Dear Clients
The South African Minister of Home Affairs has issued Immigration Directive No. 13 of 2026, granting a blanket waiver of the requirement to submit certain visa applications at least 60 days before expiry of the existing visa.
The relief applies to visa extension applications and applications to change visa status or conditions, provided the application is submitted while the existing visa remains valid. It also covers relevant applications already pending, certain pending appeals arising from failure to meet the 60-day filing requirement, and future applications.
Under Regulations 9(8)(c) and 9(5)(a) of the Immigration Regulations, applications for visa extensions and applications to change status or visa terms and conditions would ordinarily need to be submitted no less than 60 days before expiry of the existing visa.
Directive No. 13 of 2026 waives this 60-day advance-filing requirement in respect of:
visa extension applications, and applications for a change of status or conditions, that remain pending adjudication;
pending appeals where the basis of the appeal is that the visa extension application was not lodged at least 60 days before expiry of the existing visa; and
future applications submitted to the Department of Home Affairs that fall within the scope of the waiver.
The waiver is conditional: the relevant application must still be submitted before the existing visa expires.
Importantly, the Directive removes the 60-day timing restriction; it does not itself approve an application or waive the remaining eligibility and documentary requirements applicable to the relevant visa category.
The Directive provides greater flexibility where an extension or permitted change cannot practically be lodged 60 days before visa expiry and is a welcome course correction to the blanket imposition of this requirement, over the past 12 months, which resulted in significant unexpected consequences for Employers and foreign nationals alike.
Organisations may wish to review pending or previously challenged cases where the 60-day filing rule was the relevant issue, as the Directive expressly extends relief to specified pending applications and appeals.
Vialto recommends reviewing each case individually to confirm that the proposed application falls within the scope of the Directive and that it can be filed while the applicant’s existing status remains valid.
Should you have any queries, please contact your dedicated Vialto consultant, copying our Team Mailbox: za_immigration_south_africa@vialto.com
For a deeper discussion on the above, please reach out to your Vialto Partners point of contact, or alternatively:
Stephen Marlin
Partner
Supriya Boodhena
Senior Manager
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