Home affairs makes life easier for students abroad

I read with concern the article “New laws sour SA for foreign students” in the Mail & Guardian’s Getting Ahead supplement of September 11. Issues raised by t he authors, Cornelius Hagenmeier, Orla Quinlan and Annette Lansink, prompted the home affairs department to request an urgent meeting with the International Education Association of South Africa (IEASA). Indeed, we met an IEASA representative on September 15 to ascertain what the issues are and how we can help.

Their posturing and melodrama aside, Hagenmeier et al had no mandate to speak for South African universities. The international students’ interests they hyped fall within the purview of IEASA, which maintains ongoing communication and cooperative relationships with gov- ernment departments. We meet the association regularly to look at international education. IEASA knows that the administrative issues highlighted are being addressed.

But what are the issues? The article’s authors say a consequence of last year’s changes in the immigration law is that the South African higher education sector has experienced a drop in international student numbers.

How changes specific to international students have had “disturbing” consequences is hard to understand. We extended, not reduced, the length of study visas. To those with one-year visas and those on a fouryear programme, we added three more years. If we’re missing something, we’re ready to hear about it and make amends.

Study visas issued before May 2014 were for one year. They are now offered for the duration of the stud- ies, without the need to renew them every year.

We’re considering permanent residence permits for international students whose studies fall within the ambit of the critical skills that the country lacks. Students at universities or further education and training colleges are allowed to take on part-time work. This is included in the study visa and students don’t have to apply for authorisation.

I don’t see how sweeping statements help in supporting students or fulfilling international human rights obligations. When you say “at one university international student numbers have dropped”, how do we get to the root causes when we don’t even know which university we’re talking about, or the nature of the challenges they face?

What research their data on student numbers is based on is a mystery. It’s also not clear whether “con- cerns” around applicants’ “unequal treatment” were raised formally. I don’t know what “stricter” requirements they’re talking about regarding foreign students. It’s not clear how a visa covering their entire studies disadvantages students.

Visa regulations seem to be a scapegoat. We’ve even abolished advance guarantees for the payment of fees, to broaden access. Students now only have to provide proof of sufficient means while in the republic.

We will continue working with IEASA in streamlining administrative issues and addressing bottlenecks in the application process, because there seems to be a problem in that regard. We’ve prioritised the adjudication of applications, but we rely on institutions, through IEASA, for information on students’ needs. The department has a dedicated team handling student affairs, so there shouldn’t be problems.

We want to keep improving our service. We will swiftly tackle any teething problems in implementation. We have an interest in the wellbeing of students; indeed, South Africa will do better with a larger pool of critical skills. Universities have a role to play. They should help in understanding what problems there are. International offices should guide students on types of visas and application processes.

And yes, we want to work together to resolve problems. There are structures in place for this task, which we recognise and respect. We will send representatives to IEASA’s workshop at the end of the year, and are exploring how we can link to their student administration system to provide better service to international students.