Home Affairs criticised for rejecting 500 retirement visa applications

South Africa received just over 3 500 retirement visa applications from about 100 countries in the last three years. The Department of Home Affairs declined approximately 500 of these applications due to the applicants’ failure to produce their net worth documents and meeting the prescribed minimum monthly income of R37 000.

Minister Aaron Motsoaledi disclosed this in a written parliamentary reply the DA who asked about the matter.

Motsoaledi says the applications were received from 112 countries.

DA MP Manuel De Freitas, who posed the question, says the rejection of some of the retirement visa applications is a loss to the country’s economy.

“Replies to questions in parliament submitted to the minister of home affairs demonstrate another lost opportunity based on replies. In the last three financial years and this year to date, home affairs have rejected 499 retirement visa applications which potential translate to at least to our economy of just under R18 million of our economy per month or well over R220 million annually. As these applications for tourism visas, retirement visas allow the retiring person who is financial stable to reside in South Africa.”

De Freitas has also expressed his dissatisfaction about the turnaround time given in the processing of the applications.

He says allowing people from other countries to spend their retirement here will provide economic opportunities.

“This means they can easily contribute to our economy with no financial burden to South Africa as a country and with no stretch to local jobs, but provide maximum returns to our economy. Such retirees will, for example, rent accommodation, hire vehicles, enjoy extensive touring and spend regularly on wining, dining and shopping.”

Freitas says Motsoaledi’s response shows the government is incapable of seeing opportunities.

“These replies again exposed government’s lack of understanding and fail to see opportunities that say in themselves in their faces. Such applications taken average of about 12 months to be processed. This excessive delay discourages applicants who then seek other alternative countries that are competing with us.”

Economist, Dawie Roodt also supported the idea for government to approve retirement visa applications.

“These retirement visas is one of the so-called low hanging fruits. If we are going to approve more of these visas, more people are going to come to South Africa and they will be like long-term tourists. And they will come here and they will spend money here which, of course, will be very good to the South African economy. In fact, it will lead to the inflow of capital to South Africa into doing things like, for example, support the exchange of the rand. I think we need to expand this specific project and we need to try to get more, more people to come to South Africa on the so-called retirement visa.”