The White Paper on Home Affairs is part of a Parliamentary process
to reformulate Immigration policy for the Republic of South
Africa.
The document therefore only deals with Policy issues so as to
create a platform for short to medium term planning within the
Visa sphere.
It therefore deals with technical issues surrounding the vision
and scope of the Department of Home Affairs and it will be
interesting to see what type of inputs are made by stakeholders in
this regard. We will then update this aspect in a later
newsletter.
Important to also note that formulated Immigration Policy dictates
the basis, in many ways, for reformulated Immigration Law and
Regulation.
The indications are, as per media statements last year 2018, that
there will be changes to the Immigration Act and Regulations
during the first portion of 2019. At this stage it is impossible
to predict, save for what is stated hereunder, what those changes
will actually be.
One of the changes however, that has been announced in the Media
is that certain of the trades, professions and occupations listed
in the Critical Skills Visa list will be amended and supplemented
with an expected Gazetting of the aforesaid ostensibly during
April 2019.
Early indications, also based on Media information is that certain
categories of professions will be removed from the Critical Skills
Visa list with one of the first casualties to be that of Corporate
General Managers.
As soon as further detail becomes available we will do an updated
newsletter, in this regard.
It is welcome to note that certain categories have in fact been
listed to be deleted from the list and these include, inter alia,
Sheep Shearers and Jewellery Makers.
Word coming down the pipeline is that

Maths and Science teachers
are to be reintegrated as a Critical Skills Profession and will be
re-introduced onto the list.
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.
Apply Now !! and don’t be disappointed

www.samigration.com V.2774

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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