De Saude Darbandi Immigration Attorneys

17/09/2026

I have had a few consultations recently with people who paid someone to obtain a visa for them, handed over little more than their passport and months later discovered that the visa they received was fraudulent.

Please be careful.

There is no lawful immigration process where you simply hand someone your passport and money and they somehow obtain a valid visa or permit for you. Every visa and permanent residence category has requirements that must be met. Where a regulatory requirement cannot be met, there may in appropriate circumstances be a lawful waiver process.

Do your own checks too. Look at the Immigration Act and Regulations. Check the requirements published by VFS or the relevant South African mission and make sure you understand what is actually being submitted on your behalf.

A fraudulent visa can have extremely serious consequences for your immigration status and can result in you being declared a prohibited person.

If something sounds too easy or you are being promised a visa without having to provide the documents required by law, please stop and check before you proceed.

17/09/2026

There are many people who have good immigration cases and who qualify to regularise their status, apply for a visa or permanent residence or pursue litigation but simply cannot afford specialist immigration legal fees.

After almost 20 years practising exclusively in this field, I have seen this far too often.

This is why we have launched a new initiative through DSDA specifically for people who have a good case but cannot afford our usual professional fees.

There is an eligibility process and where you qualify, further professional services will be charged on a sliding fee scale based on affordability.

If this applies to you or someone you know, please reach out to us at [email protected]. Please also share this with anyone who may benefit from the service.

16/09/2026

We have seen many individuals and families who genuinely need professional immigration guidance but simply cannot afford the fees of a specialist immigration law firm.

De Saude Darbandi & Associates (“DSDA”) is a new initiative of De Saude Darbandi Attorneys, created to help close that gap.

Access is eligibility-based so that the service reaches the people it was created to assist. Please feel free to share with whomever will benefit from the initiative.

Same values. A wider reach.

📩 [email protected]

10/09/2026

Visa refused? A rejection does not necessarily mean the application was legally or factually defective.

We are seeing a concerning number of visa applications refused for reasons that simply do not withstand scrutiny, documents said to be missing when they were submitted, reliance on incorrect filing requirements and even issues being raised that are not legal requirements for the visa concerned.

The difficulty is that appeals can take many months to finalise. Depending on your current visa status and whether you are legally able to apply again from within South Africa, a fresh application may sometimes be the more practical route. In other cases, an appeal is the only available option.

Whatever the position, remember that an appeal must generally be filed within 10 working days of receiving the refusal and the actual reasons for refusal need to be addressed properly.

Every case is different. Get proper advice before deciding whether to appeal, reapply or leave South Africa.

DSDImmigration

10/09/2026

If you are a ZEP holder who has already applied for a mainstream South African visa and you are still waiting for an outcome, the important thing is to understand the difference between your ZEP status and the visa application you have submitted.

The ZEP has historically allowed holders to live, work and study far more broadly than an ordinary mainstream visa, while a mainstream visa is granted for the particular purpose and conditions applied for.

If you have already submitted your visa application and have your VFS receipt, there may be little more to do from an application perspective other than wait for Home Affairs to make a decision unless the delay reaches the point where legal steps to compel an outcome are considered.

Also remember that special waivers have previously applied to ZEP holders transitioning into mainstream visas, so it is important to understand exactly which requirements apply to the particular visa category you are pursuing. #
There are still broader policy questions around the future position of ZEP holders and the effect of moving into mainstream visa categories. Until Government gives definitive guidance, be cautious about assumptions and get advice based on your individual circumstances.

ImmigrationLaw

10/09/2026

Your status while your visa application is pending: A pending permanent residence application does not give you immigration status or additional rights in South Africa. It simply means that your application is pending.

Visa applications are different. If you applied timeously for a visa and your previous visa expires while you are waiting for an outcome, you may find yourself in what one High Court judge described as a type of “legal ghost” position: you do not technically hold valid visa status, but you are also not treated in the same way as somebody who simply overstayed without applying. Your VFS receipt becomes extremely important.

Immigration status while an application is pending is often misunderstood. Know what your particular application does and does not allow you to do.

ImmigrationLaw

25/08/2026

Can an ICT visa holder change status in South Africa?

An ICT visa is a work visa. The Immigration Act does not place ICT visa holders within the same change-of-status restriction that generally applies to visitor and medical-treatment visa holders.

In law, an ICT visa holder may therefore be entitled to apply in South Africa for a change of status or conditions and may also be able to apply for permanent residence if independently eligible.

The practical difficulty is that Home Affairs has not always applied the law correctly. Applicants must therefore decide whether to exercise their legal rights in South Africa and accept the risk of an incorrect refusal, or follow Home Affairs’ preferred approach by applying from their country of origin or ordinary residence.

Knowing that you have a legal right does not mean the process will always be easy but it does mean an unlawful decision can be challenged.

CriticalSkillsVisa HomeAffairs

25/08/2026

Visa rejected for applying “too late”

Home Affairs cannot lawfully simply ignore a properly motivated waiver and then reject your visa application because it was not submitted 60 days before your existing visa expired.

The advance-filing requirements are important but they are not necessarily an absolute bar. Regulatory requirements may be waived for good cause and the waiver should be considered before the visa application is decided.

If your application has been rejected on this basis, obtain advice quickly if possible, but you only have 10 working days to file your appeal and leaving South Africa after a rejection is received carries its own risks.

This is general information and not legal advice for any individual matter.

25/08/2026

A child’s place of birth and the status of their parents can affect whether the child must be registered as a South African citizen or obtain a visa.

If a South African citizen’s child is born abroad, the foreign birth should be registered with the South African authorities. If that has not happened and if the child travels to South Africa on a foreign passport, a late registration process will be required.

A child born in South Africa after January 2013 to permanent-resident parents is not born a South African citizen merely because the child was born here. The child’s immigration status must first be regularised with the appropriate visa before permanent residence is pursued.

Most importantly: maintain valid immigration status for the child while any citizenship, birth-registration or permanent-residence process is pending.

This is general information. The correct process depends on the child’s date and place of birth and each parent’s status.

18/08/2026

https://dsdlaw.co.za/news/south-african-immigration-update-new-eta-processing-fee/

The Minister of Home Affairs has published amended Regulations on Fees under the Immigration Act, effective from 17 August 2026. The main change is a new R500 electronic processing fee for each Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) application. Where the ordinary R425 visa fee is also payable, the t...