Home Affairs to cancel over 2,000 study visas fraudulently issued through internal syndicates
Home Affairs has identified more than 2,000 study visas fraudulently issued through internal syndicates, with cancellation processes underway.
Image: IOL Graphic
The Department of Home Affairs has identified more than 2,000 study visas that were fraudulently issued through internal syndicates operating within the department, Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber confirmed on Monday.
“The department has also identified over 2,000 study visas that were fraudulently issued through these syndicates,” Schreiber said.
“Administrative processes are now underway to cancel these visas, and we will also ringfence any subsequent visas obtained by these same individuals to ensure that all irregularly-obtained documents are cancelled and that perpetrators are deported or prosecuted as required.”
The study visas form part of a broader investigation into serious maladministration in visa issuance, authorised by President Cyril Ramaphosa under Proclamation 154 of 2024, covering the period between October 2004 and February 2024.
Schreiber said the findings revealed how a small group of officials exploited manual processes and systemic loopholes within the visa system.
“By exploiting loopholes and the manual nature of visa processes, a mere handful of people had the ability to inflict all this damage on our country,” he said.
He added that the department is taking steps to ensure that irregularly obtained documents are withdrawn and that individuals who benefited unlawfully face deportation or prosecution where required.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber says 20 officials have already been dismissed since April last year following disciplinary processes linked to visa corruption at the department.
Image: SIU
SIU probe
Earlier, acting SIU head Leonard Lekgetho said the investigation had uncovered systemic corruption inside Home Affairs, describing an immigration system that had been “treated as a marketplace, where permits and visas were sold to the highest bidder.”
The SIU previously revealed that officials earning less than R25,000 per month received millions of rand in direct deposits linked to visa approvals, while financial gains exceeding R181 million were traced to beneficiaries of fraudulent visa applications.
The cancellation of the study visas forms part of ongoing administrative and disciplinary processes aimed at restoring integrity to South Africa’s immigration system.
jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za
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