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SA Man With UK Citizenship Wants Redress for Airport Immigration Row
Published on: Tue, 31 Jan 2006 00:55:48 GMT
South African living in England was prevented from boarding his flight back to London at Johannesburg International Airport because his passport was British, not South African. Hamish James, who was born in Port Elizabeth and has worked in England since 2002, could not leave South Africa until he had obtained emergency travel documents from the Department of Home Affairs.
James wants others who have dual citizenship to learn from his experience, which he believes was the result of an immigration official's misreading of amendments to the Citizenship Act.
"It is ironic that the South African government is doing its utmost to encourage South Africans to return and to contribute to the economy, and then you have people like (the immigration official) doing their utmost to treat skilled people like criminals."
On its website, Home Affairs acknowledges that many South Africans may not yet be aware that amendments to the law require South Africans who have dual citizenship to show their South African passport when they enter and leave this country.
The Home Affairs website advises those with dual citizenship to apply for a South African passport as soon as possible if they do not have one. In the meantime, they will be allowed to show their foreign passport on the understanding that they will obtain a South African passport within three months.
Wilfred Mokwena, head of immigration, has apologised to James and has promised to investigate the immigration official's refusal to allow him to leave the country. "Our main aim as a country is to attract all South Africans living abroad to return, not vice versa," Mokwena wrote in an e-mail to James.
James, whose parents were born in England, has always had a British passport, the most recent issued in Pretoria some years ago.
"I have never had the need to apply for a South African passport for travel purposes. I have a valid South African ID and am a registered citizen with every intention of returning here."
He had visited South Africa earlier this month to attend a wedding and had planned to stay only three days as he was due back at work in London.
He had been allowed to enter with his British passport, becoming aware of the need for a South African passport only when the person at passport control had advised him to get one as soon as possible.
"I assured her that I would apply for it in London on my return."
But when he tried to leave three days later, he discovered it was not as easy as entering. The person at passport control to whom he showed his British passport had called her supervisor.
The supervisor had abruptly told him to get his luggage off the aircraft "as I would not be travelling back to the UK that night".
A long argument had ensued, during which the supervisor had complained she was "sick of you people living abroad who think
you can come into this country when and how you want and not care about the law".
He had protested that he was a "very proud South African", but she had retorted, "that is not true or you would be living here", said James.
Finally, he had notified the airline that he could not board.
"They were even more shocked than I was and said it was the first they had heard of it."
At the Randburg office of Home Affairs the next day, a sympathetic official had "moved heaven and earth" to speed up the processing of the documents he needed to leave the country and he was back on a flight to London that night.
Now James wants compensation for the expense of the delay, and an apology from the passport control supervisor.
"She was totally out of line for preventing me from boarding a flight that I had every right to be on.
"This has cost me two days off work, additional travel and flight expenses, petrol and accommodation costs, an astronomical phone bill as I had to use my London (cellphone) to make calls, as well as having to arrange a temporary travel visa in one day."
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