Woman wins spousal visa court battle
Judgment handed down against Home Affairs ‘precedent-setting’
THE SOUTH African husband of a Zimbabwean woman who was facing the prospect of being separated from her family indefinitely, says a high court judgment in their favour handed down on Friday shows that the justice system works.
Last year, the Cape Argus reported that Heath and Lea Stewart and their four children had turned to the Western Cape High Court to challenge a section of South Africa’s Immigration Act, which requires visa or permanent residence permit applicants – including spouses of South Africans – to make their applications outside South Africa and wait for the outcome outside the country.
The section would have required Lea to return to her home country to lodge the application and await the outcome.
The family had moved to South Africa in May 2014.
Lea had entered the country on a 90-day visitor’s permit and returned to Zimbabwe in August 2014 to obtain a police clearance certificate, which is required for a spousal visa application in South Africa.
On her return she was issued with another 90-day visitor’s permit and started the process of applying for a spousal visa immediately.
On November 27, the couple was informed that the application had been rejected. A letter of appeal was then sent to the Home Affairs director-general, but the appeal was rejected.
Their attorney, Craig Smith, said the judgment handed down on Friday was precedent-setting.
He said the judgment compelled the Department of Home Affairs to allow the spouses of South African citizens to apply in South Africa for a spousal visa in terms of section 11 (6) of the Immigration Act .
Home Affairs was ordered to issue Lea with a spousal visa in terms of this section of the act and “to afford her the right and liberty to apply for permanent residence” within three months of the judgment.