The Department of Home Affairs has recorded a dramatic turnaround in its performance, with visa processing times, smart ID production, and immigration efficiency all showing major improvements in the 2024/25 financial year.

According to the department’s latest annual report, its first under Minister Dr Leon Schreiber, the proportion of work visas adjudicated on time has surged across all categories. Critical skills visas improved from 52% to 89%, business visas from 61% to 97%, and general work visas from just 10% to an impressive 98%.

“This unprecedented improvement in performance shows the difference that quality and committed leadership can make in spaces that have long been synonymous with underperformance,” said Democratic Alliance (DA) spokesperson on Home Affairs, Adrian Roos MP.

The department also exceeded its targets for identity document production, issuing 3.6 million smart ID cards, nearly one million more than planned.

“This indicates that the system modernisation programme and interventions to deal with systems offline are delivering results,” Roos said.

A key driver of the turnaround has been the department’s focus on visa regime reform under the Medium Term Development Plan (MTDP) for 2024–2029. The plan prioritises attracting critical skills, promoting investment, and boosting tourism to drive economic growth and job creation.

Among the new initiatives, the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) has proven particularly successful, drawing nearly 40 000 tourists and creating more than 3 000 jobs during its first phase.

Roos said the department’s progress shows that meaningful reform is possible when leadership is focused on results.

“We also recognise the exponential improvement in Immigration Affairs performance, from 40% to 87.5%. This shows that we can implement visa reforms to encourage tourism and investment by foreign nationals while dealing decisively with illegal immigration.”

He added that the DA would continue to push for evidence-based reforms in government.

“Ministries under DA leadership will continue to prioritise programs that grow the economy and create jobs.”

IOL News

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