German Woman Takes Home Affairs to Court After Guesthouse Business Visa Refused

• A German national fought the Department of Home Affairs after her business visa application to open a guesthouse in SA was rejected
• The Western Cape High Court found that the immigration officer who refused Johanna Kerstin Schinker's application had no legal authority to do so
• A French national won a separate but related ruling in the same judgment, with Home Affairs ordered to pay legal costs in both cases

A German woman hoping to open a guesthouse in South Africa has won a significant legal battle against the Department of Home Affairs after a court found that the official who turned down her application simply did not have the power to do so.

Johanna Kerstin Schinker applied for a section 15 business visa to establish and run a guesthouse in South Africa. On 3 November 2025, an immigration officer at the South African embassy in Berlin refused her application. The stated reasons included missing proof of 60% South African citizen or permanent resident employment, the absence of SARS and CIPC registration documents, and insufficient investment evidence.

Court finds visa refusal unlawful

The Western Cape High Court sided with Schinker. Judge Phillipa Susan Van Zyl set aside the refusal, ruling it invalid on the grounds that the Immigration Act reserves the authority to issue or refuse a business visa for the Director-General, or an official who has been formally granted that power through delegation. Home Affairs could not demonstrate that the Berlin-based officer held any such delegated authority.

The court also rejected the department's argument that Schinker should have first exhausted internal review options through the Director-General and the Minister. Judge Van Zyl noted that internal review processes only make sense when the original decision was made by someone with the authority to make it. Home Affairs was ordered to reconsider Schinker's application within 20 days.

French national also wins in same ruling

The judgment covered a second case heard alongside Schinker's. Thibaud Luciani, a French national and son of South African permanent resident Gautier Luciani, had his application for permanent residence under section 27(g) of the Immigration Act refused by the Director-General. The refusal centred on Luciani not having submitted a valid relative's visa.

Judge Van Zyl set that decision aside as well. She found the refusal was based on a legal error, as section 27(g), which applies to first-degree relatives of South African citizens or permanent residents, does not require a valid relative's visa. Neither do the regulations cited by the department. The Director-General was ordered to reconsider Luciani's application within 20 days.

Home Affairs and the Minister were ordered to pay the legal costs for both applications.

More on Home Affairs and immigration in South Africa

• Briefly News recently reported on Australia’s Subclass 407 Training Visa, which lets eligible foreigners complete workplace-based training.
• Police and protesters came face to face outside the Durban refugee centre in a tense confrontation caught on video.
• Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has confirmed staffing figures for the Border Management Authority in a written parliamentary reply.

Source: Briefly News