Government’s approach to prioritising the employment of South Africans
has come under fire.
Centre for Development and Enterprise executive director Ann
Bernstein, says government is tackling the topic of critical skills
and employment in the wrong way. Bernstein says South Africa is a
country that is desperate for growth, with a shortage of skilled
people, entrepreneurs, university lecturers and maths teachers.
“We are not a country where we just have a shortage for one or two
things.” Bernstein said:
To spend an inordinate amount of time just to determine whether we
need sheep shearers or business process managers is ridiculous.
“It’s not like skilled people are desperate to get into the country.
We should be actively going out in the world looking for people with
skills.”
The critical question is which skilled people does South Africa not
want?
On Friday, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi gazetted the updated
critical skills list in terms of Section 19(4) of the Immigration Act.
It outlines the skills most needed in the country and stipulates that:
“Subject to any prescribed requirements, a critical skills work visa
may be issued by the director-general to an individual possessing such
skills or qualifications determined to be critical.”
The Immigration Act provides for the department of home affairs to
regulate the “admission of foreigners to, their residence in, and
their departure from the republic and for matters connected therewith
must ensure that the South African economy has access at all times to
the full measure of needed contributions by foreigners and that the
contribution of foreigners in the South African labour market does not
adversely impact on existing labour standards and the rights and
expectations of South African workers”.
The update comes after Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi
raised concerns last month about the hiring of foreign nationals who
were in the country illegally and “illicit recruitment practices”.
Nxesi announced that they had developed a new national labour
migration policy and proposed amendments to the

existing Employment
Services Act.
The labour department said the changes were made to help address the
country’s population expectations regarding access to work for South
Africans, “given the worsening unemployment and perception or views
that foreign nationals, especially those who are undocumented, are
distorting labour market access.”
The changes include an updated critical skills list and plans to
introduce quotas on the number of foreign nationals who can be
employed in certain sectors.
According to Stats SA, the country is currently experiencing the
highest unemployment rates since the 2008. Youngsters aged 15 to 24
and 25 to 34 recorded the highest unemployment numbers of 66.5% and
43.8%, respectively.
But Bernstein said the changes might do more harm than good.
What South Africa needs to do with the millions of unemployed people,
the vast majority of whom are young people, is to create a fast-
growing and labour-intensive economy.
“We have to change the economy and make the hard decisions so that we
become attractive to investors, and some parts of our labour laws so
that employers actually want to hire people, not constrained by all
sorts of red tape.”
Bernstein says the country needs to enable small business to get going
without a whole lot of regulation and unemployed young people to get
into the work force as fast as possible at a lower level than other
people.
National Youth Development Agency CEO Waseem Carrim says the role of
the critical skills list is to ensure that the country brings in the
skills its needs to grow but balance that with employing the skills
that exist.
“We have participated in and support the process of the critical
skills list â€` a key component of economic growth is leveraging of the
skills to take advantage of global opportunities.” Carrim said:
South Africa produces leading graduates and these graduates should be
prioritised for employment opportunities.

www.samigration.com V.3974

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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