The government is blocking the potential that foreign workers can bring to South Africa’s stagnant economy.
South Africa’s work visa regime is laborious, lengthy and inefficient. The process deters foreign investment, widens the skills gap and throttles productivity, economic growth and development.
Between 2015 and 2021, only 16,097 critical skilled-worker permits were approved by the Department of Home Affairs. At an average of just more than 2,200 a year, that amounts to a rejection rate of 52%, for an economy with a sizeable skills deficit. The business visa rejection rate over the same period is even higher, at 68%.
Some German companies have decided to sell their South African subsidiaries since they cannot get executive work permits. And despite the absence of skilled workers, technicians can’t get work visas, contributing to the construction and maintenance problems at the country’s electricity and transport parastatals, Eskom and Transnet.
The home affairs and labour departments â€` the two key players in this bureaucratic obfuscation â€` seem impervious to how much they undermine the Presidency’s and other government efforts to attract foreign direct investment and grow the economy. Since the Cabinet’s 2020 decision to streamline the work visa process, there has been little indication of any movement.
Getting a South African work permit is laden with bureaucratic hurdles. Permits appear only to be granted through the critical skills process, which is based on the Department of Labour’s International/Cross-Border Labour Migration checklist.
Home Affairs’s critical skills list of 140 occupations is incomplete â€` just as any effort to document every skills deficit would be â€` given the pace of growing economic complexity in a world of artificial intelligence and renewable energy. Regional organisations such as the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) and most academic institutions value a diverse staffing composition, which isn’t allowed under the current system.
Reasons for rejections are spurious, often based on ‘missing documents’ that were in fact supplied.
One of the 22 critical skills visa requirements is that the employer must prove that no citizen or permanent resident with the required qualifications, skills and experience is domestically available. The high cost of advertising and other requirements makes this an expensive exercise.
For instance, a police clearance certificate has to be obtained in an applicant’s country of origin. Applying in South Africa is possible but costly. For a critical skills visa, a person’s qualification must be verified by the South African Qualifications Authority, which can take more than six months. Applicants must first register with a professional body in South Africa, which, outside of fields like law, engineering and medicine, is difficult if not impossible.
Securing an application appointment (usually through VFS Global) can take up to three months. A prospective ISS employee recently arrived at the appointed time but was turned away because Home Affairs’s backlog was too great. Although critical skills applications are expected to take eight weeks, ISS sometimes waits a year or more.
Even after a long waiting period there is no guarantee of success.

Reasons for rejections are spurious, often based on “missing documents” that were in fact supplied. Home Affairs rejects many visas based on a “negative recommendation from the Department of Labour”. Applicants then have 10 days to appeal, but the only real recourse is an expensive legal challenge.
One prospective ISS employee could not travel for more than a year while his passport was being held as part of his skilled work permit application. Those applying through VFS could, in theory, get their passports back by providing a written motivation.
Also, the certification of documents by a commissioner of oaths is valid for only three months. Those whose applications are not processed within this period are sometimes denied visas for expired documents or called to recertify and resubmit â€` if they are lucky.
Even short-term visitor and business visas are a problem. African and international organisations we work with now refrain from hosting events or meetings in South Africa, meaning the country loses revenue from the lucrative event and conference business.
Online applications should be the norm, but the country’s IT system upgrade has been several years in the works.
Another major problem is that spouses of critical skills visa holders are not allowed to work in South Africa, requiring them to put their careers on hold. The only alternative for a spouse is to apply for permanent residence, which can take at least five years.
Matter of urgency
A 2018 study by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the International Labour Organization found that immigrant workers may increase South Africa’s gross domestic product per capita by 5%. Similarly, a 2018 World Bank report found that immigrants in South Africa positively impacted employment and wages for locals, generating about two jobs for every migrant.
South Africa must urgently reduce the time frames and simplify the procedures for obtaining work visas. Online applications should be the norm, but the country’s IT system upgrade has been several years in the works. Immigration regulations should also allow foreign spouses with dependent (spouse) visas to work in South Africa.
In 2022, former home affairs director-general Mavuso Msimang recommended that the 22 requirements for skilled work permits be reduced to eight, with a lower compliance threshold and a two-week time frame.
Several years before, the 2017 White Paper on International Migration for South Africa stated that the “attraction and retention of skilled international migrants and business persons who contribute positively to the economy” is one of seven key outcomes. It confirms that the country can’t attract and retain sought-after international skilled and business persons, who play a role in promoting economic growth.
Neither Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi nor Minister of Employment and Labour Thulas Nxesi appear willing to move forward. Instead, they have adopted a punitive approach to foreigners, skilled and unskilled alike. It is time for an upgrade V.4982

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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