Another loose thread left hanging in South Africa

President Cyril Ramaphosa has again reaffirmed the government’s intention to introduce a remote working visa repeating a promise made a year ago to help solve South Africa’s growing skills crisis.

Despite the stated intention, however, the president has given no further details on the plan, nor any timelines associated with it. Meanwhile, repeated comments from the Department of Home Affairs on the matter show that zero progress has been made to make these visas a reality.

Responding to several parliamentary Q&As in 2022, Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi stated plainly that there are no provisions for such a visa in South Africa’s laws as such, there are no plans to launch one.

“The current visa categories are legislated by the Immigration Act No. 13 of 2002. In its current form, the Immigration Act does not make provision for digital nomad eVisa. Therefore, there are no plans to implement a digital nomad e-visa,” he said at the time.

This has become a sore point for those involved in South Africa’s tourism industry.

According to the City of Cape Town, it has been pushing for a remote worker visa since the lifting of lockdown, after the Covid-19 crisis wiped out the travel and hospitality sectors in the country.

“Since then, we have been lobbying for the introduction of a remote working visa because of its massive economic spinoffs for the industry. Our research shows that a special visa would help attract more international visitors, particularly ‘digital nomads’ who can work virtually from anywhere in the world,” it said.

The city said that working tourists tend to spend up to R50,000 during their stays and that over 40 countries around the world have already adopted these special visas to boost their own economies.

“If our visa system is not revised and improved, we stand to lose out to destinations with less arduous administrative platforms. Remote workers have exploded onto the travel scene and, according to one report of an incentive programme in Oklahoma in the USA, digital nomads generated nearly $20 million in additional local gross domestic product.

“With a special visa, South Africa stands to realise such gains,” it said.

In lieu of an actual plan of action from Ramaphosa, the city is proposing an amendment to Section 11 of the Immigration Act, which relates to an extension of visas beyond 90 days for specific activities.

Through an amendment, the Act could include the following requirements:

• An applicant must provide evidence of employment abroad, as well as a sufficient income from such employment or own business registered abroad;

• Prohibit the applicant’s work activities in South Africa;

• Allow the applicant’s dependants to accompany them on application.

“If South Africa were to implement such strategies, we could indeed create a tourism-related job in every home in the country. Whether you’re in aviation, logistics, transportation, boat-building, hospitality, retail, design, or clean energy, tourism relates to your work because it brings clients to your door,” it said.

While South Africa has made no forward movement on nomad or remote work visas, some measures to address the skills crisis in the country were introduced in the last 12 months.

Most notably, Home Affairs published an updated critical skills list and moved to fast-track critical skill visas in the country. An apparent collapse of visa processing in August 2022 led to a significant backlog forming by the end of the year, however.

The backlog is only expected to be cleared up by June 2023.

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SA faces largest exodus: Zimbabweans open up as permit expiry date looms

This follows a directive by Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi stating that the six-month extension of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits (ZEP) would be the last extension, bringing the ZEPs to an end come June 30.According to the “Country Report South Africa: Complementary pathways and the Zimbabwean Dispensation Project” authored by UCT associate professor Dr Fatima Khan and UCT’s refugee rights unit, this will impact 178000 holders of the temporary protection permit. The permits were due to expire on December 31, 2022, prior to the extension granted.The ZEPs were the government’s temporary response to the large numbers of Zimbabweans entering the country from 2008 due to economic and political precarity, placing strain on the asylum-seeker system. At the time, the Musina refugee reception office on the Zimbabwean border was receiving more than 1 000 asylum-seeker applications daily.

On September 2, 2010, the South African government announced the Dispensation Zimbabwean Project (DZP) permit lasting four years, which was extended for four years in August 2014, and renamed the Zimbabwean Special Permit (ZSP).

Another extension was granted for three years, ending in December 2021, with the permit now re-branded as the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP).

The grace period given until June 30, 2023 was to allow for ZEP holders to apply for alternate status in South Africa, Dr Khan noted.

According to the paper, the 2008 crisis in Zimbabwe emerged due to state violence by the Zimbabwean ruling party Zanu-PF, which saw opponents and dissidents persecuted.

With a general election scheduled for 2023, Zimbabweans feel that the decision to end the permit was largely political for numerous reasons, including gaining support among South Africans over its staunch position of foreign migration into the country.

Zimbabweans who have spent over a decade in South Africa, opened up about the uncertainties over the future and what would await them in Zimbabwe.

Grassy Park resident and painter Nicholas Mukalela, 47, came to South Africa in 2009. Mukalela said his decision to leave was due to how expensive it had been to simply live in Zimbabwe.

The father of five was later joined by his wife, who works as a domestic worker, in 2011.

“In Zimbabwe, I was doing my own business. I was buying and selling tyres. Things were very tough. There was nothing good there. That’s why I decided to come here. I first came alone and then I called my wife to come here so that she can help me with some other stuff.”

In Zimbabwe, his two children, 14 and 10, are still attending school and are cared for by his sister-in-law. He has been working in construction since arriving in the country, specialising in painting and carpentry.

Mukalela sought legal advice to see if there are any options available which would allow him to stay in South Africa.

“It is very expensive to talk with the lawyer but I just do it because I’ve got no other option. Because I want to be here for now because things in my country are not yet right. It’s very difficult. Even if I go back there, my children, I don’t think they’re going to manage, for them to go to school,” Mukalela said.

“People they are fighting, they are killing each other. The politics there are not good. So what I am trying to do is, I just want to make my children grow (up).”

A Cape Town nail technician, Rufaro said some Zimbabweans have already started leaving as more countries open up following the Covid-19 pandemic.

She said Zimbabweans have been paying a lot of money for the renewal of permits over the years. Some had failed to make the payment, resulting in a non-renewal, but they remained in the country.

“People are not just going to walk out of here. Their lives are here and because other people are already living without documents, they’ll be like, ‘I`ll just be like the next person so I’ll also stay’.”

The cheapest way to leave would be by bus, with operators expected to hike up prices far over 100% in anticipation of the larger number of travellers. Buses with trailers would allow some to haul a few essential belongings back home.

“As much as we want to sell the things, half of the people won`t buy it and for me to buy other things there, I can`t buy a bed in US dollars when I have rand. It’s next to nothing.

“When I go to Zim, with R50 000, it will not even last me two months because it’s nothing when I give a rand, it’s next to nothing. So that’s also a thing people will consider, how are we going to go home.”

Evans Mahembe, 40, arrived in South Africa in 2010. As a supporter of the opposition party, attacks were rampant.

Mahembe was self-employed. During the drought, he would buy maize and other essential items and resell it in other areas. However, this work was seasonal.

Upon arrival, Mahembe stayed with 4-5 people in a one-bedroom place in Grassy Park, and he has been working in construction, primarily as a plasterer, since then. After two years, his wife and two children, aged 9 and 14, joined him in the country. His wife works as a domestic worker, and children attend schools in South Africa.

“First, at that time in South Africa, it was the World Cup. There was an opportunity to do jobs. Second, the rate was better than the pula so it was an easy option to be here. That time, yes.”

He said leaving would be most challenging for his children who had been educated and lived most of their lives in South Africa.

Mahembe said the number of Zimbabweans leaving for South Africa continues to increase.

“What you must be saying or discussing is what can be done, as in how can the government spread the word (of leaving) to avoid hate speech, xenophobia and the attacks.

“South African people are the ones who own SA, you can`t be fighting for their land. They can just do whatever they want, throw us that way, left right (and) centre but all I`m praying for is that it’s done in a smooth way. Just because when there is a lot of noise, people are going to be hurt.”

Mahembe graduated with a diploma in business management, however, he was not able to use his skills both in Zimbabwe and South Africa. He said many Zimbabweans were highly educated but due to not having the correct documents, would take whatever work they could find.

One of the main reasons why Zimbabweans turn to South Africa is to provide for their families, with the money earned used for food and schooling in Zimbabwe.

Can you get a spousal visa if you have not lived together?

The short answer 

Yes because you do not have to live together. There is no minimum period of marriage either. 

The whole question

I am a US citizen, and have just married my South African partner, in South Africa. In one of your previous answers, you said that to apply for a life partner visa you need to live together for two years. My husband and I live in separate countries but I want to emigrate to SA to live with him.

The long answer

If you are married, you can apply for a spousal visa. You don’t have to have lived together for two years as is the case with the life partner visa. There is no minimum period that you need to have been married.

A spousal visa is a temporary visa, usually given for two or three years. You can apply for a spousal permit after you have been married for five years. Once you have the spousal permit, you can apply for permanent residence. 

The documents you need for a spousal visa application are the following:

• A marriage certificate;

• Proof of your South African spouse’s citizenship or residence;

• A letter of support from your South African spouse;

• Proof of good health and standing;

• A completed temporary residency application form.

It takes a minimum of ten weeks for Home Affairs to process any visa, and may take longer now because of Covid.

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Here’s how many South Africans are moving to Canada each year

The Canadian government has updated its Immigration Levels Plan for 2023-2025, showing that the country is desperate to draw skilled workers from other countries to its shores.

Canada made an announcement in October 2020 that it would seek to welcome over 400,000 new immigrants per year moving forward, or about 40,000 more per year than its previous targets.

The revised outlook for 2022-2024 showed that the country expected to draw 430,000 new immigrants each year. In the 2023-2025 update delivered on Tuesday (1 November), this target has been pushed to 500,000 new immigrants by 2025.

It expects to welcome 435,000 immigrants in 2022.

According to Canada’s central stats body, at the end of the third quarter of 2022, the country was well on its way to meeting this target, with 309,240 foreigners gaining permanent residency.

This includes 1,285 South Africans who made the jump in 2022 so far.

Over the last seven years (2015 �` 2022Q3), 2.4 million foreigners have made Canada their home. Of this, 11,210 South Africans made the move.

Year South Africans granted permanent residency

2015 945

2016 1 070

2017 1 555

2018 1 820

2019 1 790

2020 1 125

2021 1 620

2022 (to Q3) 1 285

Total 11 210

According to Statistics Canada, over 5,000 South Africans enter the country’s immigration system every year.

In a shift for immigration, Canada is expecting to welcome more immigrants under its Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) than its Express Entry-managed programs for 2022 and 2023.

Express Entry is an online system that the country uses to manage immigration applications from skilled workers.

Skilled South Africans have historically scored highly in the point rankings thanks to strong language skills, the probability of having obtained skilled work experience, and the higher education that they may have completed earlier in life.

The bulk of the immigrants will be on economic visas (242,000), followed by family visas (105,000) and refugee (76,550) or humanitarian grounds (8,250).

Canadian immigration experts said that the country welcomes high levels of immigration to keep its economy strong.

“Canada has one of the world’s oldest populations and also one of the world’s lowest birth rates. This creates economic and fiscal pressures,” said Canadian law firm, Cohen Immigration.

“Canada has a low rate of natural population growth, which results in low rates of labour force and economic growth. Low economic growth makes it difficult for Canada to raise the taxes it needs to support social spending on services such as education, health care, and other important areas that provide high living standards in the country.”

The group said that Canada now depends on immigration for the majority of its population and labour force growth and a larger share of its economic growth and based on its demographic realities and its immigration trends, it is ikely that Canada will continue to gradually increase its immigration levels over the foreseeable future.

“Immigration will remain critical to supporting a healthy economy and fiscal situation in the country,” it said.

Surprising trend for South Africans moving to Canada

A surprising trend is emerging on the South African emigration scene: female entrepreneurs are leading the pack when it comes to business immigration applications.

According to Nicholas Avramis, a licensed Canadian immigration from Beaver Immigration, female business owners make up more than half of the applications for Canadian business visas.

“In the last two years, we have noticed that more and more inquiries and application filings are coming from South African females. They are leveraging their innovative ideas and talents to immigrate to Canada.”

According to Avramis, the only licensed Canadian consultant based in South Africa, Canada’s Start-Up Visa program is the go-to visa program for immigrant entrepreneurs; it is also ideal for female innovators.

Canada’s Start-up visa program is designed to attract immigrant entrepreneurs from around the world who have innovative business ideas, have the potential to create Canadian jobs and can compete on a global scale. Unlike most other investor programs, the Start-Up Visa program does not have a mandatory minimum investment obligation.

The Government of Canada is rather interested in the innovative idea that the immigrant entrepreneur wants to launch in Canada. With access to capital being a major constraint for most innovators, the Start-Up Visa takes this major hurdle out of the equation for entrepreneurs.

One such innovator is Dr Shanaz Khan from Cape Town, South Africa. With over 25 years of experience as a dentist, she was accepted into the Start-up Visa program earlier this year through the support of Pycap, a Canadian business incubator that is authorized to support immigrant entrepreneurs’ applications for permanent residency in Canada.

As a successful entrepreneur owning and operating multiple dental practices in Cape Town  Dr. Khan wanted to focus her efforts on treating Airway-Centered Disorders (ACD) through the revolutionary practice known as airway dentistry.

Khan says, “I have had this idea to create a digital app that will allow health care professionals to collaboratively treat the cause of a patient’s maxillofacial problems, rather than just treating the symptoms through costly dental surgery.”

Stuart Browne, CEO of Pycap, will work with Khan to hatch her business innovation when she arrives in Toronto later this year with her entire family. “Our registered business incubator has welcomed several South African start-ups this year, with a number of them being female.

Beyond the fact that the South Africans we’ve met are hardworking and have a deep desire to succeed, their transition into Canada should be smooth as they seem to easily assimilate into our business culture.”

Pycap will provide Dr. Khan with hands-on support by offering marketing, technology, financial management, industry research, and guidance on accessing capital in Canada.

According to the most recent government statistics from Immigration, Refuge and Citizenship Canada(IRCC), between 2015 to 2021, the ratio between male versus female entrepreneurs admitted into the permanent residency program is close to equal.

According to Avramis, this should not be a surprise as the Canadian federal government has a history of promoting female entrepreneurship. Avramis says, “when it comes to immigration as a whole, it is typically the female of the household who is pushing the matter for the family.”