Dear Dr Leon Schreiber

I hope you are well and have time to help me. I am turning to you because I don't know what else to do.

In 2016, I immigrated to South Africa with my current husband. We bought a lodge in Knysna, renovated it with a lot of love, and have been employing three South African staff members ever since. We entered the country with a three-year business visa. Immediately after our arrival, we applied for a permanent visa. This was granted in July 2019.
Everything was fine with my husband's visa, but on mine I was referred to as "male" instead of "female."
This started an unbelievable process for me.

The visa had to be sent back to the Department of Home Affairs for rectification. From then on, I heard nothing from the department for couple of years and my rectification was still pending. In August 2022, I decided to go to the lawyer at my own expense to help me to finalize the rectification. It ended up in court. The DHA was ordered to issue a correct PRP in 10 days. In November 2022, the corrected PRP was finally issued.
I applied for an ID book immediately. However, after 3 months, my application was refused, because of a missing special character in my surname on the Permanent Residence Permit. My surname is Wagnerová, on PRP is stated Wagnerova. I was urged to have my permanent visa rectified again. My immigration office contacted the Department of Home Affairs, if the rectification is needed, as they experienced that DHA does not use the special characters on the PRP. Unfortunately, no one could confirm what is correct and informed me that I must have it rectified again, what I applied for in July 2023.

After a year of waiting, in July 2024, I had to involve the lawyer again. We got the Court Hearing on the 17th of June 2025 and the Court Order was issued. The court order was delivered on June 30 and there was a 10 day deadline for DHA to respond. Nothing has happened.

I am helpless and I do not know what to do to get my rectification processed.
I have been waiting for a rectified permanent visa for six years now. I have paid tens of thousands of rand, and although the department was ordered to pay the costs, I have neither received a single rand, nor an apology for a delay.
Time is running (6 years since the PRP was granted) and I desperately need my permanent visa to be rectified and finalized, to apply for an ID book.
I cannot apply for the ID book while the rectification is pending.
One of the consequences is, that my European driver's license is expiring, and I need an SA ID to apply for a South African driver's license. (I cannot renew it in Europe, as I permanently live here). We are running a business there, and I cannot work without having a driving licence.
In the meantime, I have got married, but I cannot register my marriage and my new name in my home country, because I do not have a South African ID proofing that new name.
I send an email to ministerialqueries@dha.gov.za with all the details on the August the 1st, still waiting for a response.
I believe that South Africa is a state governed by rule of law, where a Court Order should not be ignored.
I hope you can help me from your position of a dedicated minister and would highly appreciate your intervention.

Yours faithfully,

Jana Wagnerová