Andrew Stegmann
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Nigeria Update: Guidelines for Visa Re-validation and Migrant Travels

Lynn Mackenzie, J.D., LLM

Courtesy of  Advocaat Law Practice

Upon resumption of international flights in Nigeria on September 5, 2020, the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) issued guidelines for visa revalidation and migrant travels affected by the suspension of international flights and closure of airspace. The guidelines provide as follows:

  1. All migrants in Nigeria, whose Permit expired between March 23, 2020 to September 5, 2020 will upon presentation of their confirmed return tickets, be granted a free extension to enable them to depart the country on, or before September 15, 2020.
  2. All migrants in Nigeria, whose Permit or Visitors’ pass expired before March 23, 2020 will pay overstay penalty for the number of days stayed before the suspension of international flights and border closure, which commenced on March 23, 2020.
  3. All resident migrants whose residence permits expired, while outside the country from March 23, 2020 shall be allowed entry into Nigeria with the expired permit on or before September 25, 2020. These returning migrants are required to renew their residence permit within thirty (30) days of their arrival in Nigeria to avoid sanctions under the relevant Immigration laws.
  4. All migrants who processed payments for Visa on Arrival (VOA) and other categories of visas from the Nigerian Missions before March 23, 2020 are to apply for revalidation. A copy of the previous payment must be sent to; Cisevisa@immigration.gov.ng no later than September 15, 2020.
  5. All migrants who obtained VOA pre-approval Letters and other categories of visas from the Nigerian Missions before March 23, 2020, whose approvals/visas expired before September 5, 2020, are to also apply for revalidation. The revalidation process requires that copies of the expired pre-approval letters/visas be sent to cis-evisa@immigration.gov.ng not later than September 15, 2020. These categories of migrants will not be required to make fresh payments.
  6. VOA and e-Visa payment portals have been activated to enable intending migrants to Nigeria process entry visas as from September 5, 2020.
  7. Migrants who have obtained Temporary Work Permit (TWP) approval addressed to Missions that are closed for visa issuance should submit a complaint through cisevisa@immigration.gov.ng. The NIS will, upon receipt of the complaint, revert with appropriate options for visa issuance.
  8. All intending passengers are required to register via a Nigerian International Travel Portal online accessed through https://nitp.ncdc.gov.ng/onboarding/guidelines.
  9. While on the portal, passengers are required to complete the ‘Health Declaration/SelfReporting’ form, upload COVID-19 Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test conducted in the country of departure and make payment for a repeat PCR test to be done upon arrival in Nigeria, with the options of where and when to carry out the test.

The content of this article is provided for general information purposes. The provision of this article does not constitute legal advice or opinion of any kind; no advisory or fiduciary relationship is created between Relocation Africa and any other person accessing or using this article. Relocation Africa will not be liable for any damages or loss arising from using any part of this article.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
,

Relocation Africa’s Monthly Social Responsibility Project, Month 1: Making Sandwiches for the Poor

As part of our constant drive to give back to our community, our team has endeavored to join together to participate in a monthly community-focused CSR initiative. The team comes together each month to participate in an activity aimed at uplifting the community around our head office in Cape Town, after which ideas are put forward for the following month’s initiative.

In this way, as South Africans, we are giving back not only on Mandela Day, but throughout the year, as the need doesn’t end after the holiday.

Naturally, we take all necessary COVID-19-related precautions when participating in the activities, so as to ensure the health and safety of our team members and those we are interacting with outside our office.

For our first month, in September 2020, we came together to make sandwiches for the poor, with the theme of ‘Nobody Should Go Hungry’. We set up a sandwich stations in our boardroom and kitchen, and made different kinds of sandwiches which we then distributed to the needy in the surrounding area. We have posted pictures of the activity below.

Sandwich station in the Relocation Africa head office boardroom.

Sandwich station in our downstairs kitchen.

Our team gathered outside the office, ready for distribution.

We hope this inspires our readers and other companies to start similar initiatives, as if we all work together, we can greatly improve the quality of life of those in need around us.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
,

Work Begins on South Africa’s ‘Mega-bridge’ Project

The South African National Roads Agency Limited (Sanral) says it is making ‘steady progress’ in developing the multi-billion-rand N2 Wild Coast Road Project.

The agency said that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused some delays to the project but activities have now resumed following the easing of lockdown restrictions according to the government’s risk-adjusted strategy.

The project will see the construction of two mega-bridge structures on the Msikaba and Mtentu Rivers, seven additional major river bridges and several interchange bridges, as well as new intersection, interchanges, pedestrian walkways and agricultural under and overpasses.

The N2 Wild Coast Road, which stretches 410 km from the Gonubie Interchange in East London to the Mtamvuna river near Port Edward, will shorten the current distance by 85 kilometres in comparison to the current route.

This will mean a travel time saving of between one-and-a-half to three-hours for road-users once it is completed saving the economy R1.5 billion annually, Sanral said.

Project manager for the N2 Wild Coast Road Project, Craig McLachlan, said the roads agency’s investigating team has done its utmost to ensure that it works together with local community representatives whilst conducting their surveys.

“As far as possible, our investigation team tries not to disturb residents when we go onto sites,” he said.

“Sanral would like to point out that the N2 Wild Coast Road Project holds significant socio-economic benefits for local communities, including an estimated 8,000 direct jobs envisaged for construction work, whilst operational work is anticipated to create 900 direct jobs in addition to the 16,000-20,000 indirect jobs that will flow from the project.”

The Msikaba bridge is set to become one of the longest span crossings ever constructed on the African Continent, with a tower-to-tower distance of 580 meters.  The new cable-stayed bridge will also become the one of the highest bridges in Africa with a deck 194 meters high.

Construction was set to begin in February 2019, but was marred by community protests and delays.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
,

South Africans Are Reducing Stress and Saving Money By ‘Semigrating’ Due to New Remote Work Structures

As more workers switch to remote working during lock-down, a growing number of South Africans are looking to emigrate out of major towns and cities says Chas Everitt International property group.

Everitt said that many more people and companies have had to switch to remote working mode to survive and have realised that:

  • It is much easier than they thought;
  • It does not necessarily mean a drop in productivity; in fact, people are often more productive when working from home;
  • Many types of work lend themselves to working remotely on a permanent basis – and from wherever one prefers to live.

“We are thus not surprised that more employees as well as executives are now seriously exploring the idea of moving away from a big metro to a smaller town or an estate in a more rural area,” said Everitt.

“This pandemic has been a wake up call for many people and families who are now seriously reassessing their priorities, and seeking ways to make permanent changes to achieve a lifestyle that is less rushed and stressed, and we see this reflected in a significant increase in enquiries for country homes.”

In keeping with international trends, however, Everitt said that most do not want to relocate to another province or region, but just to a small town or estate that offers the possibility of a quieter life and is still within a couple of hours’ drive of their origin city – particularly if their friends or family members still live there.

The City of Cape Town is the most expensive metropolitan area in South Africa for rental prices. Many simply cannot afford to live in the city anymore, and are seeking homes elsewhere now that they have the freedom to work from home, alleviating much financial stress.

Everitt said the areas that could be prime targets for this process of “de-urbanisation” in South Africa are:

  • The Cape West coast;
  • The Winelands;
  • The Garden Route;
  • The Little Karoo;
  • The North Coast of KZN;
  • Hartebeespoort;
  • The Vaal;
  • Lanseria;
  • The Waterberg in Limpopo;
  • Towns in Mpumalanga close to Mbombela and the Kruger National Park.

Everitt said that not all towns in these areas will immediately benefit from this trend.

He said those areas that can attract the “de-urbanites” with good municipal management, reliable power and water supplies, reliable and fast internet connectivity, reasonable proximity to an airport, good shopping and medical facilities and good schools if they have children will prosper most.

Looking at the type of properties these new semigrants are likely to buy, he said, there is already high demand among affluent buyers for homes in out-of-town lifestyle estates.

These include Val de Vie, Pearl Valley and Boschenmeer in the Wineleands, for example, as well as the golf estate in Mossel Bay, the estates at the Vaal and around Hartebeespoort and the high-end estates along the KZN North coast such as Zimbali, Simbithi and Mount Edgecombe.

“We expect to see rising demand for ordinary freehold homes and whatever apartments may be available in and around various small towns – and possibly also for smallholdings where young families can keep horses or some livestock, go off-grid and grow their own food if they wish.”

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].