7th July 2026
The Department of Home Affairs has officially released its 2026/2027 turnaround times for visa and permit-related services, giving applicants, employers and immigration professionals clearer expectations on how long applications should take to process.
The directive applies to applications submitted within South Africa and is effective for the reporting period 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. Importantly, these turnaround times replace all previously published processing targets.
The biggest takeaway
For the first time in years, Home Affairs has clearly documented official processing targets across virtually every major visa, permit and appeal category. The aim is to:
Improve transparency
Reduce unnecessary enquiries
Build public trust
Reduce fraud risks
Set realistic expectations for applicants
The fastest applications
Some visa categories have surprisingly short target processing times:
Port of Entry Visa (TTOS): 5 working days
Port of Entry eVisa: 10 working days
Critical Skills Visa: 4 weeks
General Work Visa (including TES): 4 weeks
Business Visa: 8 weeks
For employers recruiting foreign talent, particularly under the Critical Skills and General Work Visa categories, these targets are encouraging and, if consistently achieved, could significantly reduce hiring delays.
Visitor visas remain relatively quick
Most temporary residence visa categories, including:
Visitor Visas
Study Visas
Exchange Visas
Medical Treatment Visas
Crew Visas
carry a target turnaround time of 60 working days.
Relative's Visas, Retired Person Visas and Treaty Visas are targeted at 120 working days.
Permanent residence is still a long wait
Permanent residence applicants will notice little change.
The Department has retained an 8-month target for:
Business Permanent Residence
Extraordinary Skills Permanent Residence
Worker Permanent Residence
Many dependent permits also carry targets of 240 working days, including spouse, business, refugee, retired and financially independent categories.
Appeals continue to take time
Applicants challenging Home Affairs decisions should still expect lengthy processing periods:
Section 8(4) Appeals: 180 working days
Section 8(6) Appeals: 240 working days
Other notable turnaround times
The Department has also published targets for administrative services:
Visa & Permit Rectifications: 30 days
Visa Transfers: 30 days
Visa Verifications: 40 days
Permit Verifications: 90 days
Visa Waivers: 120 days
Permit Waivers: 240 days
Cancellation of Visas: 90 days
One important detail many applicants will miss
These are working days only.
Weekends and South African public holidays are excluded from the calculation, meaning actual calendar waiting times will often be considerably longer than the figures suggest.
What this means
Publishing official turnaround times is a positive step towards greater accountability. While these are performance targets rather than guaranteed processing times, they provide applicants and employers with a clear benchmark against which to measure service delivery.
For businesses relying on foreign talent, families awaiting immigration decisions and individuals planning their futures in South Africa, having published processing standards offers far greater certainty than operating without any official guidance.