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.

www.samigration.com

Migrants make up about 7% of SA labour force, Department of Labour tells Parliament

Fine 24 – 27 March 2022

 

The formal sector normally use documented migrants and register them appropriately, but sectors in 'obscure places' of in SA employ un-documented migrants, says the DEL.

iStock

• The Department of Employment and Labour briefed Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Tourism about migration trends.
• Especially since 2000, there has been a "dramatic influx" of mainly undocumented migrant workers, a worrying trend for the DEL.
• These migrants are particularly concentrated in the informal sector.

Migrants constitute about 4% of the population in South Africa and 7% of the country's labour force, according to the Department of Employment and Labour (DEL).

The department made a presentation to Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Tourism on Tuesday.   

Migration patterns tracked by the department shows that, especially since 2000, there has been a "dramatic influx" of mainly undocumented migrant workers. A worrying trend for the DEL is that these migrants are particularly concentrated in the informal sector.

The department would like to see access to SA's labour market regulated and monitored via "a flexible quota system", a streamlined and seamless visa regime and strong bilateral and multi-lateral partnerships among SADC countries.

"Support SADC regional labour market initiatives via ring-fenced visa arrangements to the benefit of SADC citizens," the department suggested.

According to the DEL, there is a need to address insufficient and absent policy frameworks, for example, concerning recruitment, data requirements, and labour migration to and from South Africa. An appropriate legislative framework has to accompany the policy in order to provide the mandate for state interventions.

It is, therefore, necessary to review current bilateral labour agreements, in the view of the department.

"The absence of a streamlined policy framework will perpetuate a fragmented and inconsistent approach to labour migration, non-aligned institutional frameworks, irregular labour migration, and the non-acquisition and non-retention of critical skills," the department stated in its presentation.

Insufficient regulatory frameworks, for example regarding recruitment, also need to be addressed.

"Two measures in particular need to be taken. Firstly, there need to be comprehensive consultations, also within government. Secondly, draft legislation aimed at implementing the policy, supported by an explanatory memorandum, is key," the presentation states. "Invest in improved inter-ministerial coordination and integrated service delivery - with the DEL as the lead department for all labour migration aspects."

Sam Morotoba, deputy director general of public employment services at the DEL, told the committee that the issue of foreign nationals is very complex. That is why an inter-ministerial committee was established between various departments to look at the issue.

"We have a serious situation of corruption at our borders, especially in certain areas of SA. It relates to human trafficking, crime and movement of illicit goods," said Morotoba. In his view, there is also a need for a complementary policy to address trading by foreign nationals in the informal sector.

"The formal sector normally use documented migrants and register them appropriately, but sectors in 'obscure places' of our country employ un-documented migrants and do not reflect them on their books. This makes it very difficult to know the exact numbers," explained Morotoba.

"Our Constitution, however, even protects foreign nationals who are not documented, because of their rights as human beings. We cannot turn them away from our hospitals, for example."

He further said SA is part of the SADC community and the wider African community.

"Whatever we do, we need to make sure our actions are within the context of regional integration and cooperation in a balanced way," he said. "We are all affected if we do not manage migration well."

He explained that South African companies which do not follow such a balanced employment approach when it comes to migrant or foreign labour, cause friction among South African labourers. He used truck drivers blocking freeways and demanding local companies must reduce their foreign workforce as an example.

"This [unbalanced] employment approach affects not only the tourism industry, but also agriculture. That is why we need a national strategy and a coordinated migration framework," said Morotoba.

The committee also heard that foreign-born migrants are often employed in the tourism industry because they speak languages needed to communicate with foreign tourists. At the same time, they often earn very low wages and endure bad working conditions due to not being unionised.

www.samigration.com

 

Anti-xenophobia activists, organisations call for home affairs minister to step down

News 24 – 27 March 2022

• Anti-xenophobia activists marched in the streets of Johannesburg to demand the home affairs minister be fired.
• The march was in response to Operation Dudula.
• The crowd marched from Peter Ross Park to the Museum of Africa.

Activists and various organisations came out in numbers to march against the recent xenophobic attacks and also handed in a memorandum at the Hillbrow police station which called for the home affairs minister to step down.

The memorandum was first handed to the police at Hillbrow and later at the Johannesburg Central police station, where Nhlanhla Lux, the leader of Operation Dudula, is currently being held.

The activists marched, sang struggle songs and held placards. They called for an end to Operation Dudula, an anti-foreigner movement.

During the march, a member of the African Diaspora Workers Network, Janet Munakamwe, read out the memorandum which called for Aaron Motsoaledi [home affairs minister] to step down.

Munakamwe said:

The minister of home affairs must resign today. He has failed many, not only migrants, but also locals, so many do not have documents.

 

Anti-xenophobia activists marching at Johannesburg.

News24 Alfonso Nqunjana

Furthermore, the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department was slammed for cancelling the first anti-xenophobia march, organised by Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia (KAAX) on Human Rights Day. 

KAAX's spokesperson, Ferron Pedro, said she was hurt when she saw Operation Dudula members marching in support of hatred and injustice on the other side of the Johannesburg Central police station. 

"I saw our brothers and sisters marching for hatred, marching for injustice, marching against the same things that we know are keeping us down. Foreigners are not stealing our jobs, Clover is stealing our jobs, MassMart is stealing our jobs... it is the small 1% in South Africa that owns 50% of the bulk. These people do not live in Alexandra, but they live in Sandton," Pedro said.

Members of different campaigns and organisations chanting and dancing during the march

News24 Alfonso Nqunjana

Operation Dudula members were protesting against Lux's arrest.

JMPD and SAPS officials were vigilant to ensure that Operation Dudula protesters and the anti-xenophobia march did not run into each other.

According to JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla, "the Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia group diverted from the original planned route which was going to see them handing over the memorandum at Commissioner Street".

News24 Alfonso Nqunjana

News24 Alfonso Nqunjana

 

JMPD suspects that the reason for diverting was to confront the Operation Dudula members.

"We suspect that they changed their route knowing that members of Operation Dudula were gathered at the Johannesburg Central SAPS entrance at Commissioner Street, the Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia March went well with no disturbances until they dispersed at Maryfitz Gerald Square," Fihla added.

The University of Johannesburg's Kate Alexander said the university stood against acts of xenophobia.

Alexander said:

The university has a long tradition of opposing xenophobia and it is proud to do so again. If we have to look at the people who are responsible for the high unemployment, we have to blame the government. It is not for us to blame people from other countries, and those who do are hypocrites.

Phone smashed

Dube Austin, a member of Restorative Justice, had an encounter with Operation Dudula members.

He alleges they confronted him for taking pictures and smashed his phone.

"Two ladies I know asked me to take picture of the Dudula members. Before I even took the pictures, I realised that these guys were going to give us a problem and I stopped, leaving the ladies behind.

"The Dudula people came straight to me and asked me what do I want here, and why am I taking photos, I told them that I am here just like everyone and I handed them my phone to check for the pictures... that is when one of them took it and just smashed it on the ground," Austin said.

He appealed to KAAX's convener, Julekha Latib, to accompany him to open a case because he was too scared

www.samigration.com

Requirements added for two Critical Skills visa categories

25 Mar 2022 – BAL

The South African government has added new requirements for the Director (Enterprise Organization) and Corporate General Manager categories on the 2022 Critical Skills list.

Key Points:

• An employer must have the minimum number of employees required to qualify as a medium enterprise in order to sponsor foreign workers in the following categories of the 2022 Critical Skills List:
• Director (Enterprise Organization).
• Corporate General Manager.
• To qualify as a medium enterprise or larger, companies must meet the requirements in this chart.

Additional Information: A company’s size as medium or larger is determined by the number of full-time paid employees in relation to its turnover in each operating industry. Companies that have more employees and a higher turnover than a medium enterprise will automatically be classified as a large enterprise.

BAL Analysis: Companies intending to sponsor foreign nationals under the Director (Enterprise Organization) and Corporate General Manager categories should ensure that they qualify as a medium enterprise.

www.samigration.com

New quotas for foreign workers, who will be banned from starting small businesses in some sectors

 

Fin 24 – 27 March 2022

• Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi released the National Labour Migration Policy for public comment on Monday afternoon.
• This will introduce new employment quotas on foreign workers, as well as ban foreigners from starting small businesses in some sectors.
• "Migrants are in particular concentrated in informal sector – a worrying trend," government said in a statement.

Government will introduce new employment quotas on foreign workers, as well as ban foreigners from starting small businesses in some sectors.

On Monday, Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi introduced the National Labour Migration Policy (NLMP) and Employment Services Amendment Bill for public comment.

The NLMP will introduce quotas on the total number of documented foreign nationals with work visas that can be employed in agriculture, hospitality and tourism, as well as construction, along with other sectors.

The limit on foreign nationals will be set by the minister of labour, and the quotas will differ per occupation, sector or region. Quotas would apply not only to formal employees, but also to anyone paid for any work as well as "platform workers", such as Uber drivers.

The proposed new legislations will be accompanied by amendments to the Small Business Act, which will limit foreign nationals from establishing small and medium-sized enterprises and trading in some sectors of the economy. This will include a list of sectors where foreign nationals cannot be allocated business visas.

Foreign nationals will include all people who aren't citizens, permanent residents or refugees

There are four million foreign born persons in SA, representing 4% of the population and 7% of the labour force, government said.

"Especially since 2000, the influx largely of undocumented migrant workers has increased dramatically in an ever-expanding range of sectors. Migrants are in particular concentrated in informal sector – a worrying trend," the department of labour said in a presentation.

Nxesi said it was critical for government to act and curb the hiring of foreign nationals in the country, as employers were exploiting desperate foreign nationals and "distorting the labour market".

Nxesi released the National Labour Migration Policy for public comment on Monday afternoon, following an extensive period of consultation with his colleagues in Cabinet.

The policy will now be available for public comment for 90 days, after which it will be referred back to Cabinet with inputs and to Parliament.

The Department of Employment and Labour, Cabinet approved the release of the National Labour Migration Policy for public comment last Wednesday after extensive consultation between government structures, Nxesi and Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi.

Nxesi said employers must satisfy themselves that there is no availability of the requisite skills before opting to hire a documented foreign national. He stressed that government would not undermine the rights of foreign nationals in implementing the policy.

"In terms of the law, we can't ban the employment of the foreign nationals. It will not allow us. The Constitution of this country will not allow us to do that. We can limit and control it. That is what we are trying to do," said Nxesi.

Nxesi said along with the migration labour policy, the strengthening of border management policy will be prioritised. He said that his department is stepping up inspections to enforce existing labour and immigration legislation.

Deputy director-general of public employment services Sam Marotoba said it was able to identify "red spots" in migration pressures, including those with special dispensation permits and those who have overstayed in the country.

Marotoba said after conducting research and consultations at government level, the department had to hold cluster and socioeconomic impact consultations with legal advisors.

"This is what took us so long and we are going to embark on public consultation processes. In June we will go to Nedlac and depending on the amount of inputs and comments, we will report to Cabinet and Parliament by July," said Marotoba.

He said South Africa would consult with the African Union, the Southern African Development Community and other regional groupings as the policy is implemented. Nxesi said the consultation process on the policy would be concluded within 90 days.

Pressing labour matters

Nxesi said, after a standoff with truck drivers over the inclusion of their profession in the policy, government had been engaging with truck drivers as recently as last week and was told that truck drivers were looking forward to making inputs on the policy document.

In a veiled reference to the conduct of the EFF who have conducted inspections at restaurants looking for expatriate employees, Nxesi warned that illegal inspections of workplaces looking for documented migrants would not be tolerated and that is was "destructive" and "irresponsible" of political parties to do so.

The National Labour Migration Policy and Employment Services Amendment Bill also makes provision for the "reintegration of the South African diaspora into the domestic economy". This includes the developing of "incentives" for South African workers abroad to "impart skills and invest in labour market and other initiatives in South Africa". 

www.samigration.com