Applicants for temporary residence visas applying outside South Africa will still be required to submit medical reports.
Picture: Carlos Muchave / The Citizen
The need to submit medical reports for permanent residency and visa applications has been waived by Home Affairs, effective immediately.
Minister Leon Schreiber gazetted the waiver on Friday, having signed the immigration directive on 8 July.
The directive is another step in Home Affairs’ drive to streamline its processes, making South Africa a less administration-heavy travel destination.
The directive grants a “waiver to applicants for a visa to temporarily sojourn in the Republic, as well as applicants for a permanent residence permit”.
The blanket waiver alters two sub-regulations of the Immigration Act and applies to all future applications and those currently pending adjudication.
The sub-regulations affected, 9(1)(c) and 23(1)(f) of the 2014 immigration regulations, apply to temporary residence visa applications and permanent residence applications.
SA still protected
Eisenberg and Associates clarified that medical certificates were initially intended to guard against the spread of infectious diseases.
“South Africa’s Immigration Act still protects that public health interest directly: section 29 already bars entry to anyone falling into prohibited categories, including those with certain serious infectious diseases.
“The legal safeguard already exists elsewhere in the Act, making a blanket medical certificate requirement increasingly redundant,” Eisenberg and Associates state.
The firm adds that the medical reports caused unnecessary delays as applications would be rejected due to flaws in the documents, such as being incorrectly endorsed or outdated, instead of legitimate medical issues.
“These technical disputes generated avoidable rejections and unnecessary appeals, adding pressure to an already stretched immigration system,” the firm explained.
Some still need to submit
IBN Immigration Services explained that the waiver for temporary residence visas was only applicable for those already in the country.
“If you are applying for a temporary residence visa from outside South Africa through an embassy, consulate, or visa facilitation service office abroad, you must still submit a medical report with your application.
“Omitting it will put your application at risk of rejection,” IBN stated.
Temporary residence visas are for longer than 90 days, such as general work visas, spousal visas, retirement visas and study visas.
While the medical report requirement for permanent residence visas has been waived for applications submitted anywhere, other vital documents are still required.
Among others, these would be valid passports, proof of financial means, employment and relationship documentation, and police clearance certificates from countries where the applicant had lived for longer than 12 months.
“A shorter document checklist does not mean a lighter adjudication.
“Applications are still assessed against the full requirements of the Immigration Act and Regulations, and incomplete or incorrectly prepared applications remain the leading cause of delays and rejections,” IBN concluded.
