Pretoria - International students studying in South Africa can breath a sigh of relief after Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba announced on Thursday that his department would waive visa regulations for those whose visas have expired.
The waiver is applicable to international students whose visas expired at the end of October and were due to expire at the end of November.
Gigaba’s announcement came after consultations he had with the International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA), which was liaising with universities to identity students affected by the regulations.
The waiver came as a solution to assist students, who would have been unable to write their examinations, or have been “declared undesirable when leaving the country on expired visas” said Home Affairs spokesperson Mayihlome Tshwete.
The waiver, said Tshwete, means that these students would be allowed to stay in the country until December 31.
He added: “Any student who intends to return to South Africa in 2016 for study purposes will have to follow the usual process of either applying for a renewal of their visa or apply for a study visa in their country of origin, whichever is applicable.”
Tswete said once the IEASA has provided the department with a list of bonafide students who were applicable for the waiver, they would proceed with granting these students the waiver.
ANA