Foreign workers in South Africa with expertise deemed vital to the
economy are worried that authorities will reduce the number of
critical skills eligible for work permits, a move they say could
force some of them out of the country as early as April.
Immigration lawyers say a shortened list of critical skills
circulating among foreign workers, marked “draft confidential” in
a copy obtained by Reuters, is being rushed through without
adequate consultation, a suggestion dismissed by the government.
Some foreigners suspect the apparent move to curb expatriate
employment terms reflects a growing climate of economic
nationalism unfavourable to the hiring of non-South Africans.
Access to skills and jobs are delicate issues in a country where
millions of poor blacks still live in grim townships a quarter of
a century after the end of apartheid.
With unemployment at more than 27%, political sensitivities about
gaping inequality are particularly acute ahead of national
elections this year.
The draft list of eligible occupations deemed in short supply is
being finalised after pledges by President Cyril Ramaphosa to
revamp immigration laws as the most industrialised African economy
looks to boost investment.
Bonang Mohale, chief executive of Business Leadership SA, an
association dealing with government and labour, said the draft was
“much shorter and restrictive”, removing some sectors like
architecture and reducing others like life and earth sciences.
“South Africa suffers from a gross skills shortage, so all of
these reductions are not helpful,” he said.
Lawyers say the draft table of required expertise excludes key
skills South Africa lacks, including corporate general managers
and artificial intelligence engineers.
“This is the first time we will have a revised critical skills
list since 2014 and we don’t know how they came up with this list
and who they consulted with,” immigration lawyer Stefanie de
Saude-Darbandi told Reuters.
Substantial cost
“This list could be implemented as early as April, potentially
affecting thousands of foreigners in country.”
Appealing against visa rejections in court could take years, at
substantial cost to applicants and families, she said.
The Department of Home Affairs, which overseas immigration, said
consultations continue. Acting director general Thulani Mavuso
said some economic

sectors wanted certain skills included in the
list while others argued “we have these skills in abundance and
you are depriving SouthAfricans of jobs”.
Mavuso said the draft list should be finalised by April before
taking effect immediately once signed by the minister.
Foreigners are increasingly fretful. A German woman granted a
critical skills visa as a corporate general manager in 2016 is
challenging the subsequent rejection of her renewal application.
“It gets very frustrating to have to fight every time you get a
visa,” said Anne, who works at an IT consultancy in Cape Town,
declining to give her full name for fear of reprisals.
Cape Town’s burgeoning tech sector, which attracted new investment
from the likes of Amazon and Huawei , has formed a special task
team lobbying government to include AI engineers and corporate
general managers.
Long delays and arbitrary rejections of critical skill visas in
the ICT sector are prevalent and could worsen should the new list
be approved, said businessman Pierre le Roux.
Domestic talent
“In our company alone 30% to 40% of the applications in the ICT
sector didn’t get their critical skills visa or it was delayed for
months,” said le Roux, a director at technology service provider
Moyo.
The Institute of Information Technology Professionals of South
Africa (IITPSA) sees a continuing “steady stream” of critical
skills applications for ICT job-seekers at South African
embassies, mainly from Africa but also India.
Yet some argue that a reliance on foreign expertise can undermine
the development of domestic talent.
Adrian Schofield, an IITPSA programme consultant, described
critical skills visas as a two-edged sword, saying they provided
short-term solutions while removing “the incentive to invest in
local education and training” for South Africans.
Still, foreigners with top skills have influential admirers.
Finance minister Tito Mboweni said efforts to attract skilled
foreigners needs strengthening as visa rejections had fuelled
perceptions that SouthAfrican officials are xenophobic.
“We need to redouble our efforts to attract highly-skilled people
to South Africa,” Mboweni told parliament. V.2773

In exciting news for digital nomads, South Africa will launch a new digital nomad visa featuring two categories: a remote working visa and a critical skills visa. These visas aim to attract remote workers and skilled professionals globally as part of South Africa’s efforts to position itself as a global hub. Once put into action, this move will establish the country as only the fifth African nation offering this kind of visa to people who spend long periods working in different countries. V.5338
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The Home Affairs official was accused of selling passports at R3,000 to foreigners A 34-year-old former Department of Home Affairs employee will spend the weekend behind bars after being arrested on fraud and corruption charges. Malusi Mlondo appeared briefly in the Durban Specialised Commercial Crime Court on Thursday and was remanded in custody. V.5329
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Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the arrest demonstrated the department`s zero-tolerance against corruption. • A Department of Home Affairs employee in Limpopo was sentenced to an effective eight years in jail for fraud and corruption. • NPA spokesperson Mashudu Malaba-Dzhangi said Amos Ngwenyama accepted R1 000 to fraudulently issue a birth certificate. • Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the sentencing demonstrated the department`s commitment to tackling corruption. V.5330
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A United Kingdom (UK) citizen - who laid a criminal charge of corruption against a Home Affairs official who wanted R60 000 to renew the retirement visas of him and his wife - is still waiting for the police probe to show results. He is also still waiting for the visas he applied for in 2022. A United Kingdom (UK) citizen - who laid a criminal charge of corruption against a Home Affairs official who wanted R60 000 to renew the retirement visas of him and his wife - is still waiting for the police probe to show results. He is also still waiting for the visas he applied for in 2022. V.5331
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With just a few weeks to go until the 2024 elections, the Department of Home Affairs has publicized the nation`s identification document (ID) process. The department acknowledges the critical role of voter identification in facilitating participation and ensuring electoral fairness. Delays and inefficiencies at Home Affairs have historically impeded the democratic right to vote, particularly affecting those in rural areas. V.5332
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SAUDI VISA FOR AFRICAN CITIZENS South Africa is not among the countries exempt from Saudi Arabia visa requirements, therefore a Saudi Arabia visa is required. South Africans need a current visa to travel to Saudi Arabia lawfully. South African citizens can obtain a Saudi electronic visa. Saudi Arabia is located in the Middle East. The eVisa is an electronic visa that permits citizens from approximately 50 countries to travel to Saudi Arabia for tourism. V.5333
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I recently renewed my passport at Home Affairs in a bank branch and was very impressed with the service and quick turnaround time. The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and major banks first launched the option to do Smart ID card and passport applications via select bank branches in 2016. It has slowly grown to around 30 locations, including branches from Absa, Discovery Bank, FNB, Investec, Nedbank, and Standard Bank. V.5334
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The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has spent over R412.95 million in legal fees since the start of the 2018/19 financial year - with over R117.69 million of this spent between 1 April 2023 and 29 February 2024. This was revealed by the Minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi, in a recent written response in parliament. DHA has seen an exponential increase in the amount that it spends on litigation, with the current amount for 2023/24 (note these figures are until the end of February, several months short of the full financial year) nearly 16 times that of the amount spent in 2018/19. V.5335
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Short on time? Here are the highlights: • Following recent announcements from British Columbia and Ontario, Nova Scotia becomes the latest Canadian province to declare how its quota of study permit applications for 2024 will be distributed across sectors and institutions • As in Ontario, private institutions and language schools stand to be the most negatively affected by the distribution arrangement, but some public universities will also see significant reductions in study permit applications • All Canadian provinces have now distributed their allocation of study permit applications for 2024, and all are now also issuing provincial attestation letters (PALs) V.5336
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We asked the major contestants of the 29 May elections about immigration. Illustration: Lisa Nelson Today’s questions and answers to the major political parties deal with immigration. We emailed our questions to the ANC, DA, EFF, IFP, FF Plus, ActionSA, PA, MK Party, and RISE Mzansi on 13 March and sent follow-up queries to those who did not respond. Some have still not responded. Answers are very lightly edited for grammar and typos. Does your party support continued extensions of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit (ZEP)? V.5337
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