Extension Granted: South Africa Extends Concession for Pending Waiver and Appeal Applications

Key Provisions for Pending Waiver Applicants

Visa holders with a pending waiver application as of the directive’s signature date are granted a further temporary extension until 31 March 2026. This extension provides the Department time to process the applications and allows applicants to collect their outcomes and submit applications for the appropriate visas.

Importantly, if you need to travel while awaiting a waiver outcome, you should be allowed to depart and re-enter the Republic at a port of entry up to and including 31 March 2026 , without being declared undesirable. However, a critical note for non-visa-exempt applicants: if you travel out of the country with a waiver application receipt, you are required to apply for a port-of-entry visa to ensure re-entry into South Africa.

Key Provisions for Pending Appeal Applicants

If you are a visa holder who appealed a negative decision on a long-term visa or a permanent residence application, your current visa status is temporarily extended until 31 March 2026. However, you must only do what your current visa allows

For those with pending appeals who need to travel, they should be allowed to depart from the Republic and re-enter up to and including 31 March 2026 , without being declared undesirable. On both departure from and re-entry into the Republic, you are required to produce a copy of the rejection letter along with a receipt and/or confirmation that you have submitted an appeal application. Similar to the waiver provision, non-visa-exempt appeal applicants who travel must apply for a port-of-entry visa for re-entry.

General Conditions

This temporary concession is strictly for foreigners who have been legally admitted into the Republic. Furthermore, it is only applicable to applicants who submitted their application via VFS Global and who can produce a verifiable receipt for such application against the VFS Global tracking system.

If your application does not fall into these categories, was made before 07 March 2024, and remains pending, the DHA advises you to urgently contact the Home Affairs Contact Centre via email at hacc@dha.gov.za or by calling 0800 601 190.

Always ensure you adhere to the specific requirements for travel and documentation to avoid any issues at the port of entry.