NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
FOR WRITTEN REPLY
QUESTION 1135
DATE OF PUBLICATION: Monday, 19 April 2010
INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 10 of 2010
Mr M Mnqasela (DA) to ask the Minister of Home Affairs:
(1) Whether any South African citizens have fallen victim to being
falsely married to unknown people and are recorded as being married
without their knowledge in the past ten years; if not, what is the
position in this regard; if so, (a) how many and
(b) how many cases (i) have been reported to her Department and (ii)
are being investigated by (aa) her Department and (bb) the SA Police
Service;
(2) whether there are any children currently sharing the same birth
certificate with other children; if not, what is the position in this
regard; if so, (a) how many and (b) how many cases (i) have been
reported to her Department and (ii) are being investigated by (aa) her
Department and (bb) the SA Police Service;
(3) whether any persons have (a) overstayed or (b) contravened their
visas between
1 January 2004 and 31 March 2010; if so, (i) how many in each year and
(ii) what action has been taken in each case;
4) (a) how many foreigners are currently in South Africa on (i) work and
(ii) study permits and (b) in which provinces are they?
NW1292E
REPLY
(1) Background
The problem of fraudulent marriages was discovered in early 2000âs,
wherein South Africans found themselves married to strangers. As the
situation in South Africa stabilises, and its economy grows, the
country will continue to become the favourite destination for many
people across the globe who seek greener pastures, and safe places of
abode. Evidently, this migration to the South will bring attendant
problems, such as violation of our citizenship acquisition processes.
This problem is, further, compounded by our present situation of
unemployment, and rampant poverty.
The common causes of fraudulent marriages are:
Marriage of convenience
The victim would agree to enter into holy matrimony with a foreigner,
seeking South African citizenship, in exchange for monetary
compensation. In cases, where the foreigner does not honour his/her
part of the bargain the victim would, then, claim that the marriage
took place without his/her knowledge. In cases, where the transaction
is honoured the victim will approach the offices of Home Affairs,
ostensibly to apply for a new Identity Document, claiming that his/her
ID is lost. When records are retrieved, and show that the applicant is
married, he/she will, then, claim that the marriage took place without
his/her consent, and, then, seek annulment (marriage expunged). Often,
when this scam happens, the foreigner has by, then, already, obtained
citizenship and/or permanent residence in the country.
Employment agencies
Victims, often, claim that bogus employment agencies request that they
submit copies of their Identity Documents, ostensibly to process job
placements for them. The victim will, then, later discover by
"accident" when he/she processes some transaction, either, in the
public service, or the private sector, that he/she is married.
Crime Syndicates
These are well-organised syndicates that are assisted by corrupt
officials; corrupt religious leaders, and unscrupulous Marriage
Officers. They take full advantage of poor controls, and the lack of
basic amenities, and office equipment to fraudulently process details
of South Africans, and marry them to foreigners without their
knowledge.
a) 6 769 cases were reported, as from 2007 to April 2010.
|Year |Cases reported |
|2007 |2,114 |
|2008 |2,185 |
|2009 |1,916 |
|2010 (April ) |554 |
|Grand total |6,769 |
(b)(i) 6 769 cases were reported. Of these cases, 5 205 cases
were finalized.
|Year |Expunged |Referred to |Total finalized |
| | |court |per year |
|2007 |1,671 |349 |2,020 |
|2008 |960 |257 |1,218 |
|2009 |1,118 |426 |1,548 |
|2010 (April ) |234 |185 |419 |
|Grand Total |3,983 |1,217 |5,205 |
(b)(ii) (aa) 1 564 cases are under investigation within the Department
.
|Year |Under Investigation|
|2007 |94 |
|2008 |967 |
|2009 |368 |
|2010 (April ) |135 |
|Grand total |1,564 |
(b)(ii) (bb) The Department does not refer cases to SAPS. However, the
Department has its own Internal Counter Corruption Unit, which
investigates these cases.
(2) No. None have been brought to the attention of the Department.
All children are registered through the National Population
Register system, and are allocated with an ID Number. The system
(NPR) is designed in a way that does not allow the sharing of
birth certificates. The Department has, also, embarked on the
process of redesigning its processes, in order to close any
loopholes in the birth registration process. These include the
upgrading of the security features on the National Population
Register system, and the certificate.
2 aa Not applicable
2 bb Not applicable
(3) Yes.
(3)(a) & (b) The information is provided in the table, below:
|Year |Overstayed / |Action taken |
| |contravened | |
|2004 |1 165 |1 165 deported |
|2005 |1 112 |1 112 deported |
|2006 |1 093 |1 093 deported |
|2007 |2 180 |1 310 deported, and 807 fined |
|2008 |2 115 |1 175 deported, and 940 fined |
|2009 |4 007 |3 076 deported, and 931 fined |
|2010 up to & |1 202 |915 deported, and 287 fined |
|including | | |
|31 March 2010 | | |
|Total |12 874 | |
(4) The Departmentâs Movement Control System is unable to generate
reports on the number of work permit, and study permit holders
who are, currently, in South Africa. The Department of Home
Affairs is able to provide statistics on the number of work
permits, and study permits applied for, and issued for a
specific period.