The Department of Home Affairs refiled long-awaited changes to its work-permit regime to allow for the creation of a so-called nomad visa for remote workers.

The 20 May gazetting of the changes, which had last month been withdrawn after the department failed to observe a mandatory period for public comment, means that the changes are now law.

It’s also seeking to allow people employed and paid by companies elsewhere to live in the country as long as they earn at least R1 million annually.

The step, acting on recommendations made by the office of the president, comes amid criticism from some of the nation’s biggest foreign-owned employers over their inability to get technicians and executives into the country.

South Africa’s byzantine system means applicants can wait for more than a year to get a work permit even though a poor local education system has left companies without skilled workers.

New Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court rules, including changes to restraint of trade and holiday-time litigation, have been published in the Government Gazette.
According to Chloë Loubser and Ayanda Nkabinde from Bowmans, the new rules include major procedural changes and technical advancements. These aim to ensure that matters in the Labour Court are handled efficiently, which should help clear the challenging backlog.
Although the new rules’ effective date is yet to be published, Loubser and Nkabinde said they should be published in another Gazette in due course.
Practitioners will need to become familiar with the new technical details of the rules, with the experts highlighting some of the key provisions that employers should know about:
Holiday break
A welcome addition to the rules is the introduction of dies non (a day where no legal business may be done) over the Christmas period.
In the past, the time periods for filing court processes still occurred uninterrupted during the festive period, meaning that litigants had to remain on-call.
“The rules now exclude the period between 16 December and 15 January in the definition of ‘day’ when calculating time periods,” the experts said.
“This will no doubt come as a relief to employers, whose holiday plans will no longer be scuppered by unexpected litigation.”
Review applications
Review applications are one of the most common applications on Labour Court rolls, and the new rules state that these applications must now contain no more than a concise statement of the grounds of review.
An answering affidavit must also be concise regarding why the application is opposed.
Failure to comply with the new requirements could result in the litigant being punished by an appropriate costs order.
“Gone are the days of lengthy affidavits with a detailed chronology of the background facts. The effect of these changes is that going forward, it is best to be brief,” said the experts.
“This may, too, be beneficial for employers, as it could well bring down legal costs in preparing (and opposing) these applications.”
“The time periods for filing the record and subsequent process in the review are also now clearly stated, after years of uncertainty created by some contradictions between the rules and the Practice Manual.”
Restraint of trade
The new rules also include a procedure that a party seeking to enforce a restraint of trade through an unguent interdict must follow.
“In particular, the rules make provision for the exchange of four sets of affidavits (something that occurred regularly in practice but was not expressly catered for in the rules).”
Time periods for filing each affidavit are set, and the application will be provisionally enrolled for hearing during the week following the week in which heads of argument have been swapped.
This means an opposing application for restraint of trade could be heard just over a month after a party launched it.
In terms of urgent hearings, an application for restraint of trade will be enrolled only where the procedure set out in Rule 39 (the rule for restraint of trade) has been strictly adhered to by the applicant.
Online Court
Following their normalisation during the Covid-19 pandemic, the new rules also formally make provisions for virtual hearings on request by one or more parties or by direction by the presiding judge.
That said, the default position states that all proceedings must be conducted in open court.
The decision to go online rests with the presiding judge, who will consider the nature of the proceedings, the public interest of the proceedings and the principles of open justice.
Media Access
Media access to proceedings is also now regulated in the new rules.
“Unless the court directs otherwise, members of the press will be entitled to take still photographs and/or video footage during court activities for 15 minutes before the commencement of proceedings each day and during any adjournments, arguments where no evidence is led and judgment and/or other juridical rulings,” said the experts.
If a media representative wishes to take a record of any judicial proceedings, they will need to apply to the Court.

The Department of Home Affairs has re-gazetted amendments to South Africa’s immigration laws, after previously gazetting and then withdrawing them.
On 28 March, the DHA published the amended immigration regulations.
However, because this was a day before the closing date of the public comment period, the minister, Aaron Motsoaledi issued a notice withdrawing the changes.
This created confusion and consternation among businesses and in the tourism industry in particular, as the amendments introduced long-sought-after changes to visas and the entry of critical skills to South Africa.
Among other things, the regulations replaced the highly-contested critical skills list with a new points-based system and introduced the remote work visa class.
At the time of the withdrawal—12 April—the minister said that the regulations would be revised within a week. However, it took more than a month.
On Monday (20 May), the amendments were regazetted.
The regulations were received positively by businesses in South Africa, with the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa saying that they should ease the administrative burden that international companies with businesses in South Africa face when hiring skilled foreigners.

Remote Work Visa
The Remote Work Visa is designed for individuals wishing to work in South Africa while working for foreign employers.
The visa targets high-earning individuals and aims to stimulate the South African economy.
The remote work visa applies to foreign employers who derive a foreign source of income on a remote basis, provided that:
•    The worker earns a gross income of no less than the equivalent of R1 million per annum
•    If the visa is issued for a period not exceeding 6 months within a 36 month period, the foreigner may apply to be exempted by SARS from registering as a taxpayer. If the visa is issued for longer, they must register.
General Work Visa changes
The aforementioned Points-Based system for a General Work Visa aims to eliminate the need to obtain a letter from the Department of Labour.
This new streamlined approach looks at criteria based on factors, such as age and qualifications to determine visa eligibility on a points-based scale.
The system is based on:
•    Age
•    Qualifications
•    Language skills
•    Work experience
•    Offer of employment
•    Salary
•    any other relevant factor
Critical Skills List
Organisations can now also expedite the gazetting process for critical skills that are seen as essential, removing the previous four-year waiting period.
This should facilitate swift approval for in-demand skills.



South Africa is rolling out the welcome mat for Indian tourists with a focus on simplifying the visa application process with an e-visa and potentially offering a 90-day visa waiver. This exciting news comes as the country aims to attract more visitors from India, a rapidly growing travel market.

E-Visas for Streamlined Applications

Indian tourists can soon expect a smoother visa application experience. The South African government, led by Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille, announced plans to introduce an E-Visa system specifically for Indian travellers. This online system will eliminate the need to visit an embassy or consulate, saving time and hassle.

Visa Waiver Proposal

The good news doesn’t stop there. The Ministry of Tourism is also proposing a 90-day visa waiver for Indian visitors. This proposal, currently under consideration by the president, would mirror the benefits currently enjoyed by tourists from Russia and Brazil.

Additionally, the possibility of extending visas while already in South Africa is being explored, offering even greater flexibility for Indian vacationers.

Current Visa Requirements

At present, Chinese and Indian nationals need a visa to enter South Africa. These visas can be obtained through a South African embassy or consulate, or online via the Department of Home Affairs website. However, the current online system, available in about 34 countries, has faced criticism for being unreliable.

Surge in Indian Tourists

The South African government’s focus on Indian tourists is a response to a surge in interest. The first quarter of 2024 saw a significant increase, with 16,000 Indian visitors already registered. This impressive number aligns with Tourism South Africa’s ambitious target of attracting 100,000 Indian tourists by the end of the year.

Shifting Tourist Landscape

Traditionally, the UK, US, and Germany have been the top sources of non-African tourists to South Africa. However, the travel landscape is changing.

The growing popularity of South Africa as a tourist destination, coupled with the easing of visa regulations for India and China, is expected to significantly boost arrivals from these regions.

Visitor Statistics and Growth Goals

Last year, South Africa welcomed over 79,000 Indian travellers, reaching 82 per cent of pre-COVID levels. In 2019, the country saw 95,000 Indian visitors. The current target aims to promote travel from second-tier cities in India.

Diplomatic Efforts

Minister de Lille also mentioned upcoming discussions with the Minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi, and a planned visit to Beijing to negotiate visa waivers for Chinese and Indian visitors for limited-duration stays.

Conclusion

South Africa’s commitment to simplifying visa processes and potentially offering a visa waiver for Indian tourists is a positive step for the travel industry. This move is expected to attract more visitors from India, a country with a booming travel sector, and further strengthen South Africa’s position as a world-class tourist destination.



The Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO) has proposed 13 new occupational qualifications, which are available for public comment.

These qualifications range from National Qualification Framework (NQF) level 3 to level 6 and include four engineering qualifications.

QCTO CEO Vijayen Naidoo published it in a Government Gazette on 14 May 2024.

According to the QCTO, an occupational qualification is a “qualification associated with a trade, occupation or profession resulting from work-based learning.”

The QCTO says that these qualifications yield a high chance of employment due to the element of work experience and that they are industry demand-driven.

Of the proposed qualifications, four are electrical engineering qualifications. All four are NQF level 6 qualifications.

The NQF system is used to rank qualifications.

NQF levels 1 to 4 refer to high school grades 9 to 12, 5 to 7 refer to undergraduate qualifications, and 8 to 10 refer to postgraduate degrees.

All of these engineering qualifications require an NQF 4 (grade 12) qualification with mathematics and science.

As part of the qualification outline, they are compared to similar qualifications in different countries such as Canada and Australia.

The major differences between the qualifications tend to be the entry requirements, often of a lower standard in other countries, and the time it takes to complete the qualification.

However, the overall goal and outcomes of the qualifications tend to be the same.

According to the electrical engineering technician (automation) qualification document, graduates will be able to “conduct research, design, plan and direct the construction, operation and maintenance of electrical systems, assemblies, components and equipment in accordance with relevant standards.”

The public has until 21 days from the publication date to submit comments to the QCTO.

The documents for these specific qualifications can be viewed on the QCTO website.