Home affairs’ policy of effectively deterring skilled immigration
comes at a great cost to SA. Why doesn’t the business community speak
out?
I recently returned from Berlin, where I took some of SA’s top
property financiers to explore why Germany’s capital city has become
the most profitable residential property market in the world.
From tech entrepreneurs to small business owners, it became apparent
that Berlin’s economic revival is due largely to its ability to
attract skilled entrepreneurs, freelancers and software developers
from across the globe. Investors we met recalled that as recently as a
decade ago, Berlin was not viewed as a desirable city in which to live
because it lacked industry as a result of it being destroyed during
World War 2 and then divided between East and West during the Cold War.
We met brilliant immigrants throughout the week, such as a Canadian
ex-McKinsey consultant building a blockchain-based real estate trading
platform, a Spaniard revolutionising the green energy sector and two
Israelis who founded a deep-tech venture capital fund.
They came to Berlin due to its affordable, high-quality lifestyle and
Germany’s liberal immigration policies. We were told that Berlin has
become the biggest European beneficiary of the 2009 financial crisis,
and Brexit. Skilled southern Europeans and UK residents are flocking
to the city to participate in Germany’s booming economy and experience
the city that the World Economic Forum recently described on its
website as the `best city for millennials`.
I contrast what I saw in Berlin with how skilled immigrants, including
myself, are treated in SA. I recently met automotive professional Raj
Gusain, whose citizenship application was approved last May. As India
does not permit dual citizenship, he, his wife and SA-born son were
told by the home affairs department to renounce their Indian
citizenship before the naturalisation ceremony was to be held the
following month.
They were meant to be stateless for only a few weeks between
renouncing their Indian citizenship and taking the oath as new SA
citizens. However, the ceremony was postponed twice and never
rescheduled, resulting in them being rendered stateless for more than
a year. This meant the family was unable to travel to New Delhi to say
goodbye to Raj’s mother right before she passed away.
My own experience fighting to obtain SA citizenship has left me
questioning my future here
My own experience fighting to obtain SA citizenship has left me
questioning my future here. Home affairs lost my citizenship
application in 2016, and the following year unlawfully rejected it on
the basis of an arbitrary regulation that the high court in Cape Town
recently confirmed was inconsistent with the constitution.
The

company I co-founded has taken hundreds of SA businesses overseas
to provide them with exposure for global expansion, in addition to
creating employment for South Africans. I pay personal and corporate
taxes and take nothing from the state. It boggles my mind that the
department would want to block an eligible, law-abiding, job creator
such as myself from obtaining citizenship, while waiving all
requirements for the Gupta family.
I work with some of the country’s top corporates, including banks,
insurance and medical companies. What strikes me is that I am often
the only person in their head offices with a foreign accent.
This means these companies are hiring only from a limited pool of
individuals who attended a handful of local universities.
A colleague’s foreign life partner, who holds a master’s degree in
organisational psychology from a British university, has been
repeatedly told by private-sector employers they will not even
consider her job application due to her nationality, despite the fact
that she has the legal right to work in SA.
I have spent significant time at Silicon Valley-based companies, which
are staffed by bright minds from all over the world. I question how
SA’s private sector plans to be globally competitive when it overlooks
talented foreign nationals.
US big business is vocal on immigration reform. Over the past two
weeks, business titans such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Apple
CEO Tim Cook have been personally outspoken on the Trump
administration’s implementation of a policy that separates
undocumented children from their parents on the US-Mexico border. Cook
believes Apple can be a `constructive voice` on the situation, and
Microsoft released a statement calling for the `administration to
change its policy and Congress to pass legislation ensuring children
are no longer separated from their families`.
In the eight years I have lived in SA, I have not once seen a large
business organisation challenge government for its inhumane and
economically detrimental immigration policies.
If home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba continues to deter skilled
immigration and the private sector does not start engaging on
immigration reform, we can expect young SA professionals and their
foreign counterparts to take their skills to places that embrace
globalisation and entrepreneurship, including, but not limited to, Berlin.
• Brotman is an American-born Israeli entrepreneur based in
Johannesburg. He applied for SA citizenship in April 2016 and is still
waiting for his application to be finalised. V.2307

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is investigating corruption between home affairs officals and foreign nationals The Hawks and Special Investigating Unit (SIU) raided several home affairs offices across the country on Friday as part of investigations into alleged maladministration and corruption. Minister Aaron Motsoaledi was part of an operation at an office in Pretoria and told eNCA that similar raids were taking place in other locations after information received by a whistleblower. “The corruption is done by officials here and foreign nationals who don’t deserve to be in South Africa but have lots of money to bribe,” he said. V.5363
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Home Affairs Refugee Centres are being raided by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) and the Hawks. (Alex Mitchley/News24) • The Special Investigating Unit has raided home affairs refugee centres around the country. • Home affairs officials` cellphones have been seized. • SIU boss, advocate Andy Mothibi, and Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi were present at the Pretoria raid. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) simultaneously raided all five of South Africa`s refugee centres on Friday morning as part of a corruption probe. It is understood that the unit is investigating corruption linked to the issuing of asylum and refugee papers to foreign nationals entering South Africa. V.5364
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Applying for critical skills work visa in South Africa as an artisan has been a challenge for the longest time. In 2014 when the current amendments to the Immigration Act were gazetted several gaps were identified in the Act which included the absence of a SAQA accredited professional body to register artisans. ECSA was not an option due to their minimum NQF criteria of 5 which was a notch above the rating being given by SAQA for artisans. There was a time letters issued by the National Artisan Moderation Body, (NAMB), were sufficient and then they were not. There was a time when registration with the South African Institute of Draughting was good enough and then it wasn’t. V.5365
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You might have obtained your work permit recently and second-guessing whether your visa is valid or not, this is a tricky situation to be in. There are many people out there who pretend to be immigration consultants or immigration lawyers only to scam you and issue you with a fake visa. The worst is being arrested or being detained in South Africa for something that you are not responsible and the Department of Home Affairs is coming down hard on these individuals. Many who don’t qualify for the critical skills are always looking at applying for the general work visa for South Africa and thus one of the most popular options to forge it because of how difficult it is to obtain it. While this could be true many temporary residence permits are forged throughout South Africa. V.5366
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Legal permission to work in South Africa is accessed by getting a visa. In you case it can be a relatives visa, spousal visa or life partner visa The whole question How I, a Zimbabwean man, can get a visa to be able to stay in South Africa and care for my seven-month-old child and her mother, when my critical skills visa expires in March and I cannot renew it as the skills list was changed this year. The long answer There are three possible visas: • Relatives visa; • Spousal visa; • Life partner visa. V.5367
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What is Permanent Residence? • What is Permanent Residence? • Can you buy permanent residency in South Africa? • What is Independent financial permit in South Africa? o But what does it mean to be financially independent? o There are many benefits with this visa when obtaining permanent residency such as: • How much do I need to invest in South Africa to get permanent residence? o What are examples of assets that could be counted as net-worth assets? • Can I add my family to the visa? o What do I need to add them to the visa? • What are the government fees for the visa? • • What happens if I dont qualify for the visa? V.5368
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Starting a business as a foreigner in South Africa can be an arduous task without enlisting professional help. There are a number of ‘hoops’ that must be circumvented and the process can be time consuming and a distraction from the all important task of establishing your business. At SA Migration Immigration we have assisted hundreds of entrepreneurs with their ambition to create a business in South Africa and are able to boast of an unrivalled track record of success, all based on what we believe to be the most comprehensive service available. Below we detail the important aspects of starting a business as a foreigner in South Africa but if you prefer to talk to a human being to discuss your needs, feel free to call us on any our contact numbers V.5369
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Table of Contents 1.What is eHomeAffairs? 2.Step-by-Step Guide to Using eHomeAffairs for Your Smart ID Online Application 3.What Do I Need to Start My Smart ID Online Application? 4.Bank Branches Offering Smart IDs 5.Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) The South African Department of Home Affairs has introduced the eHomeAffairs portal, which is a significant advancement in streamlining the Smart ID online application process. This detailed guide delves into the user-friendly features of the platform, making Smart ID and passport applications convenient and accessible at just a click of a button. V.5358
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Bureaucratic procedures and a whole lot of red tape are the only things standing between Vincent and Emmanuel Tshituka and potential call-ups to the Springboks squad this year. To the average local sports fan, the Tshituka’s are just a set of brothers casually dominating rugby games for the Lions and Sharks, respectively. But there’s way more to their story and in order for them to reach their potential on the rugby field, the South African government in general, and the Department of Home Affairs in particular, need to come to the party. V.5359
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Foreign companies are leaving South Africa due to a hostile business environment, and the government’s response to recent departures discourages future investment. This is according to Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso, who explained in her most recent newsletter that the more attractive a country is, the more often you can expect investment to be made than withdrawn. “You can expect that foreign investors will come and go from South Africa, depending on many things, including global strategies and our links to the rest of the world,” she said. “But while decisions are inevitably going to happen both ways, the more attractive our country is, the more often you can expect investment to be made than withdrawn.” V.5360
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