Along with millions of other people around the world, I am looking forward to the World Cup that will be played in South Africa beginning June 11. I currently work in Cartus’ Danbury office, but I am a native of Brazil. Brazilians are crazy about football – or soccer, as they call it here in the U.S. I can’t help but point out that Brazil is the only country to have won the Cup five times, with the last championship coming in 2002.
This will be a fun event, but I want to point out to our clients who have employees working in South Africa that there might be an administrative hiccup that will affect travel to and from South Africa. Cartus’ immigration services provider, Fragomen, advises that processing times for work permit and related applications submitted from within South Africa are currently delayed up to 60 days due to an administrative slowdown at the country’s Department of Home Affairs and will likely be further postponed over the coming months due to the World Cup.
The World Cup is expected to cause additional slowdowns because in preparation for the tournament, the Department of Home Affairs has assigned a significant percentage of its staff to border control and related functions. Fragomen recommends that clients avoid in-country delays by submitting applications to South African consular posts abroad wherever that option exists.
In closing, I just want to add: Brasil por muito tempo vivo!
