Canada is actively recruiting foreign skilled healthcare and Information Technology (IT) professionals, including South Africans.

Canada has noted that persistent staffing shortages in the healthcare sector following the pandemic have led some organisations, including certain provincial government agencies, to rely more on foreign workers to fill positions in clinics, hospitals, and senior care facilities nationwide.

Federal data from Employment and Social Development Canada shows the government greenlighted the hiring of 4,336 foreign healthcare workers last year`up from 447 such positions in 2018, representing an 870% increase.

Considering the international talent drive for South African workers, immigration experts note hundreds of South Africans are among these foreign professionals recruited in Canada.

Canadian immigration consultant Nicholas Avramis from Beaver Immigration said the number of professionals moving to Canada is partly due to South Africans wanting to leave.

Aramis told BusinessTech that Beaver Immigration had seen a 50% spike in interest from doctors and nurses who want to immigrate to Canada.

The same goes for IT specialists.

As digital dependence grows and new technologies drive change across all industries, the number of tech jobs is increasing.

Companies continue to report skill shortages, leading to shifts in the average salary expectations for top tech jobs.

This has led to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math being among the top in-demand sectors in Canada, which also face skills shortages as a result.

According to Avramis, Beaver Immigration has received approximately 25% of all applications from IT workers in South Africa.

He added that for young, skilled South African IT professionals, it is always about pay and career growth, especially for those between the ages of 25 and 40.

“For the over-40 crowd, which includes skilled professionals and business owners, it is more about the future of their children.

“They want better schools and a safer environment for their children. Moreover, when their children graduate school, they want comfort in knowing that there will be a job at the end of the line,” he said.

The jobs and what they pay

According to Beaver Immigration, Canada’s healthcare shortage is around 50,000 professionals.

Data from Employment and Social Development Canada shows that registered nurses, general practitioners and family physicians, specialist physicians, and medical technicians are among the most in-demand jobs within the healthcare sector for skilled foreigners.

Some specialists include cardiologists and neurologists.

Considering these in-demand professions, BusinessTech looked at the annual salary ranges of these jobs as outlined by recruitment firm Talent.com.

Unsurprisingly, these specialists earn massive salaries, with the average Neurologist earning approximately $325,000 (R4.4 million).

On the lower end of the salary spectrum are medical technicians, taking home an average of $49,056 (R660,000). However, some of these professionals can earn up to $62,638 (R845,000).

Avramis also noted that the global demand for South African healthcare professionals is so great that Beaver Immigration has ramped up its recruitment of doctors and nurses as of June 2024.

In the IT sector, software developers, IT project managers, business system analyst administrators, and cybersecurity experts are in high demand.

Software Developers tend to earn the most on average, $141,017 or R1.9 million, while IT project managers and cybersecurity experts still rake in around R1.5 million.

According to Canada’s official stats office, 14,205 South Africans have successfully received permanent residence in the country since 2015, with the number of locals leaving increasing each year.

475 South Africans have become permanent residents in Canada in 2024 so far.

Below are the top in-demand jobs within the healthcare and IT sectors in Canada which are also actively filled by South Africans and their salaries.

It should be noted that the salary range often has a positive correlation with experience.

Job Average salary Salary range

Nurse $72,936

(R982,220) $59,762 to $83,168

(R804,800 to R1.1 million)

General physician (doctor) $107,463

(R1.45 million) $53,692 to $306,444

(R723,000 to R4.1 million)

Cardiologist $294,000

(R3.96 million) $261,311 to $444,186

(R3.5 million to R6.0 million)

Neurologist $325,000

(R4.38 million) $230,000 to $354,500

(R3.0 million to R4.8 million)

Medical technician $49,056

(R660,600) $42,765 to $62,638

(R575,900 to R843,600)

Software developer $141,017

(R1.90 million) $82,500 to $158,103

(R1.1 million to R2.1 million)

IT project manager $122,156

(R1.65 milllion) $100,000 to $140,000

(R1.4 million to R1.9 million)

Business system analyst administrator $90,000

(R1.21 million) $80,650 to $92,950

(R1.09 million to R1.3 million)

Cybersecurity expert $122,156

(R1.65 million) $95,000 to $166,363

(R1.28 million to R2.2 million)

DHA  - : 04 July 2024 

In his first official act as the new Minister of Home Affairs just one day after being sworn in, Dr Leon Schreiber has extended the temporary concession for foreign nationals who are currently awaiting the outcome of visa, waiver and appeal applications.

This extension safeguards applicants - including those who are contributing to South Africa through their scarce skills - from suffering adverse consequences or being erroneously declared undesirable while they await the outcome of applications submitted to the Department.

The processing of some of these applications has been delayed as the Department works on reducing backlogs. While the Department has made progress in this regard since its previous communication on the matter, there is still a backlog in various visa and permit categories and Minister Schreiber has now moved to protect applicants while the backlog is reduced.

The decision to avert adverse consequences for applicants who seek to obtain lawful visas in order to contribute to South Africa, either through their skills or as tourists, signals the Minister’s commitment to improving the visa system to make South Africa a more attractive destination for international investment, tourism and job creation. While it will take time to achieve this vision in full, the decision to extend the temporary concession serves as a signal of intent to reinvigorate the Department of Home Affairs and position it as a vital economic enabler.

In order to build confidence in this new approach, Minister Schreiber further commits to avoiding a repeat of the current situation that has seen the previous concession expire prior to the extension being announced. While the Department is committed to eradicating the backlog as soon as possible, the Minister undertakes that any further extension, modification or amendment to the terms of these concessions will be communicated in writing prior to the new expiry date of 31 December 2024.

The following temporary measures will apply with immediate effect.

 

Applicants whose waiver application outcomes are still pending:

Visa holders who have applied for a waiver and the waiver application is still pending as at 30 June 2024, are granted a further temporary extension until 31 December 2024 to enable the Department to process the applications, for applicants to collect their outcomes, and to submit applications for appropriate visas.

Those who wish to abandon their waiver applications and depart from South Africa, will be allowed to exit at a port of entry before or on 31 December 2024 without being declared undesirable in terms of section 30(1)(h) of the Immigration Act, 2002 read with regulation 27(3) of the Immigration Regulations, 2014.

Visa holders who need to travel, but are awaiting the outcome of a waiver application, will be allowed to exit and re-enter at a port of entry up to and including 31 December 2024, without being declared undesirable in terms of section 30(1)(h) of the Immigration Act, 2002 read with regulation 27(3) of the Immigration Regulations, 2014. However, non-visa exempt applicants who travel out of the country with a waiver application receipt are required to apply for a port of entry visa which would allow them re-entry into South Africa.

 

Applicants whose visa applications are still pending:

Visa holders who have applied for long-term visas (Visitor’s Visas in terms of section 11(1)(b) and 11(6) of the Immigration Act, 2002; Business Visas, Study Visas, Relative’s Visas and Work Visas) and whose application is still pending as at 30 June 2024, are granted a further temporary extension until 31 December 2024 of their current visa status. Applicants are not allowed to engage in any activity other than what the visa conditions provide for. 

Those who wish to abandon their visa applications will be allowed to exit at a port of entry before or on 31 December 2024 without being declared undesirable in terms of section 30(1)(h) of the Immigration Act, 2002 read with regulation 27(3) of the Immigration Regulations, 2014.

Visa holders who need to travel, but are awaiting the outcome of a long-term visa application, will be allowed to exit and re-enter at a port of entry up to and including 31 December 2024, without being declared undesirable in terms of section 30(1)(h) of the Immigration Act, 2002 read with regulation 27(3) of the Immigration Regulations, 2014. However, non-visa exempt applicants who travel out of the country with a long-term visa application receipt, are required to apply for a port of entry visa which would allow them re-entry into South Africa.

 

Applicants whose visa appeal applications are still pending:

Visa holders who have appealed a negative decision on an application for long-term visa (Visitor’s Visas in terms of section 11(1)(b) and 11(6) of the Immigration Act, 2002; Business Visas, Study Visas, Relative’s Visas and Work Visas) are granted a temporary extension until 31 December 2024 of the current visa status. Applicants are not allowed to engage in any activity other than what the visa conditions provide for. 

Those who wish to abandon their visa appeal applications and depart from South Africa, will be allowed to exit at a port of entry before or on 31 December 2024 without being declared undesirable in terms of section 30(1)(h) of the Immigration Act, 2002 read with regulation 27(3) of the Immigration Regulations, 2014.

Visa appeal applicants who need to travel, but are awaiting the outcome of an appeal application for a long-term visa, will be allowed to exit and re-enter at a port of entry up to and including 31 December 2024, without being declared undesirable in terms of section 30(1)(h) of the Immigration Act, 2002 read with regulation 27(3) of the Immigration Regulations, 2014.

All appeal applicants are required to produce a copy of the rejection letter with a receipt for the appeal application on departure and re-entry into South Africa. Non-visa exempt appeal applicants who travel out of the country with an appeal application receipt, are required to apply for a port of entry visa which would allow them re-entry into South Africa.

 

Short term visa holders issued in terms of section 11(1)(a)

Short term visa holders issued in terms of section 11(1)(a) of the Immigration Act, 2002 for 90 days or less, who have applied for a renewal, but have not received their visa renewal outcome, must make the necessary arrangements to depart from South Africa within 90 calendar days from the date of expiry of the principal visa, to avoid being declared undesirable. The latter concession is in line with the provisions of section 11(1)(a) of the Immigration Act, 2002 which limits the duration of sojourn for visiting purposes to a total of 180 days.

 

The temporary concession applies only to foreign nationals who have been legally admitted into South Africa.

This concession is also only applicable to applicants who have submitted their applications via VFS Global and who can produce a verifiable receipt for such application against the VFS Global tracking system. 

ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS

The short answer 

Yes, if they are dependent, aged between 18 and 23, and studying. They'll need temporary residence first. 

The whole question

I have been living in South Africa since 2007 as a diplomat with my children. They were minors when we moved. Now that they are adults, they want to apply for permanent residency here. What are the conditions for them to achieve this?

The long answer

It seems, from a Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) circular issued in 2021 in terms of the Diplomatic Immunities and Privileges Act 37 of 2001, that only dependent children above 18 and below 23 years will be registered and accredited if they are studying and this can be proved. If they are not studying, the diplomat must give reasons why they should be considered dependent. 

In the same circular, it says that a dependent child cannot work for money in South Africa unless they have a work permit, for which they have applied through a South African mission.

The circular goes on to state that only spouses and dependent children over 16 years of age will be issued diplomatic identity cards, provided they are studying. If they are accredited, DIRCO will issue temporary residence permits, which are issued for up to a year and have to be renewed annually.  

Even though they have lived here since 2007, it seems that before your children can apply for direct permanent residence, they must first have temporary residence permits. 

You would also know that in February 2022, the Minister of Home Affairs withdrew the 2016 waiver that allowed foreigners who graduated from a South African institution with a qualification in a critical skills field to apply for permanent residence in terms of section 27 (b) of the Immigration Act. The waiver had removed the requirement for graduates to have five years of post-qualification experience before applying for permanent residence, but it has now been withdrawn.

Permanent residence permits (section 26 of the Immigration Act) can only be applied for once a foreigner has lived for a minimum of five years in South Africa on the basis of a work permit. The permanent resident’s spouse and dependent children can also apply for permanent residence.

As you will know, Home Affairs abruptly closed applications for permanent residence in 2020, at the beginning of the Covid pandemic, and only re-opened applications for permanent residence in January 2022. That means that as there was a large backlog even before the closure, it is estimated that they may now have a backlog of some120,000 applications, which means, in turn, that applications could take up to five years to finalis

The short answer 

Everyone born in South Africa has the right to a birth certificate. You should be able to get a copy from Home Affairs. 

The whole question

How can I get a copy of my child's lost birth certificate? He was born in South Africa, but both his mother and I are Congolese. 

The long answer

The Home Affairs website says: “Undocumented Foreign Nationals who are born in South Africa are issued with a certificate free of charge on registration of their births.”

The Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town says that children born to two non-South Africans and who do not qualify for citizenship are entitled to a birth certificate according to the Births and Deaths Registration Act. But in those cases, children are given birth certificates that do not include an ID number and the child is not entered into the National Population Register.

Home Affairs must have a copy of the birth certificate, and you would have to fill in form B1—154 and submit it to Home Affairs to get a copy. That is the form that South Africans must complete to get a replacement birth certificate and I could not find any different instructions for foreign parents whose child was born here. 

It could take six to eight weeks to replace the birth certificate and the application fee is R75.00.

If you encounter difficulty at Home Affairs in getting the birth certificate, you could ask one of the following organisations for assistance:

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