Permit woes for Cuban engineer

Cape Town-141211-Alejandro Cruz who hails from Cuba is having grave difficulty in establishing his citizenship. Ironically Cruz works in Government for the Department of Human Settlements-Reporter-Zodidi-Photographer-Tracey Adams

Cape Town-141211-Alejandro Cruz who hails from Cuba is having grave difficulty in establishing his citizenship. Ironically Cruz works in Government for the Department of Human Settlements-Reporter-Zodidi-Photographer-Tracey Adams

Published Dec 12, 2014

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Cape Town - A civil engineer employed by the province may be forced to return home to Cuba after the Department of Home Affairs failed to issue him with a permanent residence permit.

Alejandro Ochoa, 43, a low cost housing project manager at the provincial Human Settlements Department, said he had been battling for two years to get the permit.

Recently he was offered a five-year contract on condition that he gets the permit.

Ochoa applied for a permanent residence permit in June 2012, but had still not received any response from the Department of Home Affairs.

“I have been going from office to office, making calls and e-mails to officials trying to find out how far my application is and what the outcome of it is. I don’t care whether it is positive or negative, I just want feedback on it.”

He moved to South Africa in 2008 and has been living under a work permit which is due to expire in March, 2016.

“The permanent residence permit is part of the work policy, so without the residency I am forced to go back home.”

In February last year, he logged on to the Home Affairs website to check on his application and discovered that his permit had been collected. “I was shocked because I never received anything and when I went to enquire at the offices they didn’t know anything about it.”

Relocation Online immigration consultant Jurie de Wet, who had been assisting Ochoa with his application, said Home Affairs was “undermining the whole process”.

“We are supposed to make critical skilled people a priority. The province is a government institution; the government and the Department of Home Affairs are supposed to be working in good faith.”

De Wet said should Ochoa return to Cuba, the country would lose a great skill.

He referred to the Government Gazette publication 3 7716 where Minister Malusi Gigaba listed all critical skills including civil engineering.

“He undoubtedly has critical skills and more than 15 years’ exposure in his field of expertise, but the Department of Home Affairs again fails to deal with this matter with the necessary urgency.”

Home Affairs spokesman Mayihlome Tshwete said the department was dealing with a backlog of permanent residency applications.

Tshwete advised Ochoa to apply for an extension of his work permit.

But Ochoa said he was on the verge of packing his bags and returning home.

“If I have to leave in 2016 then I would like to make sure all my things are sorted.”

“The department has huge problems with inefficiency and competence.”

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Cape Argus

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