Immigration Delays Push Businesses to the Brink: Canadian Investor Heads to Court, Secures Last-Minute Relief

After more than two years of repeated hurdles, unexplained rejections, and years of administrative impasse at the hands of DHA, the situation became untenable. He made a stark decision: should the situation not be resolved through the courts, he would shut down his operations, pack up, and leave the country for good.

But even a first round of formal litigation in October 2025, which resulted in a court order granting permanent residence to him and his family, came and went without DHA complying with the set deadline. He subsequently requested a new court date for March 2026 in a final attempt to continue with his life in South Africa.

Legal Pressure Brings Last-minute Breakthrough

Despite some progress in the run up to the new court date – with the main applicant and one child granted permanent residence – the mother and other child’s applications were once again rejected. Each lodged a further appeal, which remained pending until the day before the scheduled hearing on 6 March 2026.

Attorneys at Visa Litigation Services, who prepared the case and represented the investor, say in a last-minute turn of events, the applications were finally reviewed, and permanent residence granted to the remaining family members.

“Taking the matter to court proved to be a decisive step in moving things forward. Once litigation was underway, the previously stalled applications and appeals were revisited and finalised. Unfortunately, the experience is far from isolated and clearly demonstrates that legal pressure, in some cases, is an important consideration to accelerate delayed administrative processes.”

How Pressure Built Over Several Years

The businessman relocated to South Africa in 2020 on a Business Visa, accompanied by his family. Three years later the family applied for permanent residence (PR). Despite including a formal recommendation from the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition to waive the R5 million capital contribution requirement, his application was rejected on precisely that basis with the waiver seemingly disregarded. He submitted an appeal in May 2024.

Similarly, the children’s applications for PR were also rejected on the basis that they did not qualify as dependents of a PR holder. However, this was only because the applicant’s application had been rejected on erroneous grounds, notes Visa Litigation Services. Appeals for the children were submitted in September 2024, after it became apparent that the Department ignored the applicant’s earlier appeal and adjudicated the children’s applications in terms of the incorrect provision of the Immigration Act.

In the interim, as PR applicants have to maintain their legal status in South Africa, the family had to continuously renew their visas while their PR appeals were pending. One child’s subsequent visa application for a long-term Visitor’s Visa (not a Study Visa) was erroneously rejected on the basis that no letter of school enrolment had been included in their application.

From Frustration to Litigation

The family’s appeals remained pending until October 2025. Despite multiple follow-ups and formal escalation requests, the Department failed to provide any response or outcomes.

At this juncture, the applicant resolved that the situation had become untenable and proceeded to institute formal litigation against DHA. So profound was his frustration, that he undertook to shut down all his business operations in South Africa and return to Canada should the litigation not succeed.

The case was brought before the Pretoria High Court, where he sought a court order granting permanent residence to him and his family. The Department requested 35 days to finalise and issue the outstanding applications, and the matter was postponed. When that deadline passed without delivery, a new court date was set for March 2026.

The Need for Judicial Pressure in a System Under Stain

Attorneys at Visa Litigation Services say this case illustrates how immigration inefficiencies can escalate into a crisis for both families and businesses.

“The fact that litigation was required at all raises broader concerns about the reliability of administrative processes. Once legal proceedings were underway, however, the long-outstanding applications and appeals were revisited and finalised, highlighting the role that judicial pressure can play to bring finality and certainty to applicants.”

South Africa’s immigration framework is undergoing reform, with initiatives such as the draft White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection aimed at improving efficiency and investor confidence. However, the practical experience for applicants like the Canadian family, exposes a critical gap between policy intent and administrative execution.

For businesses operated by foreign nationals in South Africa, this causes significant inconvenience and introduces real commercial risk, highlighting the need for litigation as a structured route to bring finality in cases subject to undue processing delays.