The short answer
As you have refugee status you should not have any difficulty renewing your licence
The whole question
I am a refugee with a four year refugee status that I renew every four years.
My RSA driver's licence expired last week. I went to the traffic department to renew it and was told they no longer renew our licences without first speaking to Home Affairs. How does one get it all fixed?
The long answer
Thank you for your email about your difficulties renewing your driver’s licence.
As you have refugee status you should not have any difficulty renewing your licence.
It may be that a regulation 32(A) of the National Road Traffic Regulations promulgated in 2014 is creating a problem:
This regulation 32(A) says that “Motorists must verify all personal and address particulars with any motor vehicle or driving licence transaction.”
If, on the other hand, the problem is not to do with any technical detail, but is to do with Home Affairs’ notorious inefficiency and lack of capacity, you could ask the following organisation for assistance:
Lawyers for Human Rights’ Refugee and Migrant Rights Project
Johannesburg office:
Tel: 011 339 1960
Cape Town office:
021 424 8561
email: lhr@lhr.org.za
Answered on May 27, 2019, 12:27 p.m.
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