South Africa Working Visas

South Africa seeks highly skilled individuals to live and work in SA.

SA Migration Services will provide professional assistance to arrange your work visa for you if you qualify.

Work Visas are regulated in terms of Section 19, Regulation 18 and items 18 (1), 19(2), 20, 21 and 22, of Schedule A.

There are three common types of Work Visas:

• General Work Visa
• Inter Company Transfer Visa
• Critical Skills Visa

General Work Visa

Under the General Work Visa there are very strict requirements. The South African government, although trying to promote work and trade in South Africa, recognize the need to give South Africans the chance to obtain employment ahead of any foreigner.

You will have to prove that you are the only person who can fill that position and that no other South African can play that role. This is done by placing an advert in a national newspaper advertising the position.

A Department of Labour report would need to be obtained.

You will also need to have a job offer/contract from your future employer.

The most important part of the process is skills assessment by SAQA (South African Qualifications Authority) in SA which evaluates your formal qualifications and compares them to a SA qualification. This process is mandatory and for this we would need your academic transcripts and award diplomas. Note under the regulations provision is made for the recognition of work experience in the absence of formal qualifications and this therefore makes provision recognition of prior work experience (RPL).

This is a paper based system which merely compares the foreign qualifications and arrives at an equivalent qualification in SA, and if qualified in SA then no SAQA needed.

Next your employer has to prove that you are the only person that can fill the position and no other South African can fill that role. This is done by placing an advert in a national newspaper advertising the position.

Please note the work Visa is issued in the name of the employer so the person is tied to the employer. If they change the job they will require a new work Visa.

There is some good news for people who are qualified through work experience only and they can qualify if they don’t require formal qualifications, ie SAQA.

Inter Company Transfer Visa

An intra-company transfer work Visa may be issued by the Department to a foreigner who is employed abroad by a business operating in the Republic in a branch, subsidiary or affiliate relationship and who by reason of his or her employment is required to conduct work in the Republic.

An important factor is that the applicant has to have been employed with the company abroad for a period of not less than 6 months.

The Intra company transfer is not designed to be a long term visa. The idea is to bring in foreign workers employed by the company abroad with a branch or subsidiary branch here in South Africa; they work or conduct training for four years, and then return home.

This Visa does not require the hassle of proving the company could not find suitable applicants and it does not require the hassle of verifying an applicant’s formal qualifications. It is based purely on employment. If you are a company that needs to transfer in foreign employers, please contact us and we will make this go as smoothly as possible.

It is important to note that this category of work Visa cannot be granted for more than four (4) years and this type of Visa is not extendable.

Critical Skills Work Visa

The Critical Skills Visa South Africa is for skilled workers whose occupation is on the Critical Skills Visa List for South Africa. This list reflects the occupations that are in demand in South Africa.

The newly published "Skills or qualifications determined to be critical for the Republic of South Africa in relation to an application for a Critical Skills Visa or Permanent Residence Visa"

This category of work visa may be issued to an applicant who falls within a specific professional category or specific occupational class determined by the Minister by notice in the Government Gazette. This is done after consultation with the Minister of Labour and the Minister of Trade and Industry.

If an applicant falls within one of the professional categories listed on the critical skills list and also has the appropriate post qualification working experience in that profession then such applicant may qualify to apply for this category of work Visa.

The applicant also needs to where applicable register with the relevant South African professional accreditation body regulating that industry as stipulated by Minister of Home Affairs. Such body must also confirm the applicant’s skills, qualifications and working experience.

Furthermore, such applicant’s qualifications need to be evaluated relevant to a South African level. An applicant for a Critical Skills Visa may enter South Africa on such visa without having secured a job offer first. It is, however, required of the applicant to confirm employment with the Department of Home Affairs within a period of one (1) year upon arrival in South Africa, failing which, the Visa would automatically lapse.

The Critical Skills Work Visa is tied to an individual and not to an employer so under this Visa a person can leave from one employer to the next without obtaining a new work Visa.

www.samigration.com

British couples separated by visa backlog ‘being kept in the dark over delays’

PA News Agency – 10 May 2022

More than 150 people caught up in a backlog of visa applications have reportedly not been told how long delays might be.

BBC News says British couples kept in separate countries by the backlog have contacted the broadcaster to raise the issue of delays, with complaints of some applications taking twice the usual processing time of three months.

The BBC says British citizen Deon Barnard and his wife Heather, who both grew up in South Africa, applied for a visa on December 23, with Mr Barnard moving to London to start a new job.

He told the broadcaster: “We were expecting, according to our calculations and according to our [immigration] agents as well, about March 28 would’ve been our date of receiving our [visa].

“Heather would’ve been on a plane the next day.

“On about March 26, we got a letter from the [Home Office] that, due to the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, visa applications were now paused.

“And there was no information, no date, no expectations set, nothing – that was just the end of the story.

“And we’ve been waiting ever since.”

A Home Office official told the BBC: “We are prioritising Ukraine Family Scheme and Homes for Ukraine applications in response to the humanitarian crisis caused by [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s barbaric invasion of Ukraine, so applications for study, work and family visas have taken longer to process.

“We are working at pace to ensure these are issued as quickly as possible.”

It comes as the Government looks set to face legal action over “unreasonable” delays in the Homes for Ukraine scheme.

Would-be hosts have sent a legal letter to the Home Office over “unexpected, unexplained and unreasonable” delays in processing hundreds of visa applications made in March.

They suggest either the Home Office may be prioritising more recent, simpler applications to “boost” the numbers, and then “boast” about these, or that the policy is “just so incoherent and disorganised” that there is no pretence of processing claims chronologically.

Other areas of concern include MPs being told visas in certain cases have been granted when this is not the case, and sponsors being told cases will be expedited when they have not been.

They also say there are cases where visas and permission-to-travel letters have been granted, but refugees have not been informed or the documents have not been sent or made available to collect.

On Friday the groups Vigil 4 Visas and Taking Action Over The Homes For Ukraine Visa Delays sent a pre-action letter, shared with the PA news agency, informing the Home Office and Government Legal Department they may apply for a judicial review of the policies.

When the legal action was initially announced earlier last week, the Government said it had streamlined the visa system, simplified forms and boosted staff numbers, and it is now “processing visas as quickly as they come in”.

The groups have requested a response by 4pm on Tuesday.

www.samigration.com

ASYLUM SEEKERS PERMIT EXPIRED during LOCKDOWN – Don’t know what to do ?

Apply Now for Temporary Residence even with EXPIRED LOCKDOWN PERMITS

The Constitutional Court handed down a judgement in the Ahmed matter as well as a Court Order opening the door for Asylum Seekers and Refugees to apply to change their status to  temporary residence visa . Contact us now before this fantastic opportunity is lost .

Contact us now and ask me HOW CHANGE TO TEMPORARY RESIDENCE . Travel abroad from South Africa , get a Canada , Schengen Visa afterwards .

Under the new rules they don’t have to cancel their asylum or refugee status and can change to any visa class if they qualify from within
South Africa

please contact us on :
Sa Migration International

 Whatsapp  Tel No : +27 (0) 82 373 8415

 

Tel No office : +27 (0) 82 373 8415 ( Whatsapp )

Tel No admin : +27 (0) 64 126 3073
Tel No sales : +27 (0) 74 0366127
Fax No : 086 579 0155

www.samigration.com

How to minimise socio-economic disruption of SA permit cancellation

The Zimbabwe Independent – 08 May 2022

 

Despite the fact that South Africa has cancelled work permits for Zimbabwe migrants, people still flock into South Africa to seek greener pastures.

THE South African (SA) government recently decided to cancel the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) or the Zimbabwean Special Dispensation Permit (ZSP), which has been in place, in various forms, since 2009.

As part of managing the cancellation, the almost 180 000 ZEP holders were granted a 12-month grace period until December 31, 2022.

Most of the ZEP holders are unlikely to qualify for the recently published SA critical skills list or the business visa.

On the one hand, most of the ZEP holders are already facing professional challenges, especially with their banks, traffic licence authorities and are unsure whether they would receive their Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF) for benefits, provident funds, and work benefits after December 31, 2022.

On the other hand, the growing influence of a vigilante organisation by the name Dudula Movement exacerbates the uneasiness of foreign nationals in South Africa.

This article is a first in a series, which is meant to open a discussion on the socio-economic impact of the cancellation of the ZEP on both SA and Zimbabwe.

The main focus of this article is to offer some important tips on how to prepare for life beyond December 31, 2022. I foresee some disruptions, which might affect the social, political and economic status of many people, especially school-going children, those running small businesses, and even those formally employed. As you know, failure to plan is planning to fail!

Background and context

The SA government instituted the Dispensation of Zimbabweans Project (DZP) in April 2009, which would allow the holders of the DZP permit to work, conduct business and/or study in the country.

The four main objectives then were to:

• Regularise Zimbabweans residing in SA illegally,
• Curb the deportation of Zimbabweans who were in SA illegally,
• Reduce pressure on the asylum seeker and refugee regime, and
• Provide amnesty to Zimbabweans who might have obtained SA documents fraudulently.
• A total of 294 511 Zimbabweans applied for the DZP permit, 242 731 received their permits, while 51 780 were not successful.

According to the SA government, the DZP was established as a “gesture of support and solidarity” with a neighbouring country and as a way of managing the large number of illegal migrants from Zimbabwe.

The SA government noted then that the huge influx of Zimbabweans into SA was “due to political and economic instability” in Zimbabwe. On expiry of the DZP permit in December 2014, the SA government created a new permit, Zimbabwean Special Dispensation Permit (ZSP), which would allow Zimbabweans permit-holders to live, work, conduct business and/or study in SA until December 31, 2017.

The total number of ZSP permits issued was 197 941. At the launch of the ZSP, the SA government made two important points: (i) SA was looking forward to Zimbabwe’s “return to a path of stability and prosperity” and that the ZSP was to be seen as “a temporary bridge to the near future when all Zimbabweans will re-enter the mainstream immigration process in SA”.

Towards the expiry of the ZSP, the SA government launched the ZEP in September 2017 to allow Zimbabweans to work, study and/or conduct business for a further period of four years (January 2018 to December 2021).

Some of the key conditions of the ZEP were that the permit

• Does not entitle the holder the right to apply for permanent residency irrespective of the period of stay in the SA,
• Will not be renewable or extendable, and
• Does not allow a holder to change conditions of his/her permit while in SA. It is estimated that almost 180 000 individuals are on ZEP.

On November 25, 2021, the SA government announced that it would “no longer issue extensions to the Zimbabwean special dispensations” but gave the ZEP permit holders a 12-month period, up to December 31, 2022.

The announcement was followed up with the Government Gazette 45727 on January 7, 2022, clarifying that during the grace period, the ZEP permit holders should either apply for one or other visas as per the SA Immigration Act or risk deportation on expiry of the grace period.

The Zimbabwean government, through its Embassy in Pretoria, issued a public statement on November 30, 2021 urging and encouraging all Zimbabweans who are beneficiaries of these special permits to “comply with the decision and cooperate in its implementation”.

The Zimbabwean Embassy further highlighted that they had initiated engagements with relevant authorities in the SA government with the aim of making sure that the implementation of this decision will have “minimum disruption to the lives and livelihoods of the affected individuals and their families”.

Socio-economic disruptions

As promised, in this article, I try to offer some possible ways of how to reduce the disruption to the socio-economic wellbeing of those individuals and families who might not be able to qualify for a normal work permit or business visa.

Instead of waiting helplessly until December 31, 2022 and become an illegal immigrant, subject to deportation, it might be important to consider these 10 tips which can be implemented during this grace period:

Tip 1: Drastically reduce monthly expenditures. Accommodation or rent is normally the biggest expense. It is generally accepted that rent should equal no more than 30% of net income. I however recommend that you drastically reduce it, even if it means changing your current residence. Get into savings mode.

Tip 2: Plan your children’s next school. Would you be relocating to a town or rural area? Which one would be your closest school, what are the entry and uniform requirements, etc? A change from one country to another, different education systems, schools and even leaving friends can be traumatic for the children. This must be planned and managed well.

Tip 3: Work as hard as you can. Use this 12-month grace period to earn more income. Hustle as if this is the end of your stay in SA. It might very well be.  Get two or three extra jobs. You would need this extra income to take advantage of the tips below.

Tip 4: Invest in your own accommodation back home. If you have a rural home, I suggest that you build a decent house for you and your family. If you are from town, you might want to extend the current house. The bottom line, invest in a decent roof. Don’t go back into your parents’ or other people’s houses.

Tip 5: Invest in a small business in Zimbabwe. Starting a business, especially under pressure, is a tall order. I therefore suggest that you consider businesses with lower barriers to entry and minimum start-up costs. If you have an option, I suggest you settle in a rural, peri-urban area or growth point to get relatively free space for any of these projects: Spaza (tuck) shop; rearing of small animals such as pigs, chicken, goats, etc.; gardening; electrical repairs; carpentry; etc. In short, use the skills acquired in SA to start an income-generating project.

Tip 6: Consider forming partnerships or cooperatives with like-minded individuals. As indicated under Tip 5, starting a business is a tall order. You might need partners to share resources, expertise and get access to markets. Through partnership, it might be possible to buy capital goods such as tractors (remember there is no duty on farming implements), drilling of boreholes, buying of irrigation equipment, or buying goods in bulk for resale.

Tip 7: Should you decide to invest in agriculture, consider drilling a borehole, constructing greenhouses and drip irrigation accessories. Make sure you join local farmers’ groups, especially those involved in your potential line of business. Use social media to connect to like-minded individuals and organisations.

Tip 8: Register and plan to go to vote. Let me debunk the misconception that voting is being involved in politics. It is not. It is a civic responsibility. It is a human right. Remember, SA came up with the special permits because of the “political and economic instability” in Zimbabwe. Therefore, use your vote as a tool to bring political and economic stability to our country. Let me hasten to say, vote for the candidate you think would bring the stability and prosperity you desire.

Tip 9: Take advantage of returning resident status. The Zimbabw government offers rebates and tax waivers to returning residents. For example, under the Immigrant Rebate, an individual immigrant (including their spouses and children) can import duty-free (i) personal and household goods such as clothing, linen and furniture and (ii) motor vehicles limited to one vehicle per immigrant.

Tip 10: Make and maintain friends and networks in SA. Zimbabwe and SA are neighbours and share common history and heritage. Despite the current challenges, the two peoples share family, language and cultural bonds. The Zimbabwean crisis and the subsequent special permits have actually deepened relations between individuals from the two countries. Those networks are important, even beyond the Zimbabwean crisis.

 Conclusion

I understand that relocation would not be easy, especially given that the factors which pushed you out of Zimbabwe are, at best, still present or might have worsened.

There are currently strong push factors in SA, mostly from some political parties, SA government and anti-foreigner community groups.

The intensity of the push factors might increase as SA edges closer to the 2024 general election.

In this article, I have shared some tips on how to smoothen the migration back home. The tips are by no means exhaustive, but I hope they will help us to initiate a robust discussion on this thorny migration issue.

www.samigration.com

South African Permanent Residence

South Africa encourages permanent residency if you are serious about staying in South Africa on a long terms permanent basis there are many categories you can apply under.

• Hold a General Work Visa for five years and have a permanent job offer.
• Hold a Relative’s Visa sponsored by an immediate family member.
• Hold a Critical Skills Visa and have 5 years relevant work experience.
• Be in a proven life partner relationship for five years
• Be married to an SA Spouse for at least five years.
• Have held Refugee Asylum Status for five years.
• Hold a Business Visa.
• Receive a monthly income of R37,000 through Pension or Retirement Annuity
• Have a net asset worth of R12m and payment to Home Affairs of R120,000