Cape Town - Ruthie Longley’s children have fallen behind with their schooling and she has had to send her older daughter to the US to study because they have been branded illegal immigrants.
The Department of Home Affairs’ computer system reflects that the children were declared undesirable, even though they were told three months ago the undesirability status had been lifted.
And thanks to South Africa’s immigration regulations, passed by the National Assembly a week ago, their status means they will be banned from South Africa for five years if they leave, even if for a holiday.
The matter dates back to August, when the family arrived in South Africa to live. They are US passport holders who lived in Zambia.
Longley said: “We work with logistics in different areas of Africa, so we must live on the continent… We had been to South Africa frequently on vacation and it was the most comfortable fit for us.”
With applications for residency pending at the Department of Home Affairs, they entered South Africa on tourist visas.
A month later, Longley was informed her application had been approved, but a decision had not been made regarding the children because the paperwork had disappeared.
They approached the High Court in Durban and obtained an order compelling the department to finalise the matter, but still nothing happened.
Their daughter was scheduled to write exams, which she could not miss if she did not want to delay her schooling by a year.
Their attorney spoke to the department and they were assured the matter would be finalised in time.
“On that recommendation, we allowed the children to overstay their tourist visas so my daughter could finish her exams,” Longley said.
Overstaying, in terms of the regulations, leads to foreigners being banned from South Africa for five years. However, the ban only comes into effect once they leave.
In December the family had to leave because they had booked a holiday in Asia. Officials assured them the paperwork would be done in time for their return.
“Needless to say, (the Department of) Home Affairs didn’t bother to process our children’s paperwork. When we needed to return, our children were still banned.”
For the next month they stayed in a hotel in Zambia while they waited for a decision by the department. When it was made, the children were denied residency applications.
After being left in limbo for three months and sending their children to the US, the ruling was lifted.
But the saga didn’t end there.
The family left for Dubai in April and returned this month to find the lifting of the ban was not reflected in the immigration computer system.
All they have are photocopies of their permanent residency certificates. She said the department lost the originals.
Longley’s attorney, Craig Smith, said the department should have considered the exceptional circumstances.
In terms of the legislation passed last week, the department imposes guilt in advance on foreigners who overstay. If there were delays from the department and visas expired in that time, they would be regarded as people who overstayed. They are declared undesirable and the onus is on them to prove they had a legitimate reason for overstaying.
Weekend Argus