On 18th June, the Pretoria High Court handed down a judgment in terms of which access to the special COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant (known informally as the R350 grant) was extended to asylum-seekers and to the holders of various Special Permits whose permit or visa was valid on 15th March, when the National State of Disaster was announced.

The Court ruled that clause 6(viii)(c)(I) of the Directions issued by the Minister of Social Development on 30th March, and amended on 9th May, was unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid since it did not include these categories of people. The Direction as it stood gave access only to South African citizens, permanent residents, and refugees already registered on the Department of Home Affairs database.

Paper by CPLO