Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, on Tuesday announced the extension of the closing date for the submission of public comments on the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection.

Comments on the White Paper have now been extended to 31 January 2024 from 19 January 2024.

The announcement is contained in Gazette No 49976, published on 8 January 2024.

"The department has received substantial public comments. The extension of the closing date follows requests received from various organisations and individuals for additional time due to the December holidays," the department said.

In November last year, Cabinet announced that it had approved the publication of the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection for public comment.

"The draft policy aims to provide a framework to guide the granting of residency and citizenship to foreign nationals, as well as the protection of refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa, cognisant of the Republic's national security interests and in compliance with international agreements and protocols on migration that South Africa is a party to," Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said at that time.

According to the department, the White Paper and the explanatory memorandum can be downloaded at www.dha.gov.za.

Written submissions should be addressed to the Chief Director of Strategy and Institutional Performance and may be forwarded to the department.

The submissions can be delivered by hand to the Department of Home Affairs, 230 Johannes Ramokhoase Street, Hallmark Building, Pretoria, for the attention of Mr Sihle Mthiyane.

They can also be mailed to the department at Private Bag X114, Pretoria, 0001 or emailed to whitepaper@dha.gov.za.