Foreign truckers issue another challenge over work permits

A new action against the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) on the work permit issue for foreign truck drivers is under way, with a group of immigration practitioners from around the country challenging the DHA’s continued inability to process work permit applications within its previously promised 30-day deadline. This follows a successful court action last month by a group of more than 40 SA trucking companies fighting the issue of foreign drivers in their employ suddenly needing work permits. The case was based on the department enforcing an incorrect ruling without warning, and threatening to prevent foreign drivers employed by SA truckers crossing the border unless they had SA work permits. The group won an interdict against the minister of home affairs and the department’s director general – which allowed them enough time (three months) to meet the legal requirements. It also compelled the DHA to issue short-term visitor visas with permission to work at the border, which was the previous arrangement. Leon Isaacson, MD of Global Migration and chairman of the Forum of Immigration Practitioners of SA (Fipsa), told FTW that the department had a statutory obligation to process work permits and other temporary residence applications within that 30-day time span. Its inability to meet this deadline prompted several immigration practitioners to petition the minister on behalf of more than 1 000 affected companies and individual applicants – a petition which was sent to him by a legal firm on August 6. “If home affairs is not able to resolve the matter by August 20, it will lead to an urgent application for the courts to compel the department to issue the permits,” Isaacson added, “some of which have been pending for nine or 10 months.” “Such a court action will be far-reaching as it will override the rights and current responsibilities of the minister, as we will ask for an interdict to be issued in terms of the Promotion of Administrative Justice Act – which focuses on these kinds of public service delivery issues.”