South African work visas: Here’s the truth about 5 common myths

Sa Migration – 08 June 2022

We have a question for you – can a foreign national start working for you as soon as the work visa application has been submitted?

If your answer was either “Yes’ or “I don’t know”, keep on reading.

There are many (costly) misconceptions around South African work visas, and we’ve put together a guide to the five most common ones for employers.

MYTH 1: A South African work visa enables the visa holder to work for any company in South Africa

TRUTH: South African work visas only allow visa holders to work for the employer stipulated in the visa conditions. It is illegal for the visa holder to work for another company. Similarly, it is illegal for an employer to hire and allow a foreign national to work for them if that person’s visa is endorsed for work at another company.

MYTH 2: We can quickly and easily transfer a work visa from one company to another

TRUTH: The visa holder must apply for a new work visa if he or she wants to move to a new employer. That means once again submitting a full visa application with all supporting documents. This process is referred to as a ‘change of conditions’ but it is no quicker than any other visa application. The Department of Home Affairs also doesn’t process these applications faster. You can still expect to wait x to x weeks on an outcome.

MYTH 3: Renewing a visa is much quicker and easier than a first-time application

TRUTH: Renewals is as much work as the original visa application in most cases. Unfortunately, renewing a visa also doesn’t happen faster than a first-time visa application. Our advice is to start initiating the visa renewal process 9 to 12 months prior to the expiry date of the work visa.

MYTH 4: I can let a foreign national commence employment with my company as soon as they have submitted their visa application

TRUTH: Any foreign national may only start working for you once they have received their work visa. That person does not have the right to work for you while they’re waiting on their visa’s outcome, regardless of how long the process might take.

MYTH 5: Once an employee has worked in South Africa for 5 years, he or she can apply for permanent residence

TRUTH: The only people who can apply for permanent residence with 5 or more years of work experience are those with a work visa considered under Section 19 of the Act. Intra-company transfer work visas, corporate work visas, exchange visas and student visas do not count towards eligibility for permanent residence.

Please note that critical skills work visas works differently to the rest of the eligible work visas:

For all work visas other than the critical skills work visa, the applicant must have gained the work experience in South Africa while on a South African work visa. However, if a person who applies for a critical skills work visa already has 5 years of experience at the time of submission, he or she could apply for permanent residence immediately. This work experience does not have to be from working in South Africa; it can also be from experience gained outside of South Africa.

Want to get into the specifics?

If you’d like to discuss any of the points in our guide with a consultant, please feel free to call us on numbers below . Alternatively, email us and a consultant will be in touch within 24 hours.

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

 

Email - info@samigration.com

 

Landline :  +27 ( 0) 21 879 5560 – Head Office – Cape Town

     +27  (0 ) 12 880 1490 – Johannesburg / Pretoria

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

Tel No admin : +27 (0) 64 126 3073
Tel No sales : +27 (0) 74 0366127

 

Kind Regards

 

Rod Maxwell – IP ( SA )
CEO
Sa Migration International
Tel No office   :      +27 (0) 82 373 8415

Tel No admin  :      +27 (0) 64 126 3073

Tel No sales     :      +27 (0) 74 036 6127
Fax No          : 086 579 0155

Email:          rod@sami.co.za
Web Sites : www.sami.co.za
                   www.samigration.com

How to protect yourself from being detained as an illegal foreigner

SA Migration – 07 June 2022

In an attempt to tighten national security in South Africa,  Minister Gigaba has been a strong acting force in having the department raid various businesses around the Western Cape, looking for undocumented workers (once again). According to one article, as many as 25 illegal foreigners are being picked up daily, from various places in the Western Cape , Durban , Eastern Cape , Johannesburg and Pretoria  . You can read more about the raids . See a video of the operations which took place last year under the name operation fiela.

To be legal in South Africa, you must have a valid visa in your passport. If you find yourself in South Africa without a valid visa, it is important to have documentation in place to show you are in the process of remedying your status, which may provide you with some relief from an immigration official. Documentation can be in the form of a receipt of application for a new visa (from VFS) or a Form 23, which allows a foreigner status in South Africa pending a good cause application which has been submitted to the Department of Home Affairs.

Given the current safety issues in South Africa, it is not advisable to carry original documentation with you, especially passports. However, it is advisable to have copies of your passport and visa, or at least proof of receipt/good cause application on you at all times. Home Affairs officials are entitled to ask for these documents at any time, and if not readily available, are entitled to detain you for a period of 48 hours whilst your status is verified. Therefore, it is also important that a family member, friend or colleague is aware of where your passport and paperwork is in the event it needs to be brought into SAPS or DHA for verification.

If you find yourself in a predicament where you do not have legal papers or a visa, you can contact us and we can advise you on the best way forward for your particular situation.

www.samigration.com

 

Ryanair admits creating Afrikaans test that blocked South Africans at airports — Report

MyBroadbad – 7 June 2022

 

Low-cost airline Ryanair has confirmed it asked travellers with South African passports to complete a quiz in Afrikaans before being allowed to board their planes, News24 reported.

The airline reportedly said it is responsible for ensuring passengers are correctly documented for travel to their destination, per Section 40 of the UK Immigration and Asylum Act 1999.

It said there had been a recent increase in passengers attempting to travel on fraudulent South African passports.

Ryanair also said it conducts “procedural security profiling” to identify passengers who must complete its test.

“Our handling agents may request passengers travelling on a South African passport, and who are flagged during procedural security profiling, to complete a simple questionnaire, as an additional safety assessment to confirm whether they are correctly documented before travel,” the airline stated.

“As language proficiency is the least intrusive further safety assessment method, this questionnaire is conducted through Afrikaans, one of South Africa’s most prevalent official languages.”

According to Stats SA, Afrikaans is South Africa’s third most-spoken home language (12.2%) and tied for the third most-used language outside the home with Sepedi (9.7%).

Stats SA’s latest data on the most-spoken languages in South Africa comes from its 2018 General Household Survey. The 2019 and 2020 surveys do not contain language demographic data.

isiZulu was the most prominent home language and the most-spoken language outside the home. Over a quarter of South Africans reported speaking the language inside and outside the home.

Although English was the sixth-largest home language (8.1%), it was the second most-spoken language in South Africa outside the home (16.6%).

Crucially, Stats SA’s data does not measure literacy in these languages.

 

Ryanair’s comments to News24 follow MyBroadband’s report about complaints from travellers claiming to have received the test, several of which included photographs of the question paper.

One of the travellers, Catherine Bronze, agreed to a voice call on Facebook messenger on Thursday and told MyBroadband that Ryanair prevented her and her 11-year-old son from boarding their plane.

Her incident had occurred about two weeks prior.

She said an official told her the form had been put in place by the British government.

They were flying from Ireland West Airport Knock to the UK after visiting her daughter in the Republic of Ireland.

Despite providing the officials with her and her sons’ biometric residence permits, she was forced to leave the airport and return to her daughter when she didn’t score full marks on the test.

Her husband, who has a British passport, flew to Dublin to fetch them, and they managed to leave via Dublin airport.

SAFM’s Stephen Groottes interviewed Nomfundo Dlamini, programme manager for productive cities at the South African Cities Network, who said several of her colleagues with UK work permits were also presented with the form.

Complaints included South Africans flying from Portugal, Ibiza and Dublin to London, and people flying from the UK to the Republic of Ireland.

Ryanair’s test questions are reproduced in the table below. The original Afrikaans is on the left, including poor grammar and typographical errors.

General knowledge test questions for UK entry
Original question	English translation
Watter van die volgende is Suid-Afrikaanse hoofstede? (Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein)	Which of the following are South African capital cities? (Pretoria, Johannesburg, Bloemfontein)
Wat is Suid-Afrika se amptelike geldeenheid?	What is South Africa’s official currency?
Noem drie van Suid-Afrika se amptelike tale.	Name three of South Africa’s official languages.
Aan watter kant van die pad moet ‘n mens bestuur in Suid-Afrika?	On which side of the road must you drive in South Africa?
Wat is Suid-Afrika se internasionale landkode?	What is South Africa’s international dialling code?
At is die naam van die grootste stad in Suid-Afrika? [sic]	What is the name of South Africa’s biggest city?
Wie is die huidige president van Suid-Afrika?	Who is South Africa’s sitting president?
Noem een van Suiod-Afrika se nasionale vakansiedae. [sic]	Name one of South Africa’s national public holidays.
Wat is die naam van die hoogste berg in Suid-Afrika?	What is the name of the highest mountain in South Africa?
Wat is die naam van die bekende berg in Kaapstad wat sommige glo is een van die oudste berge in die wêreld?	What is the name of the famous mountain in Cape Town that some believe is one of the oldest in the world?
Wat is Suid-Afrika se nasionale blom?	What is South Africa’s national flower?
Wat is Suid-Afrika se Nasianale dier? [sic]	What is South Africa’s national animal?
Waar is die Uniegebou?	Where are the Union Buildings?
Wat is Suid-Afrika se nasionale kleure?	What are South Africa’s national colours?
Watter een van die volgende is ‘n bekende Suid-Afrikaanse rivier? (Geel/Oranje/Pers rivier)	Which of the following is a well-known South African river? (Yellow / Orange / Purple river)

Despite several attempts to contact Ryanair’s media relations department for comment, the low-cost airline did not respond to our questions.

MyBroadband reached out to the British High Commission in South Africa, the South African High Commission in London, and the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (Dirco). None answered their phones or responded to emails.

However, the British High Commission in South Africa said in a post on Twitter that the questionnaire was not a UK government requirement.

Dirco had also told Eyewitness News’ radio journalists for 702 on Friday evening that it was deeply concerned about the reports and was still investigating the matter with its UK counterparts.

Only the Irish Foreign Affairs department responded to MyBroadband’s requests for comment.

Second secretary for the Embassy of Ireland in South Africa, Paul Evans, said that Irish authorities do not require a language proficiency or general knowledge test.

However, Evans also highlighted that all travellers must be able to satisfy the Immigration Officer at the Port of Entry that they have a valid reason for entering Ireland.

“You may also be requested by airline staff at check-in to provide additional documentation to support your case,” he said.

This is at the discretion of the airline and includes, but is not limited to:

• Return ticket
• Proof of accommodation
• Bank statements showing you have sufficient funds for the duration of the stay
• Passport must be valid for six months before the date of return, and must have two blank pages
• Medical/travel insurance

www.samigration.com

 

How to bribe Home Affairs: ‘Senior’ official arrested over R6k payment

The South African – 07-06-2022

As it turns out, you don’t need *that* much money to bribe senior officials at Home Affairs – thankfully, this one was caught red-handed.

A top Home Affairs official has been detained by police this week, after he caught accepting a paltry bribe from a foreign national. The payment has enraged South Africans online, who have questioned the department’s integrity. Nonetheless, SAPS officials have been praised for their work.

How to bribe a Home Affairs official? You only need a few grand…

A number of concerning details were made public this week, after it emerged that some senior workers can be ‘bought-off’ on the cheap. A police sting operation managed to catch this criminal in the act…

• The arrested official is said to be a ‘senior immigration official’ in Bloemfontein.
• A foreign national offered the suspect a total of R6 000 to bend the rules.
• The foreigner’s brother was arrested for allegedly ‘not having proper documents’.
• A sting operation was conducted by the police and Home Affairs where the suspect met with the victim and took R6 000 as agreed.
• He was then arrested after police found him with the money that he demanded from the victim.
• The suspect is expected to appear before the Bloemfontein Magistrates’ Court on Monday 30 May.

SAPS act swiftly to quash corruption

SAPS has since issued a statement on the matter, confirming that an elaborate scheme was foiled thanks to the help of their Corruption Investigation Squads, formed by both Hawks AND Crime Intelligence (CI)

“A 50-year-old suspect was arrested in Bloemfontein on Thursday 26 May 2022 by the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team together with Crime Intelligence (CI) and Home Affairs officials all based in Bloemfontein.”

“The suspect’s arrest came after the Hawks’ Serious Corruption Investigation team received information about the Home Affairs Senior Immigration Officer who demanded R6 000 from a foreign national for the release of his brother.”

www.samigration.com

 

 

 

Life Partner Visa

SA Migration – 07/06/2022

Life Partner visa is issued to someone in a long term relationship.

This type of South Africa life partner visa is available to people in either heterosexual or same-sex relationships and can apply for a life partner temporary residence visa or a permanent residence depending on the length of the relationship in question.

An application for temporary residence life partner visa requires that the partners are in a proven relationship for 2 years. Foreigners who are life partners of South African citizens or permanent resident holders may apply for permanent residence if they have been together for 5 years or more in terms the Immigration Act.

To obtain permanent residence, you would have to have been living with your partner for more than 5 years. This came about with the new regulations.

The life partner visa is very similar to the spousal visa but accommodates same sex partnerships. You will have to prove financial and emotional support and may be called upon to be interviewed by the department.

SA Migration Intl will guide you through the entire process and make sure that your application is fully compliant with the immigration law to ensure a successful outcome. Once your application has been submitted we ensure you will be able to track the progress of said application either directly via VFS or via our followup processes via our application tracking system and be kept fully up to date with the progress of your application.

Once we confirm that you will qualify for the visa we will ensure you have a successful application.

If you need a life partner or spouse visa for South Africa please contact us now!

How can we help you , please email us to info@samigration.com whatsapp me on:

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