Pretoria - Cabinet has appealed all Lesotho nationals, who are residing in South Africa illegally, to apply for a Lesotho Special Permit at a Visa Facilitation Service Centre before 30 June 2016.
The Lesotho Special Permit is issued under a special dispensation for Lesotho nationals who are working, studying or running businesses in South Africa and have been in the country in such capacity before 30 September 2015.
Addressing a post Cabinet briefing in Cape Town, on Thursday, Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Jeff Radebe, called on the Lesotho applicants who fraudulently obtained South African documents to surrender them to the designated Home Affairs offices so as to obtain an amnesty letter.
The amnesty will expire on 31 December 2016. Employers of Lesotho nationals should also take advantage of this permit.
Earlier this month, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba visited the Lesotho Special Permit Centre, in Midrand.
Minister Gigaba appealed to employers of Basotho people to provide proof of employment so that they can take advantage of the special permit process.
At the time, 117 permits have been issued by the department and over 5 460 applications have been made.
Minister Gigaba said the process to get the permit begins with Lesotho nationals getting their identity documents from their home country. – SAnews.gov.za
