Official at home affairs asked me to pay 2000 rand for renewal
I am from Zimbabwe. When my refugee papers expired for two months, an official at home affairs asked me to pay 2000 rand for renewal. Is that right?
Category: Immigration, Home Affairs Issues
Region: South Africa, Gauteng
1 Answer
That is pure corruption. It has become rife for security guards and interpreters to collude with corrupt officials at refugee reception centres, taking bribes to get ahead of the queue. Sometimes it is under the guise of paying a fine for expired papers. If your “Section 24 permit”(also known as a “Refugee Permit”) which officially recognises you as a refugee in South Africa expires you must renew it upon its expiry date. Otherwise you will need to go back to the Pretoria office (Marabastad and Tirro)] in order to apply again. The Refugee Reception Office in Johannesburg is at 31 Planet Avenue, Crown Mines. Unfortunately there are long queues which breeds corruption. If you face problems approach lawyers for human rights or the UNHCR ( United Nations High Commission for Refugees) . Their phone number is 012-3921600.