Department of Home Affairs
State president Jacob Zuma has signed Immigration Amendment Act 13 of 2011 and Refugees Amendment Act 12 of 2011 into law.
The Immigration Amendment Act will come into operation on a date yet to be determined by the president.
The Refugees Amendment Act will come into operation “immediately after the commencement of Refugees Amendment Act 33 of 2008”.
Tabled in Parliament in September 2010, amongst other things the two bills address the management of economic refugees and genuine asylum seekers.
According to home affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, the Immigration Amendment Bill seeks to facilitate “the free movement of people and goods” and the “exchange of skills” by streamlining the process of applying for temporary visas/permits on the part of academics, scholars, business people and investors.
“Having said this, we have to put some checks and balances in place to stop the spread of organised crime, trafficking in persons and also corruption. We must discourage the abuse of our open immigration policy,” she continued when first presenting the bill for a second reading debate in the National Assembly during March 2011.
Referring to the Refugee Amendment Bill, she said that its purpose was to make the process of applying for asylum “more efficient, easy and credible” for those “genuinely seeking” protection from persecution.
“At the same time, we would like to be firm and very strict with those who are abusing the asylum system knowing very well that they are not refugees,” she added.
According to the minister, an application for asylum can have one of three possible outcomes: acceptance, rejection as manifestly unfounded or rejection as unfounded.
The act makes provision for an appeal against a decision to declare an application for asylum manifestly unfounded. Should this fail, the applicant will be deported.
Sabinet Cape Town Office
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