There has been another positive stride forward for policy reform in the implementation of new visa regulations that will fundamentally alter the way work visas are provided in South Africa. The digital nomad visa allows foreigners to come and work remotely from South Africa if they earn more than R1 million, and the legal framework has now been put in place for a point-based system to replace the critical skills list. The criteria for the points system are due to be published by the end of April. Other changes include easing the requirements for police clearance certificates and other documents.I have previously written about how the cumbersome visa system makes it extremely difficult for business to bring in international skills. For foreign investors it is a major impediment to being able to commit their funds to the country. They cannot be expected to build new factories or data centres without confidence that they can send in their best global people to set up or manage them. In May last year, Operation Vulindlela, the joint venture between the Presidency and National Treasury to unlock structural reform, published a detailed report on what should be done to improve the visa regime with many good recommendations. BLSA helped fund that work. The report showed how skilled foreigners enable domestic employment, increase taxes and support economic growth. The announcement on the eve of the Easter weekend implements some of these.
Although the announcement lagged the Department of Home Affairs’ own timetable for the reforms (some of which it said would be done in 30 days) that it set out when the Operation Vulindlela report was published, it is positive that the regulations are now in place.
However, the regulations themselves do not mean they will be effective in actually making it easier for skilled foreigners to work in South Africa. As we well know, regulations can enable an effective government, but it takes resources and leadership to deliver the services that should theoretically be available. This is especially so in the case of visas. Because of my position, I regularly receive emails and messages from business leaders, desperately trying to get the Department of Home Affairs to process applications.
One US multinational recently had visas denied for two senior engineers without explanation, leaving it unable to manage critical systems for its business. Various European chambers of business with many investors here have been trying for many

months to engage home affairs on the countless outstanding visas for company executives and their families who should have long been in the country. I’ve written of other examples of such delays or the simple lack of response from the department before.
Judging from the many messages I receive, this problem is still far from being resolved.

So, while the regulatory reforms are welcome and have the potential to make a big difference to how easily businesses can access foreign skills, my concern is whether Home Affairs has the capacity to do its job successfully. Government needs a plan for how it will resolve the massive backlog in existing applications and then develop a change management programme for how the bureaucracy will become fit for purpose in functioning under the new regulations. We need to ensure that the gap between policy and effectiveness is closed.


Of course, this is not the only example where effectiveness is a problem within a potentially conducive regulatory environment. To cite just one more from the news last week, British American Tobacco is scaling down its retail distribution, affecting 500 jobs, because of the way its business has been affected by the illicit cigarette trade. Illicit cigarettes are, of course, illegal and cost the country a fortune in lost excise duty, yet the police and revenue service have not been able to stem the tide. There are many other examples where it is not the policy that is the problem, but the effectiveness of government functioning within the policy. Policy can be key in clearing the way for government to be effective, but it is not enough.




BLSA dedicates extensive resources toward supporting government to become effective including funding mentors through the Tamdev programme to work in the public sector to build skills in key areas like civil engineering. But our approach is to overcome temporary blockages, ensuring that government can become effective in its own right. Government effectiveness is a goal that we all share, but it is ultimately the responsibility of government to deliver the services it is mandated to provide.

When it comes to visas, it is time for a plan that prioritises effectiveness to ensure that good policies make a real difference for the economy. V.5288

In recent years, South Africa has seen a significant influx of immigrants from various African countries, as well as other parts of the world. This has raised important questions about the country`s immigration policies and their impact on job creation for both locals and immigrants. The South African immigration system, like many other countries, is a complex and ever-evolving process that aims to balance the country`s economic needs with its social and cultural interests. Let`s take a closer look at how this system intersects with job creation in South Africa. The South African government implemented the Immigration Act of 2002, which outlines the country`s immigration policies and procedures. Under this act, foreigners are required to obtain a visa or permit to enter, work, or study in South Africa. The type of visa or permit required depends on the intended purpose of the individual`s visit and their country of origin. V.5312
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Due to system downtime and load-shedding, the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) lost nearly 141,000 hours of Smart ID application and production time between the 2019/20 and 2022/23 financial years. Minister Aaron Motsoaledi revealed this figure in a recent response to questions raised in Parliament by Democratic Alliance MP Adrian Roos. Motsoaledi provided a breakdown of smart ID production and application hours lost to technical difficulties and load-shedding per province for each financial year from 2019/2020. These disruptions hit home Affairs offices in the Eastern Cape the hardest, with over 34,000 hours to rotational power cuts and system downtime. Mpumalanga offices lost the next-highest number of hours at 17 V.5313
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Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has said the public has shown great support for the final White Paper on citizenship, immigration and refugee protection which appeared in the Government Gazette on Wednesday. Briefing the media, he addressed what he saw as a long-overdue need to replace an outdated Citizenship Act, as well as enact proposed changes to existing legislation. V.5306
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Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s indifference to the plight of those affected by his decisions is appalling In the tumultuous seas of immigration law, where uncertainty looms and families are left adrift in bureaucratic limbo, the department of home affairs has emerged as a sinking ship. As a director of a firm of immigration attorneys I’ve witnessed first-hand the dire consequences of the department’s negligence and incompetence. Today, I raise my voice not just as an attorney but as a concerned citizen, urging for a radical overhaul to salvage what remains of our immigration system. We have tirelessly fought battles in the courtroom against home affairs’ disregard for agreed-upon time frames. Countless cases have landed on our desks, each one a testament to the systemic failures plaguing the department. We’ve seen cases where contempt applications were the only recourse, as the department brazenly ignored court orders. V.5307
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Document proposes overhauling the Citizenship Act, the Refugees Act and the Immigration Act and a review of the international treaty on refugee protection Home affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi says the cabinet has approved a white paper overhauling the country’s immigration laws after “robust engagements” that resulted in “wide support” of the document’s policy positions. V.5308
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The DA has been inundated with complaints that the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) systems are offline, resulting in long queues and delayed processing of documents. Through questions posed to the Minister, the DA can now reveal that the DHA has lost over 77 years’ worth of working hours due to system downtime and load-shedding from 2019 to date. Concerningly, this data only relates to hours lost for the application of smart IDs, meaning decades more of working hours could have been additionally lost in other spheres such as passport or visa applications. The lost hours are largely due to system downtime, surpassing load-shedding. In the 2022/2023 financial year, where we experienced extensive load-shedding, system downtime was the cause of 41 691 hours lost (17 years), whereas load-shedding caused around 9 322 hours lost (4 years) at DHA civic offices on the production of smart IDs. V.5309
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JOHANNESBURG - Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi said that while the White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection had been gazetted, there were amendments that needed to be made to the legislation before it could be passed into law. The White Paper is proposing an overhaul of the country`s migration laws, with the aim of tightening rules around allowing migrants into the country. V.5310
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Highly skilled professionals are leaving South Africa to move to other countries, while the local economy faces a skills shortage. Data from The Outlier revealed that there were just over 900,000 South Africans living abroad in 2020. This number has increased steadily over the past 20 years, from 500,000 in 2000, according to Stats SA’s Migration Profile Report for South Africa 2023. Of these 900,000 people, 7 out of 10 are living in either Europe or Oceania. In particular, Australia and New Zealand have seen a large growth in South African residents. In 2020, around 273,000 South Africans were living in those two countries, more than double the 106,000 who lived there in 2000. The UK remains still the top destination for South Africans who leave the country. V.5311
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The Department of Home Affairs is going through a torrid time. As The South African reported earlier this year, naturalised South Africans are being refused smart ID cards. This is despite having the same constitutional rights as every other South African citizen. Now, Home Affairs minister Aaron Motsoaledi has decided to clarify the reasons behind lengthy delays for spousal visas.Business Tech reports that some spousal (and relatives) visas are taking up to two years to process. The minister of Home Affairs says this is because documentation and claims need to be verified. Replying to a parliamentary Q&A session, the minister says the issue is being addressed by the Home Affairs ‘Backlog Eradication Plan’. V.5305
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Border Management Authority SA commissioner Mike Masiapato on Sunday revealed that over a 10-day period during Easter nearly 4,000 people were intercepted attempting to enter the country illegally.Addressing a media briefing, Masiapato said 2,403 of those intercepted did not have any documents at all. Another 1,019 individuals were refused entry for being undesirable and 419 were found inadmissible to enter the country due to various reasons.“The majority of those arrested without documents were intercepted at the vulnerable segments of the borderline. They were processed, declared undesirable for five years, and were deported. Most of the inadmissible individuals were found with invalid passports, fraudulent visas or just failed to produce relevant documents such as valid yellow fever certificates, especially those travelling from yellow fever endemic countries,” Masiapato said. V.5303
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