Pretoria – A total of 108 711 applications for temporary and permanent residence were approved by the Department of Home Affairs in 2013.
According to Statistics South Africa, 65% of the permit recipients were from countries such as Zimbabwe, Nigeria, China, India, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Lesotho and Angola.
Addressing the media in Pretoria today on the annual publication on Documented Immigrants in South Africa, 2013, Statistician-General Pali Lehohla said many people were coming to South Africa in search of better jobs and education.
“Most of these people bring skills into the country…” he said.
The four most prominent types of permits issued for temporary residence were for visitors at 33%, work at 24%, relatives 23% and study at 15%. These four categories make up 95% of the 101 019 temporary residence permits issued in 2013.
The figures represent 19% of all temporary residence permits and 29% of all permanent residence permits issued in 2013.
Of the total number, Zimbabweans were issued with 18 899 temporary residence permits and 1 939 permanent residence permits.
Lehohla said 15 000 people applied for study permits last year.
Zimbabwe leads in the foreign-born population captured in the 2011 Population Census of South Africa, and also contributes the most to volumes of tourists that visit the country every year.
It is estimated that there are about 400 000 Zimbabweans in the country.
Lehohla said the recipients of the various permits were mainly young adults with a median age of 32 years.
Of the total number of immigrants in the country, about 70% of them are in Johannesburg.
Lehohla said they are unable to provide figures of undocumented immigrants. “It is difficult to get those figures.”
About 58% of a total of 6 801 permanent residence permits issued in 2013 were based on the relatives category status, whereas 32% were based on the work category status.
The remaining permits were distributed to refugees (5%), business and finance (3%) and retired persons (2%). – SAnews.gov.za
