The new home affairs minister has extended visa concessions for foreigners in South Africa on work, long-term or other visitor visas.

A day after the DA's Leon Schreiber was sworn into office as home affairs minister he extended a temporary concession for foreigners with pending visa applications, including those who are appealing against rejections.

The visa concession was necessitated to protect applicants and address ongoing delays in visa processing.

In effect, all foreign workers and holders of long-term visas (including visitor, business, study, relative and work visas) are affected by the extension, which is in place until 31 December.

The department has struggled for years to reduce backlogs and fight corruption. Some progress has been made but there is still an enormous backlog in the various visa and permit categories, exacerbated by problems with the home affairs systems.

In April, the department revealed in response to a parliamentary question that the visa backlog had increased by 18,000 -- from 74,000 in August 2023 to 92,000 on 16 February 2024. At the time, the backlog of visitor visas for spouses married to South Africans was 41,083. The backlog of relatives' visas was 18,661, which then minister Aaron Motsoaledi blamed on "challenges" around proving legitimate relationships.

Under Motsoaledi, the department scored many own goals, including issuing a directive on 21...