Foreign workers to bear brunt of proposed changes to SA immigration policy

Source: Tourism Update, 17/10/2017

Proposed changes to SA immigration policy with see companies having to
fork out more.
With an overhaul of South Africa’s immigration system imminent and
uncertainty over the impact of some of the proposed changes, concerns
are being expressed and companies are advised to keep a close watch.
Liesl Venter finds out more.
The White Paper on Immigration released by the Department of Home
Affairs in July this year will introduce significant changes to the
immigration landscape and, while much is still up in the air,
companies can expect to fork out more.
“It is virtually going to become impossible for a foreigner working in
South Africa to become a permanent resident (PR) and, following that,
a full citizen,” says Johan Lubbe, Managing Member of Immigration
Boutique. “If one looks at where they are going with this, it becomes
clear the government is only going to take the cream of the crop and
they simply do not want permanent resident holders.”
The best advice to anyone considering citizenship in South Africa is
therefore to apply sooner rather than later because come 2019 it will
be near impossible.
According to Gavin Colaco, Practice Leader at Fragomen Africa, the
movement from PR to citizenship should not be an issue for employees,
nor be relevant in the employer/employee relationship. “A PR holder
enjoys the same rights as a citizen, except participation in elections
into government structures (local, provincial and national). A PR
holder does not require a work visa and can change employment at any
time without limitation, just like a citizen. There should be no
impact on the company when a PR holder has difficulty to qualify for
citizenship, unless the company rules specify that some roles are only
for citizens, and if that is the case, then the company itself could
be adopting unfair labour practices that are constitutionally
illegal,” Colaco says.
But, should employees be restricted in getting PR status, it will be a
different story altogether â€" as the only option open to foreigners
will be work permits.
According to Colaco, South Africa still remains a strategic country
for companies to use as a base and to make inroads to the African
continent for business growth and investment. “The challenges with
immigration do present hurdles to the smooth deployment of individuals
into South Africa and the trend continues. This does definitely impact
the ability to import the appropriate and much-needed skills into the
country to catalyse growth and development,” he says.
“For instance, there is a specific type of visa called the Critical
Skills Visa which is designed to respond to companies’ needs for
skills by attracting talent in those skill shortage areas. However,
the challenge lies in the fact that the skills list needs to be
updated and published by the Minister responsible, after consultation
across all government departments and industries that require skills
that are either not available or in short supply. The last time this
was done was back in 2014 resulting in the skills list being
potentially outdated. Therefore, companies struggle to bring in bright
talent involved in cutting-edge technological advancements, owing to
the fact that this visa category operates on an outdated skills list,”
Colaco explains.
He says the biggest challenges with the White Paper are the
inconsistent decision-making (adjudication) both in South Africa and
foreign missions, the long turnaround times that are also inconsistent
from mission to mission and country to country, the varying
interpretation of the immigration legislation, and the ongoing
requests for additional documents and information not in the legislation.
According to Hanniff Hoosen, DA Shadow Minister of Home Affairs, while
the approach to introduce more control over one’s borders is
commendable, a restrictive approach can be damaging. “The barriers to
entry being created are questionable. We are introducing a restrictive
system for those who comply with the law while at the same time making
it extremely easy for immigrants who don’t comply to literally just
walk across our border. It does not make sense,” he says.
According to Hoosen, while the changes in the immigration policy will
impact on business, the bigger fear lies in the message being sent to
the rest of the world â€" that it is difficult to do business in South
Africa.
Gershon Mosiane, Chairman of the Forum of Immigration Practitioners of
South Africa (FIPSA), says even applying for work visas is becoming
increasingly difficult and fewer and fewer are being issued every
year. “It is costing companies huge amounts of money to apply for
these visas and there is no guarantee their employees are going to get
them,” he says.
“We are currently working on a case where a metal manufacturing
company is about to shut its doors as the skilled experts it has
brought in are not getting their visas,” Mosiane adds.
He says the critical skills list is also questionable. “They have
sheep shearers on that list, but engineers working at a manufacturing
plant employing hundreds of South Africans are not able to get a work
visa. This makes no sense,” Mosiane says.
According to Lubbe, it is not only becoming increasingly difficult to
apply for these visas but also more expensive. “Companies are best
advised to keep a close eye on these policy developments. It is still
extremely uncertain and difficult to say what the exact impacts will
be, but indications are that the negatives at present far outweigh the
positives.”