Critical skills work visa permit for South Africa

Welcome to the critical skills work visa and permit category. For those potential applicants for a work visa or permit to South Africa, and even those existing work permit or visa holders, this category of work visa may well be great news.

Introduced in the new Immigration regulations in June 2014, the Critical skills work visa and permit saw a refreshingly forward thinking approach by the Department of Home Affairs to attracting much needed skills to South Africa and improving the visa and permit application process.

Some highlights of the critical skills work category include:

• It allows you to get a work visa without a job offer.
• It allows you to enter and stay in South Africa for 12 months to secure a position.
• Is based on a well researched list of occupations that are badly needed in South Africa, increasing your chances of finding a job.
• No restrictions in terms of the numbers in each listed occupation.
• No department of labour recommendation so quicker turnaround times.
• Deals with the professional bodies specific to the occupation.
• Can be a pathway to permanent residence immediately as well an immediate 5 year working visa.
• Qualification for a critical skills visa if you completed a post graduate (Phd) in South Africa.
• Less obligation on employers.

Both permanent and temporary residency options

A temporary critical skills work visa is issued for a 5 year period of time. After 5 years you can then apply for permanent residence.

If you already have 5 years experience in your occupation then there is every chance you can immediately apply for permanent residence as well.

What is the key criteria for a critical skills visa or permit application?

You must feature on the critical skills list, this is firstly based on your educational subject and then further broken down into occupations within these educational areas.

What If I am not on the critical skills list?

There are other visa alternatives that you may qualify for and we recommend you contact us

Great news I am on the list critical skills!

The best next step is to e-mail us and attach your CV, if you don’t have a current CV why not call us on any of the above numbers or request a call back.

Getting help with your visa or permit application

We welcome the opportunity to consult with you as to your eligibility for a visa /permit and answer any questions you may have with no obligation.

www.samigration.com

Corporate Workers Visa Corporate workers certificate

Where a company is in possession of a valid corporate work visa, it has in effect a permission to recruit a certain number of foreign workers, into specific positions for finite period of time.

As an example the company may have applied for 200 civil engineers, if successful, they will be issued 200 corporate workers certificates. These certificates can then be used in the subsequent application for a corporate workers visa. These corporate workers certificate negates many of the criteria normally associated with applications for certain type of work permits.

Is the corporate workers visa for temporary or permanent residency?

The corporate workers visa is issued as a temporary residency visa for a maximum of 4 year, or for a period not exceeding the corporate visa held by the company.

In itself the corporate workers visa may not lead to permanent residency. However the time the worker has held it for can be utilised for permanent residency applications made under the 5 year rule. The 5 year rule says that applications can be made for permanent residency by individuals who have held appropriate work visas for 5 years in South Africa.

What must be submitted with a corporate workers visa application?

Applications must include:

• The applicants valid passport;
• Biometrics of the applicant;
• The relevant corporate workers certificate as issued under the corporate visa;
• A contract of employment;
• Proof of the foreign employees qualifications;
• Proof of registration with the appropriate professional body;

What are the restrictions?

It should be remembered that the employee may only be utilised by the South African company in the capacity for which the corporate workers certificate was issued.

The corporate workers visa cannot be extended.

Getting help with your visa or permit application

We welcome the opportunity to consult with you as to your eligibility for a visa /permit and answer any questions you may have with no obligation.

www.samigration.com

Corporate Visas Immigration South Africa

A corporate visa can only be issued to South African registered company or branch (the applicant) and it offers the possibility to employ great numbers of employees from abroad, all under the remit of one application.

The Corporate Visa may be issued to a corporate applicant to enable them to employ foreigners who may take up employment for the applicant for a limited period of time.

Who should apply for a corporate visa?

The application is directed for corporates with a need for a predetermined number of foreign personnel. This predetermined need, will have to be proven against a backdrop of there being an insufficient number of South African citizens or permanent resident holders that are capable of filling certain roles within the organisation.

What is required in the corporate visa application?

There are a large number of requirements that are associated with the corporate visa application . It is however important to understand the mindset behind these requirements:

The corporate visa is not an open invitation to recruit on mass from abroad for reasons such as cheaper labour. The company applying has to include in its application detailed job descriptions and the proposed remuneration in respect of each employee. The company will also need to provide proof of the specific job requirements to show the skill sets required as well as illustrate the recruitment efforts they have employed to historically try and find South Africans to fill their vacancies.

As such the corporate visa’s role is to protect suitably qualified South Africans from being prejudiced within the local job market, whilst affording companies with a genuine need, to seek large numbers of staff from overseas.

How a corporate visa works?

If a successful application is made, upon receipt of the corporate visa a company may then recruit individuals that fulfil the roles specified within their corporate visa application by means of issued corporate workers certificates.

Upon identifying the appropriate foreigner to fulfil the role, a job offer is made, and subsequent to this a corporate workers visa can be applied for utilising the corporate workers certificate.

In essence it is a two stop process. Firstly to obtain the corporate visa and then to apply for a corporate workers visa. .

What are the advantages of a corporate visa?

A corporate visa represents an excellent way for companies to manage their human resource needs. Due to South Africa’s fast growing economy and increasing demands for services and products from the domestic and international market, your company may struggle to fill all available positions with South African personnel. Certain professionals in highly specialised areas may simply not be accessible in South Africa.

To apply for work visa’s on a case by case basis may not be in the best interests of your company. With the Corporate Visa allowing your company to obtain permission from Home Affairs to recruit a certain number of foreign employees to fulfil certain roles over a finite period of time, this visa may be an attractive option.

One of the advantages of the Corporate Visa has been approved, the individual employees then apply for a corporate workers visa which is far less onerous, than for example, a general work visa. It is also quicker in theory to process and leads to cost-saving.

Are there any disadvantages?

Yes there are, the compiling of the application. Obtaining permission to recruit a large number of foreigners within one application is a lengthy process. Mainly due to the fact that you need to prove that you require not just one, but many foreign workers. In some cases this may be hundreds of positions covered in just one application. Providing such proof means the compilation of the application along with the decision making process can add up to many months.

Note there is every likelihood that you will have to utilise other work visa options whilst awaiting for your corporate visa application to be processed simply due to the time involved

Getting advice

In the new immigration amendments, published in June 2014, the criteria for a corporate visa application became more complex. It is therefore essential you seek professional guidance on this option as an incorrect decision could leave you with severe human resource issues, not to mention wasted money and frustrations.

Introducing Intergate Immigration’s corporate division

The needs of corporations are very different to that of individual applicants, after all you have a business to run. Our unique approach to corporate visa and permit requirements has seen us become the trusted partner for over 250 large corporates, including a number of South Africa’s and the worlds leading companies.

We are the only South African immigration company to have been accredited ISO 9001 and are also able to offer our clients immigration solutions for other African countries as well.

Getting help with your visa or permit application

We welcome the opportunity to consult with you as to your eligibility for a visa /permit and answer any questions you may have with no obligation.

www.samigration.com

Applying for Critical Skills Work Visa for South Africa

The critical skills work visa was a very welcome addition, in June 2014, to the types of work visas that a prospective immigrant may consider to apply for.

It carries with it a host of benefits and boasts very clear qualifying criteria which can only assist South Africa in attracting much needed skills.

Below we take you through the process and criteria associated with applying for a critical skills work permit.

The critical skills list

Applications can only be made by those who feature on the critical skills list. To view whether your occupation is on the current critical skills

Where to apply for a critical skills work visa

• Applications that are made for a critical skills work visa that involve a change of status, for example from a short term tourist visa of 90 days to work visa, must be made from outside of South Africa.
• Where an application is made by an individual, who is already in possession of an appropriate residency visa, for example a critical skills work visa holder seeking to renew their visa, can be made in South Africa.

Requirements within the application

All the normal requirements that accompany a temporary visa application such a good standing, medical and the appropriate application form must be complied with. In addition applications for the critical skills visa carry with them a number of further items.

When applying for a critical skills work visa the applicant will need to show that they fall within the critical skills category they are making their application under. This includes:

• A certificate from the professional body, council or board recognised by SAQA or any relevant government Department confirming the skills or qualifications of the applicant.
• An evaluation of the foreign qualification by SAQA and translated by a sworn translator into one of the official languages of South Africa.
• Proof of their application for registration with the professional body, council or board.

As the critical skills visa is a work visa. there are also various requirements within the application that the employer needs to commit to:

Need more guidance on applying for a critical skills work visa?

Any application for immigration can be complex and hard to understand. There is of course a burden of proof required within the application to clearly demonstrate that the applicant meets the criteria as laid down in the Immigration Act.

Assessing your eligibility, compiling your application and dealing with the Department of Home Affairs may all seem very technical and burdensome, that’s why we are here.

Our DHA accredited immigration company, with a a track record of over 1,000’s of successful applications and a much envied client first philosophy, our role is to be with you every step of the way throughout your critical skills visa application.

Getting help with your visa or permit application

We welcome the opportunity to consult with you as to your eligibility for a visa /permit and answer any questions you may have with no obligation.

www.samigration.com

Work visa requirements for South African immigration

Background to Work Visa for South African Immigration

South Africa offers a number of options for those who are seeking a Work Visa for the purposes of South African immigration.

Similar to other countries the Work Visa legislation focuses on two main areas:

1. The protection of employment opportunities for South Africans
2. The ability to recruit skilled foreign workers into skill shortage areas or fulfil corporate requirements.

In essence regulations around Work Visas have to provide a balance between making sure employers recruit local South Africans where possible, but allow them to recruit workers from abroad where they are unable to do this.

Types of Work Visa

Broadly speaking there are two types of Work Visa

1. Where the applicant does not have a job offer.
2. Where the applicant has a job offer

Where the applicant requires a work visa and does not have a job offer:

1. Critical skills work visa – This visa is based on a well researched list of occupations that are badly needed in South Africa. You don’t need a job offer to apply for the visa, and the visa enables you to enter and stay in South Africa for 12 months to secure a position

Where the applicant requires a work visa and has a job offer

There exists three options for applying for immigration to South Africa via a work visa where the applicant has a job offer:

1. An Intra company transfer – Where the individual is being transferred from a branch of the company, based outside of South Africa, to a branch of the company within South Africa. This work visa can also be applied for by individuals who are employees of sister companies or companies with a shared interest. The visa allows the employee to relocate to South Africa and undertake employment for a certain period of time and only for the specified employer.
2. Corporate work visas – These can be applied for by organisations that have a need to recruit a number of foreign staff over a set period of time. Obtaining a corporate work visa is hugely beneficial to an organisation. It not only reduces costs, but also speeds up the work visa application process. The individuals applying ‘under’ the corporate visa do not have to provide for many of the requirements normally associated with a work visa.

General work visa – Where an individual does not meet the criteria of any of the above work visas an application would have to made under the General Work Visa category. According to the South African Immigration Act, the applicant for a General Work visa has to provide a conditional offer of employment from a South African based employer. In addition also documentation, confirming that the employer has fully endeavoured to employ South African citizens or residents.

Some Frequently asked questions on work visas

Can I apply for Permanent Residency with a work visa?

Obtaining permanent residency via the work visa option inevitably means first having to not just get temporary residency but also maintain it for a 5 year period of time. Intra company transfer visa are not considered within this 5 year rule.

Can my family come with me?

Partners and dependants can accompany holders of work visas. Please note partners are not allowed to study, work or run a business, they are simply allowed only to accompany and stay in South Africa. They may also not be included in permanent residency applications but may themselves apply at a later time dependent on their relationships with the permanent resident.

What about my children attending school?

Dependant children can attend a South African school but need to first obtain a study visa.

Why not subscribe to our newsletter to make sure you keep up to date on the requirements for South Africa work visas.

www.samigration.com