By Nompumelelo Mdletshe and Tarissa Wareley
At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, immigration facilities around the world suffered widescale processing delays under pressure from travel restrictions, new regulations, and lockdowns. Two years later, many countries are still reporting backlogs in the finalisation of applications.
Sub-Saharan Africa is no exception, with various other factors unique to the region also contributing to delays in immigration applications.
Immigration service providers like Fragomen are often confronted with the same question: How long is the process going to take? While timelines for the processes can be defined and real experience-based estimates provided, there are several systemic issues that contribute to delays, and these are important to consider when immigrating to the region.
The first, and most prevalent, is technology and infrastructure.
While there have been some advances in the digitisation of the region’s immigration framework, applications are still largely adjudicated manually. Consequently, documents are sometimes misplaced, either leading to applicants having to resubmit or unfavourable application outcomes.
Sporadic electricity outages and a lack of internet connectivity also has an impact, both during the application and the subsequent processing. These can lead to server downtimes and breakdowns when online applications are being filed or can delay access for officials processing those applications.
The greatest technological barrier to more efficient application processing is the lack of integration between administrative systems – like those between a country’s immigration and tax offices, for example. In countries like Nigeria, while the systems for immigration and tax are run separately, authorities have records in place to ensure synchronization between the payment of taxes and the successful adjudication of applications.
The second barrier to efficient immigration processing lies with the adjudicators.
In the Southern African Development Community (SADC), applications are often adjudicated by a joint evaluation or review committee constituting Labour departments, immigration authorities, and government ministers. While this may be viewed as a progressive approach, in practice, it often results in delays, especially if a particular member of the committee is not present for a meeting.
Applications are reviewed on specific days without exception and therefore may be moved out to the next available date in cases of political developments like elections, or public and religious holidays.
The third barrier stems from non-compliance with financial and legal requirements.
Service providers like Fragomen have continually cautioned against the impact of audits on the processing of work permit applications, and how corresponding legal and financial documents are essential in mitigating against delays.
Factors such as the review or audit of financial statements, the payment of outstanding fines by a business, payment of relevant sector fees, and any outstanding or underlying compliance matters can cause unnecessary delays.
It is important for companies to run their own in-house audits to ensure that they have the requisite documentation and correct filing systems in cases of on-the-spot immigration audits. This practice alone ensures that immigration is aware that the business has its affairs in order and, in turn, will not delay the processing of the company’s work permit applications.
If compliance checks are in progress, companies must be aware of whom to delegate matters to ensure a smooth process and avoid delays because of uncertainty or lack of planning. The way authorities are received at a company’s office is of vital importance. It is also important for companies operating in Africa to engage with experienced immigration consultants who will be able to guide them accordingly to minimise delays by ensuring that they are fully compliant.
While this list of possible reasons for delay is by no means exhaustive, it is indicative of what service providers like Fragomen have noted as having an impact on the processing of immigration applications. These delays are often misunderstood by travellers, particularly from western regions, who are used to streamlined processes. It is, therefore, best to approach preparing for work in the African region with both a positive outlook and an understanding of some of the unique factors that can cause delays.