South African media spin Irish 'racial visa' case out of control

South African media reported that a white South African woman was recently granted permission to stay in Ireland, writing she applied for the permit because she was at risk in her home country because of racial discrimination.

The Irish ambassador in South Africa however underlined that this is not the case, and that Ms Dianne Jefferson received this permit only because she is married to an Irish citizen and because her application for an Irish permanent residency permit was refused. The racial issue ended up in the headlines after Jefferson's lawyer, Owen Swaine, played down the references to race in his client's case - saying the sentence in the affidavit regarding racial discrimination was the "only reference to race or crime". The real reason Jefferson wants to stay, she said, is that her direct family has moved away from South Africa. Her father is for instance married to an Irish woman and has another daughter who is an Irish citizen. Jefferson said: "I believe the media spun my case out of control. I have very fond memories of growing up in South Africa. I am married to an Irish citizen and I was trying to get a five-year visa, which I now have. If I was to be deported, which I have not been, it would have been very hard for me to survive on my own in a country I left at a very young age."