After past sell-by-date politician and Minister of COGTA, Dlamini-Zuma, extended the State of Disaster for another month until 15 April 2021 even she realised that she forgot to address the thousands of foreigners who currently reside within the Republic on a temporary visa. The National Coronavirus Control Council has to be summoned to gain clarity and direction on this matter and late last week – only a few days away from the expiry of the previous extension – it was finally published by “Not at Home Affairs” Minister Motsoaledi that all Visa will be further extended.
Other than before, Government Notice No. 44335, published on 26 March 2021, now differentiates between Visitor Visa and all other Visa.
Visitor Visa are now valid until 30 June 2021 and need to be extended well before that date in case a further extension is desired. The State of Disaster has not amended the limitation to 2 x 90 days, hence a third extension is still not possible even if the second expired during Alert levels or Lockdown.
All Visa originally issued for up to 3 years, Study Visa, Treaty Visa, Business Visa, Medical Treatment Visa, General Work Visa, Critical Skills Work Visa, Retired Person Visa and Exchange Visa remain valid for departure on or before 31 July 2021 and their extension need to be applied for latest 60 days before this deadline, meaning by submission by latest 31 May 2021.
No specific mentioning was made of Refugee Visa or Zimbabwean Special Dispensation Permits (ZSP).