The United Kingdom has added Ethiopia, Oman, Somalia and Qatar to its travel ‘red list’, to protect the country against new variants of Covid-19.

While South Africa remains on the original red list of countries, the update will cause additional headaches for travellers who were planning to fly to the UK indirectly through a connecting flight.

A BusinessTech reader indicated that he had to cancel his flight to the UK, which connected through Doha in Qatar, due to the new restrictions.

Visitors who have departed from or transited through these countries in the previous 10 days will be refused entry into England. This includes South Africa.

Only British and Irish citizens or those with residence rights, including long-term visa holders, will be allowed to enter and must stay in a government-approved facility for 10 days.

During their stay, they will be required to take a coronavirus test on day two and day eight.

“The government continues to work with the hospitality sector to ensure it is ready to meet any increased demand – with over 58,000 rooms on standby, which can be made available to book as needed,” the Home Office said.

“British nationals currently in the countries on the red list should make use of the commercial options available if they wish to return to England. Commercial routes that will enable British and Irish nationals and residents to return to England continue to operate.”

Continued restrictions 

Last week UAE-based airline Emirates announced that flights from South Africa will remain suspended until 20 March 2021.

This is in line with government directives that restrict the entry of travellers originating from South Africa into the UAE, the airline said in a notice published on its website.

Daily passenger flights to Johannesburg resumed from 11 March as initially planned – however, outbound flights remain suspended.

“Emirates remains committed to serving our customers in South Africa, and we look forward to resuming passenger services when conditions allow,” it said.

“We continue to work closely with all relevant authorities in this regard, and will endeavour to provide our customers with needed support to adjust their travel plans.”

Virgin Atlantic also extended its ban on flights to and from South Africa and may not resume flights until April. British Airways announced the suspension of all South Africa flights until 16 April.

A number of countries have also indicated that travellers from South Africa will be barred from entering – a sign that the country could be facing reputational damage as a result of the 501Y.V2 variant of Covid-19, which has been referred to as the “South African variant” abroad

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A life partner visa is a temporary residence permit that a foreigner who is not married but is in a permanent relationship with a South African citizen can apply for.

The short answer

He could apply for a number of visas: work, critical skills, life partner or (eventually) a relative visa

The whole question

Dear ?

I have been in a relationship with my Serbian boyfriend for almost two years now. We recently found out that I am pregnant. Although we are not quite ready for marriage yet, we would love to raise our child together.

What options do we have in terms of him coming to stay in South Africa for longer than three months at a time on a tourist visa?

The long answer

There are a number of visas that he could apply for, including a work visa, a critical skills visa, a life partner visa or a relative visa. Given the pandemic, however, and the suspension of many services by Home Affairs during the lockdown, all applications are bound to take even longer than usual.

For all the visas he would need passport, completed visa application form and various police and medical clearances.

*For a work visa*, he would need to have a written offer of employment from a South African employer who would need to prove that a suitable South African could not be found to fill the advertised position. A work visa is valid for the period of the contract but not exceeding five years.

*For a critical skills visa*, he would have to list one of the skills on the new critical skills list and the required certification proving his qualifications, as well as proof that he has the financial means to support himself while he looks for employment. The critical skills visa is also valid for up to five years.

A life partner visa is a temporary residence permit that a foreigner who is not married but is in a permanent relationship with a South African citizen can apply for. The application must be made from the applicant’s country unless he is here on a temporary visa like the general work permit. You would have to prove that the two of you had been in a long-term relationship for two years and that you are a couple that is emotionally and financially dependent on each other. You would need to show shared financial arrangements and provide letters of support for the application from family and friends. You would have to have separate interviews with Home Affairs officials to establish the authenticity of your relationship. This is a temporary residence permit that is typically given for two to three years but can be extended if you can prove that the relationship is still viable. One of the advantages of this kind of permit is that he can apply for an endorsement for work if he gets a suitable offer of employment when he has been granted the life partner visa, without going through the onerous business of getting a South African employer to prove that he could find no suitable South African to fill an advertised post. He can also apply for an endorsement to study.

South African child. As the South African citizen, you would need to prove that you have the financial resources to support him. This visa is issued for up to two years at a time and he would not be allowed to study, open a business or work during the two years.

At the present time, all international travellers must present a valid certificate of a negative test result for Covid-19 that is less than 72hours old at th e time of departure.

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Employment and Labour minister Thulas Nxesi says that his department will introduce a new labour migration policy that regulates foreign workers in South Africa.

In a briefing to parliament on Friday (5 March), Nxesi said that the policy would be submitted to president Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet for approval soon, and that an official pronouncement would follow.

Nxesi said that the policy would primarily deal with low-skilled workers, with government expecting a ‘big debate’ given the tensions around foreigners in the country.

“We are going to be needing a balancing act – how do we ensure that we do not violate the Constitution in terms of the Bill of Rights and the right of everybody to work?

“There are various international conventions we have signed giving rights to refugees, both legally and illegally. But how do we also respond to the pressure of the mass employment of our people at the lower levels.”

Nxesi said that South African employers deliberately prefer foreign workers as a source of cheap labour, as they are willing to take ‘anything’ for wages.

The minister indicated that a number of interventions were being considered as part of the policy, but confirmed that his department was considering the introduction of quotas that would specify how many foreign workers could be hired in a given sector.

Based on previous comments by Nxesi, the sectors which are likely to be directed impacted by the labour migration policy include:

• The hospitality sector;
• Restaurants;
• Security;
• Farming and agriculture.

Specific jobs such as restaurant waiters and truck drivers are also likely to come under scrutiny as they have previously been identified by the department as having a high concentration of foreign workers.

The Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) published at the end of February shows that South Africa’s unemployment rate is now 32.5% – its highest point since the survey was started.

The unemployment rate according to the expanded definition of unemployment decreased by 0.5 of a percentage point to 42.6% in Q4 compared to Q3.

The results of the QLFS show that around one million people moved from the ‘not economically active’ segment of the population – which is broadly defined, but includes those who lost work during the Covid-19 lockdown – back into the workforce.

However, the split between those who returned to employment and those who are now classified as unemployed, leans heavily towards the latter.

The number of employed persons increased by 333,000 to 15 million in the fourth quarter of 2020, it said. Meanwhile, the number of unemployed persons increased by 701,000 to 7.2 million compared to the third quarter of 2020.

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CAPE TOWN - Asylum applications could be streamlined with the launch of the Asylum Backlog Project.

It's a joint endeavour by the Home Affairs Department and the UN Refugee Agency.

It aims to eliminate the backlog in South Africa’s asylum system by 2024.

Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that the Asylum Backlog Project would include hiring more staff to help deal with a backlog.

"We provided a sum of U$9.6 million for this project over a period of four years. They'll also provide technical assistance in the form of training. The money will be used to employ 36 extra lawyers because at the moment there are only three."

Motsoaledi said that when the Refugee Act came into effect in 1998, the country had 11,000 asylum applications and in 2006 it reached 53,000.

"In 2008, it increased fourfold - 207,000 people just arrived and said they're looking for asylum. Now while the system was still shocked, the following year another 223,000 followed, which means there's still 400,000 people within a period of two years. Since that time, the system has never recovered."

He said that they'd still not been able to clear that backlog.

"The number of people now who must be cleared via this backlogs is 163,000 applications."

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