Question NW1440 to the Minister of Home Affairs
17 May 2023 - NW1440
Hendricks, Mr MGE to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
(1) Whether (a) any concessions are made to speed up applications of work visa renewals for the staff of embassies and consulates and (b) staff in his department are briefed on such concessions; if not, why not, in each case; if so, what are the relevant details in each case; (2) what is the position of his department on the case of a staff member at the Indonesian Embassy (details furnished), who has been struggling since November 2022 to have a work visa renewed; (3) whether he can intervene as requests for his department’s assistance have only led to a dead end; if not, why not; if so, when?
Reply:
(1)(a) There are no special concessions in place to speed up applications of work visa renewals for the staff of embassies and consulates.
(1)(b) All special concessions by the Minister or Director-General are shared with staff, both local and abroad. The interpretation and the application of the contents of these concessions are shared with all staff to ensure uniformity.
(2) The work visa application of the staff member at the Indonesian Embassy was received by the Department on the 19th of September 2022. It was adjudicated and the rejection outcome dispatched on the 24th of October 2022. As per the checklist attached to the application at the time of submission, the applicant was informed that his application was incomplete. He insisted to submit without the required documents.
(3) The Immigration Act prescribes the manner in which the Minister can intervene in the processing of visa applications. Section 8(6) stipulates that an applicant aggrieved by a decision of the Director-General contemplated in subsection (5) may, within 10 working days of receipt of that decision, make an application in the prescribed manner to the Minister for the review or appeal of that decision. The applicant has not submitted an Appeal to the Minister regarding the rejection.
END