South Africa: This Is Home – Hans
Published: 23/Jul/2021
Source: Jesuit Institute South Africa
This Is Home is a campaign that documents the lives of inspiring young people in South Africa who are stateless or at risk of becoming stateless. The campaign provides explainers on statelessness and practical solutions for The Department of Home Affairs to implement to prevent statelessness.
Hans applied for permanent residence by exemption in December 2018. This is currently the only avenue in law that he could use. At the time of filming there had been no response from the Department of Home Affairs(DHA). The permanent residence section of DHA has been closed since March 2020 meaning old applications have not been processed and new applications cannot be submitted. Civil society organisations are calling for a special dispensation for youth, who like Hans, grew up in Child Youth Care Centres and have no links to their parents’ country of origins.
Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2QY5hpWwfc