Institute for Migrant Rights
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Migration Jurisprudence from the South › South Africa

Dawood v. Minister of Home Affairs

Constitutional Court of South Africa · South Africa · 2000-06-07 · National court

Citation: [2000] ZACC 8
Type of case: Constitutional and human rights
Outcome: Decided for the migrant side

Question

May immigration officials refuse foreign spouses temporary permits without any guidance on how to decide?

What the court decided

No. The right to dignity protects the right to live together as spouses, and unguided discretion to refuse permits breached it.

In plain language

Foreign spouses of South Africans were refused permits to stay while their residence applications were decided, with no rules for officials to follow. The Constitutional Court said this breached the right to family life.

Dalam bahasa sederhana

Pasangan asing warga Afrika Selatan ditolak izin tinggal selama permohonan izin tetapnya diproses, tanpa aturan bagi petugas. MK menyatakan ini melanggar hak atas kehidupan keluarga.

Pertanyaan: Bolehkah petugas imigrasi menolak izin sementara bagi pasangan asing tanpa pedoman cara memutuskan?

What happened afterwards

  • 2000-06-07: Provision declared invalid.
  • 2002: Immigration Act 2002 replaces the old law.

Sources

Open this decision in the interactive collection (compare, filter, Indonesian view, downloads).

Cite as: Institute for Migrant Rights (2026), Migration Jurisprudence from the South, version 0.1, https://theimr.org/court-decisions/d/za-dawood-2000/. This page summarizes a court decision for research and advocacy; it is not legal advice.

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