Renewing Our Visas - Step 1

We have heard horror stories from others who have tried to renew their Visas in South Africa. Our friend, Franciscan Sister Dierdre, started her application for renewal last September. The papers she submitted have been lost three times and she still has not received her renewed visa. She has phoned them every two or three weeks as they requested, with a registration number, repeated long details to them on the phone, and still not been granted the visa. She in not alone in this situation, as we have heard similar stories from others. The Home Affairs Office, which handles visas and other business is apparently overwhelmed. I have heard that they process 4.000 applications from refugees every month as well as other business.

I had hoped to get the application form on the internet. I learned that it is necessary to go to the Home Affairs office just to get the paper. Tim and I went to the nearest Home Affairs office last Tuesday. We learned that that office does not have the forms, and we were given directions to another office some miles away.

We arrived there to find a line of people outside of the building. We joined the line and stood for 1 - 2 hours. There was traffic in and out of the door ahead of us. Some of those people must have been jumping their turn, because when the number ahead of us got to about 10, the number stayed the same even though there was traffic in and out. Finally I went into the building to see what I could. There was a staircase which people went up to a small area at the top of the stairs which was filled with a crush of people. They were standing against a gate which held a small area the size of a small elevator. Inside that gate there was another crush of people. There was a guard inside with the people. I think perhaps he was trying to let one person in as one left. I asked him about getting a blank application form. He said that I needed to go inside. When I repeated my request for just getting the paper, a different man gave me a form. I said I needed two, and could I copy this one. He said I could.

I went outside to where Tim was waiting in line. We looked at the form which is titled "Application For Renewal of Existing Permit" We are not sure that this is the correct form, but we have filled it out and gotten the signature of the St. Francis Care Center Manager on the form

In the following days we gathered the supporting documents which we might need for the Visa Renewal. We plan to try Step 2 of the process on this coming Tuesday. We plan to go to a different Home Affairs site with the hope that the crush of people will be less or more fairly handled.

Cecilia