South Africa plans to start tracking emigration – here’s where people are moving

Businesstech - 24 April 2022

The South African government plans to change its data collection systems to get a better idea of how many skilled South Africans are leaving the country.

The proposal, which is included in the Department of Employment and Labour’s latest National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP), notes the country has seen an outflow of valuable skills in several sectors.

It added that the emigration of skilled South Africans has not been addressed efficiently through any specific policy, and constitutes a growing problem in certain sectors.

The updated data-tracking will also allow the government and public to have reliable, up-to-date data on flows and stocks of highly skilled South Africans employed abroad and on sectors and occupations particularly affected by attrition to emigration or remigration, it said.

Historically, the Department of Home Affairs and Statistics South Africa has not published information on the number of people emigrating. However, the United Nations does keep data on migrant stock and where South Africans have emigrated.

According to the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ 2020 International Migrant Stock report, by the end of 2020, 914,901 South Africans were living in other countries and territories, up from 786,554 in 2015.

Three times as many people emigrated from South Africa between 2015 and 2020 – over 128,000 people – than between 2010 and 2015 (43,000 people), the data showed.

Wealthy more likely to leave 

FNB’s latest property barometer for South Africa shows that around 8% of people are selling their homes with plans to leave the country. Notably, the data shows that wealthier South Africans – even those in upper-middle-income brackets – are more likely to sell up to emigrate.

As many as 14% of home sellers in the R2.6 million – R3.6 million house price bracket are selling to emigrate, with this figure dropping to 11% in the R3.6 million+ house band.  Emigration-related sales increased steadily between 2015 and 2019, rising from 5% of total sales in 2015 to a record-high of 13.4% in Q2 2019.

This number subsequently dropped to around the 8% mark in 2021 due to a confluence of factors, including international restrictions and a strong property market. However, this is up a percentage point compared to the Q2 2020 report.

www.samigration.com

Bushiri ‘declared tithes as own riches’ in bid for residency

Sunday World - 24th Apr 2022

The Department of Home Affairs has shed light on how self-proclaimed prophet Shepherd Bushiri illegally used tithes from his church and an aircraft to obtain documents for permanent residency in South Africa.

In final submissions filed in a disciplinary case against the senior official who granted approval for Bushiri’s permanent residency, the department goes to length to show that Bushiri and his family did not qualify for permanent residency after they used bank accounts of their church and an aircraft purchased for $1,25-million as proof of an investment they were going make.

The department contended that Bushiri did not have a net worth of R12-million and instead used the bank account of the church for his application in 2016.

“Accepting for the moment that one could consider an aircraft as an investment, it must be purchased for commercial/freight business use. However, purchasing it for personal use, as Bushiri did, does not constitute an investment.

“It is like a person purchasing an expensive Rolls Royce in South Africa and calling it an investment because of what it costs and the fact that it needs a chauffeur. This is utter nonsense. This, without even considering the fact that a cash purchase of an aircraft for $1,25-million should immediately raise eyebrows about possible money laundering or contravention of exchange control regulations,” the department said.

“Secondly, the chartered accountant relied on the bank statements of the church. Church funds cannot be relied upon as a source of investment, and it is not clear why they were even attached. A cursory glance at the bank statements in any event reveal that large amounts of cash were deposited and then withdrawn each month,” the department added.

The Bushiri’s permanent residency was also unlawfully authorised along with applications for refugee status.

In terms of the Immigration Act, an applicant must invest or intend to invest R2,5-million in the country to be granted permanent residency, among other qualifying criteria.

The act also states that the minimum net worth of an applicant should be R12-million, of which R120 000 should be paid to the director-general of home affairs upon approval of the application.

The submission is based on the report of an internal investigation that the department conducted into the saga.

The department wants Ronney Marhule, the suspended chief director of permits, to be found guilty of misconduct related to gross dishonesty, gross negligence and non-compliance with the Immigration Act. The outcome of the case will be out in a few weeks.

In January, the Labour Court dismissed Marhule’s application opposing the fact that the department used a lawyer to preside over his disciplinary hearing.

The department alleges Marhule approved Bushiri’s application while the application file and all relevant documents were still at the Lilongwe mission in Malawi and were only couriered to the department’s head office in Pretoria during December 2019.

“There was documentary evidence available in the files of the department establishing that Bushiri was in South Africa on a visitor’s visa but had, contrary to the Immigration Act, been conducting a business, which ought to have resulted in the rejection of the application, or alternatively, its referral for further investigation.

“There was documentary evidence available in the files of the department, establishing that Bushiri’s spouse, Mary Bushiri, had submitted a fraudulent exemption certificate issue in terms of the repealed Aliens Control Act prior to the application and recommendation for the approval of Bushiri’s permanent residence permit, which ought to have resulted in rejection of the application, alternatively, its referral for further investigation,” the department said.

In October 2020, the Bushiris  were arrested and charged with fraud and money laundering by the Hawks.

The status of Bushiri’s citizenship was brought into question during the arrest.

The department, through its counter corruption unit, initiated an investigation into allegations of irregular approval of permanent residence permit of Bushiri and his family.

That November, Bushiri and his wife fled to Malawi.

www.samigration.com

South African Spousal Visa

This type of South Africa Spouse or life partner permit is available to people in either heterosexual or same-sex relationships and can be applied for as either a spouse temporary residence permit or a permanent residence permit depending on the length of the marriage or relationship in question.

Foreigners who are spouses of South African citizensor permanent resident holders may apply for permanent residence. To obtain permanent residence, you would have to have been with your partner for more than 5 years.

Being one of the most progressive countries in the world in recognizing same-sex couples and affording them equal rights to that of heterosexual unions South Africa grants spousal permits to life partners in both same-sex and heterosexual relationships.

• The spousal permit is classified under the relative’s visa category and is renewable.
• The spousal visa is issued for a period of 36 months at a time. An added factor is the expiry date of the passport , ie the visa cannot be longer than expiry date of passport.
• It is a temporary residency visa and is only issued to foreign nationals who can prove a committed relationship with a South African citizen or person holding permanent residency.
• The couple must be able to prove a relationship longer than two years

If you would like to study or work while in the Republic you may do so but you would have to apply for working rights to be added to your visa. Persons on a spousal permit may also only apply to have either study, or business or working rights added to their visa, but not all three. This means that if you added a working rights endorsement to your visa you may only work for an employer.

South African Business Visa

A business visa may be issued by the Department of Home Affairs to a foreigner intending to establish or invest in a business in South Africa in which he or she may be employed, and to members of such foreigners’ immediate family providing that certain requirements have been met.

The Act calls for investment of R5,0 million in a business and you need to make sure you employ 60% South African citizens or permanent residents to get both a temporary and permanent business visa, you can get these visas with less capital investment - sometimes for as low as R600,000 investment using our expert team at SA Migration.

Many businesses do not require a capital investment as large as R5 million and in certain cases, you are allowed to reduce this amount and commit to a smaller investment if your business falls within the certain industries. The following businesses to be in the national interest, and therefore qualifying for reduction or waiver of the capitalisation requirements as determined to be in the national interest in relation to a Business Visa: Many of these business owners do not have the required investment amounts. If this is the case and the business falls in line with one of the following industries, a capital waiver can be requested. This would mean a reduction in the required investment amount.

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• Citizenship
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Citizenship Options

• South African Citizen by Descent
• South African Citizen by Naturalisation:
• Automatic loss of Citizenship
• Resumption of South African citizenship
• Deprivation of Citizenship
• South African Citizen by Naturalisation:
• Automatic loss of Citizenship
• Resumption of South African citizenship
• Acquisition of the citizenship or nationality of another country

South African Citizen by Descent:

Anybody who was born outside of South Africa to a South African citizen. His or her birth has to be registered in line with the births and deaths registration act 51 of 1992.

South African Citizen by Naturalisation:

Permanent Resident holders of 5 or more years can apply for citizenship. Anybody married to a South African citizen qualifies for naturalisation, two years after receiving his or her permanent residence at the time of marriage.

A child under 21 who has permanent residence Visa qualifies for naturalization immediately after the Visa is issued.

Automatic loss of Citizenship.

This occurs when a South African citizen:

Obtains citizenship of another country by a voluntary and formal act, other than marriage, or;

Serves in the armed forces of another country, where he or she is also a citizen, while is at war with South Africa.

Deprivation of Citizenship:

A South African citizen by naturalization can be deprived of his citizenship if;

The certificate of naturalisation was obtained fraudulently or false information was supplied.

He or she holds the citizenship of another country and has, at any time, been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment in any country for an offence that also would have been an offence in South Africa.