MBA, a former investment banker and successful entrepreneur.  I remain interested in investing in RSA, and creating employment potential for others. 

We can surely do better?  These events may not fit the format of Biz News, but can an appropriate interview generate a second look at the DHA.  It is likely that the Minister is completely ignorant of this fraud, while our country continues to hemorrhage talent.  I am sure we are not alone.  I am personally aware of similarly high quality potential immigrants who simply gave up and took their talents and assets elsewhere.