Unsung, unpaid and overworked is how foreign health workers working in hospitals around the country have been described.
Recent reports have brought to light some of the challenges faced by supernumeraries in the health sector.
In a letter published on IOL last week, the wife of a supernumerary detailed the hardships faced by her husband and many others in his position.
“Many supernumeraries already face untold financial hardship. Now, with Covid-19, the strain has doubled financially, mentally, emotionally and socially. Unlike their South African counterparts, they do not enjoy the same occupational compensation and protection, as they are not regarded as employees. Their medical oath when they started practising medicine has proven to be beyond their country of origin,” she said.
Unknown to many in the public, supernumerary doctors have been part of the South African healthcare system for almost 25 years.
What is a supernumerary registrar?
They are unpaid non-South African residents, mostly from beleaguered facilities in Africa, working in local hospitals to attain competence in aspects of surgical practice.
What role do they play at health centres?
Supernumeraries participate in the same training program with the same service delivery requirements as South African registrars.
They work under supervision of the relevant department head or his/her designate, as a registrar. But they will receive no remuneration from the university, department, hospital or Department of Health.
On completion of their training, they return to their home country with clinical and academic experience to expand existing specialist services or create units providing specialised care.
Where are they from?
Currently, the majority of the supernumeraries originate from African countries with limited or no access to specialist training.
They are

either self-funded or sponsored by their respective countries. They finance their own board and lodging and transport to the different hospitals they rotate through for their specialised training.
In 2015, supernumeraries attached to the Department of Surgery at the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) constituted 21% of the entire registrar complement and 26% during 2016.
Non-South African citizens who have refugee or permanent residence status are not eligible to join the university in such a position. They are contractually bound to leave South Africa upon completion of their studies.
Challenges
They struggle to registration with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) and to obtain work permits and visas. There’s a lack of health insurance and financial support provided to the supernumerary registrars.
In 2017, a study on the experience of supernumerary registrars in the country highlighted many of them experienced xenophobia from patients (24%) and colleagues (48%).
Following the arrival of the Cuban doctors to help the country during the height of the pandemic, Stellenbosch University`s Centre for Medical Ethics and Law’s AJ Arendse, JF Coelho and SH Gebers have argued although supernumerary programmes provided training to these doctors, the SA healthcare system benefited substantially from their services.
“The vast amount of money spent on Cuban doctors recruited to aid SA during the pandemic â€` in contrast to the lack of health insurance and financial support provided to the supernumerary registrars â€` raises a contentious point. In light of this neglect, their duty to SA during the pandemic remains an ethical quandary,” they wrote.
www.samigration.com V.3434

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

 V.6133
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

 V.6130
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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

 V.6131
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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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