Articles
New family immigration visa rules `penalise couples`
There are fears that more people will be separated by the introduction of a minimum salary level for those wanting UK family visas.
Families living in the UK and abroad have raised concerns about what new rules will mean for them as they try to reunite with foreign spouses.
In December, the Home Office, which says migration to the UK is too high, announced a package of measures to reduce net migration, following a spike in arrival numbers.
As of 11 April this year, anyone applying for a visa to bring a loved one from overseas must earn at least £29,000 per year.
A family visa is required for a British citizen or settled resident wanting to bring a foreign partner or spouse, and potentially children, to live in the UK together.
The minimum income required to sponsor a foreign spouse coming to the UK via the Family Visa scheme has now increased from £18,600 to £29,000.
The Government plans to increase this further, in stages, to £38,700 by next spring.
The minimum income requirement applies to the spouse already living in the UK.
In 2020, the UK was placed second from bottom among 56 countries for ease of family reunion, ranking only above Denmark, according to the Migrant Integration Policy Index.
Caroline Coombs, who lives in Bristol, co-founded Reunite Families UK - a non-profit organisation supporting families navigating the visa process.
The group started on Facebook in 2017 and has grown to almost 4,500 members.
Ms Coombs` husband, who is from Ecuador, faced being deported to his home country shortly after the couple - already married at the time - welcomed their first child.
Eight years on, Caroline`s husband Carlos is still in the process of gaining indefinite leave to remain, which would secure his future in the UK.
Another family struggling to come to terms with the new rules are Gary Pepperd and `the love of [his] life`, Shayenne.
Mr Pepperd was living in Bristol when he met Shayenne. She is Brazilian and was living in Brazil when they connected through social media.
`After a while, we started developing feelings until it got to a point where we wanted to be together,` said Mr Pepperd.
Shayenne came to the UK on a visitor visa and the couple`s relationship flourished. They got married in December 2017.
The pair had planned to live together in the city, but the option to apply for a family visa wasn`t available to them, as Mr Pepperd earned below the previous minimum income requirement of £18,600.
As a result, Mr Pepperd said he decided to move to Brazil so the couple could be together.
`I still have a house in Bristol that I would love to live in with my wife,` he said.
`But the [visa] application process is very expensive and it would mean being separated for a long time.
`I would need to leave my wife, find a job there, collect six months of payslips before I`d be allowed to apply and potentially wait another six months to get an answer.
`Now, it just got even harder,` he added.
Migration `too high`
As highlighted in a recent BBC Panorama episode `Immigration - the UK`s Record High`, last year, the Government issued 1.44 million visas. Only around 5.6% of those were family-related.
In response, a Home Office spokesperson said in a statement: `The current levels of migration to the UK are far too high.
`That is why the government announced a plan to cut the number of migrants coming to the UK by 300,000 a year ` the largest reduction ever.
“By tethering the minimum income requirement to the general salary threshold for skilled workers, it ensures migration policy is supportive of the wider ambition for the UK to be a high-wage, high-productivity, high-skill economy.”
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27. Aug. 2024 Sowetan Live
Court rules in favour of traditional wife and nullifies civil marriage
Hilda Sedinjane turned to the Limpopo High Court in Polokwane for an order that she be recognised as the true wife of deceased Seabela Malatji. The parties concluded a customary marriage in 1988 as evidenced by a lobola certificate and four children were born of the marriage. V.5574
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26. Aug. 2024 Cape Times
Outdated systems expose Home Affairs
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26. Aug. 2024 Polity
Home Affairs committee wants inspectorate unit strengthened to track foreign nationals
The Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs pointed out that while the deportation of 95 Libyan nationals has been effected, the need to strengthen the inspectorate unit of the department is necessary and called for an enhanced monitoring tool to track foreign nationals in the country. Earlier this week, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) concluded its preparations to deport the 95 Libyan nationals, after they were arrested in White River, Mpumalanga, last month. V.5572
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23. Aug. 2024 Sowetan Live
Two more people caught over IDs-for-sale scam
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23. Aug. 2024 TIMES TRAVEL
How to apply for Greece tourist visa: A step-by-step guide
Synopsis Travelers planning to visit Greece need a Schengen visa. The process includes scheduling an appointment, filling out an application form, submitting required documents, attending an interview, and waiting for processing. Greece is a gorgeous European nation noted for its iconic island destinations such as Santorini and Mykonos, among others. Those planning a trip to Greece, applying for a tourist visa is a must. Because Greece is a European nation, youll need to apply for a Schenegen visa. However its an easy process if you are aware of all the necessary steps carefully. V.5564
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23. Aug. 2024 Daad
Austria Job Seeker VISA With Family VISA Application Process
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23. Aug. 2024 Daily Maverick
Deadly Marabastad stampede sheds light on struggles of undocumented migrants in SA
Police are investigating a stampede that took place at the Home Affairs offices in Marabastad in Pretoria in which one person died and 20 more were injured. The story of Chidimma Vanessa Adetshina and how she became a contestant in the Miss South Africa pageant has cast notions of nationality and access to documentation for foreign nationals living in South Africa into the spotlight. V.5568
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23. Aug. 2024 DW
New Zealand: Emigration soars amid economic woes
New Zealand`s population of 5.3 million grew by just 0.1% (7,000) in the second quarter of 2024 as the number of those leaving the country reached well over 100,000 in the first half of the year, official statistics showed on Monday. The practical stagnation in population growth comes despite record numbers of arrivals in recent years driven largely by the island nation`s reputation for high living and working standards and as a haven of security in an increasingly troubled world. V.5569
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23. Aug. 2024 DW
New Zealand: Emigration soars amid economic woes
New Zealand`s population of 5.3 million grew by just 0.1% (7,000) in the second quarter of 2024 as the number of those leaving the country reached well over 100,000 in the first half of the year, official statistics showed on Monday. The practical stagnation in population growth comes despite record numbers of arrivals in recent years driven largely by the island nation`s reputation for high living and working standards and as a haven of security in an increasingly troubled world. V.5570
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21. Aug. 2024 IOL
Visa backlog: Portfolio committee welcomes overtime approval for Home Affairs officials
The Portfolio Committee on Public Service and Administration has welcomed the approval of overtime for Home Affairs officials to reduce the visa backlog. This comes after Minister of Public Service and Administration, Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi and his department granted the overtime request from Homes Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber for the next three months to meet target and reduce the backlog. V.5560
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20. Aug. 2024 News 24
While Schreiber wants to bring dignity to Home Affairs, xenophobia rears its head in budget debate
Several parties represented in Parliament blamed undocumented migrants for crime and draining social services during the debate on the Department of Home Affairs` budget. Claims undocumented migrants are disproportionately responsible for crime or are depleting South African taxes without contributing, have previously been debunked. New Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said he wanted to bring dignity back to the department`s work. V.5555
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20. Aug. 2024 Groundup
Judge slams law firm for misleading court with `cut-and-paste` applications targeting refugees
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20. Aug. 2024 My Broadband
How to get your new Smart ID at a bank
South Africans looking to upgrade their green ID booklet to a smart ID card can book an appointment to do so using the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) eHomeAffairs platform. Moreover, the system allows applicants to book appointments at DHA-supported bank branches across the country, meaning they never have to step foot in a Home Affairs office or face the associated queues. V.5557
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20. Aug. 2024 SowetanLive
How stolen home affairs stamp led to cleaner`s bust
A year and four months after a stamp used to authenticate documents was stolen at a home affairs office, a 24-year-old man presented a birth certificate bearing the same stamp to apply for an ID. The certificate, however, was found to be fake and was produced four months after the stamp was stolen. V.5559
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19. Aug. 2024 SABC 3
Spaza shop owners cry foul regarding Gauteng government funding
Local entrepreneurs and spaza shop owners have lashed out at the Gauteng Department of Economic Development for failing to deliver on their promises which were part of the R100 million Kasi Mnotho Fund. The fund was aimed at offering strategic loans and empowering businesses to secure trading stock, equipment, machinery and working capital. This initiative was promised to business owners in an attempt to foster entrepreneurship and propel economic growth in Gautengs townships. V.5552
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19. Aug. 2024 IOL
Identity fraud rockets in SA
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16. Aug. 2024 EWN (EYEWITNESS NEWS )
Father unable to register his son because he is not the mother
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14. Aug. 2024 Reuters
People leave New Zealand in record numbers as economy bites
People are leaving New Zealand in record numbers as unemployment rises, interest rates remain high and economic growth is anaemic, government statistics show. Data released by Statistics New Zealand on Tuesday showed that 131 200 people departed New Zealand in the year ended June 2024, provisionally the highest on record for an annual period. Around a third of these were headed to Australia. While net migration, the number of those arriving minus those leaving, remains at high levels, economists also expect this to wane as the number of foreign nationals wanting to move to New Zealand falls due to the softer economy. The data showed of those departing 80 174 were citizens, which was almost double the numbers seen leaving prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. V.5548
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14. Aug. 2024 SABC3
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13. Aug. 2024 Zimoja News
Driven by a desire for a luxurious lifestyle
A Congolese national was sentenced to 12 years for corruption and other crimes. CRIMINAL SYNDICATES Congolese national Tiny Mtumba (36) was sentenced to 12 years and 3 months imprisonment for fraud, theft, and contravention of the Immigration Act by the Palm Ridge Commercial Court in the East Rand in Gauteng on Thursday. V.5547
