Major visa changes on the way for South Africa: expert

Source: Bustech, 03/11/2018

De Saude Darbandi said that the new draft should be seen as good
news as it relaxes the visa regulations around travelling with
children â€` however, she noted that some other big changes may be
on the way.
Previously, tourists travelling into the country with foreign
minors were required to produce an unabridged birth certificate
before being allowed access into South Africa.
This birth certificate requirement has been a major point of
controversy, with a 2016 report released by the DA finding that
the rule cost the country as much as R7.5 billion due to lost
business from blocked tourists.
“While the minister (of Home Affairs) undertook to issue this
advisory by October, it is commendable that this amendment appears
to have been passed ahead of the summer holiday season,” said de
Saude Darbandi.
“However, stakeholders are still waiting with baited breath for
the other significant changes the minister spoke of in September,
and we are curious as to why these haven’t been implemented yet â€`
particularly in light of the fact that we are approaching the
biggest and busiest holiday season.”
Incoming changes
Among other changes, de Saude Darbandi said that South Africa was
negotiating visa waiver agreements for ordinary passport holders
with a number of countries, as well as simplifying visa
requirements for countries such as China and India.
These countries include:
• Algeria;
• Egypt;
• Morocco;
• Sao Tome & Principe;
• Tunisia;
• Saharawi-Arab Democratic Republic;
• Ghana;
• Saudi Arabia;
• United Arab Emirates;
• Qatar;
• State of Palestine;
• Iran;
• Lebanon;
• Bahrain;
• Oman;
• Kuwait;
• Belarus;
• Georgia;
• Cuba.
De Saude Darbandi said that major new immigration regulations are
also around the corner.
“A new draft Immigration Act is expected to be available for
comment in March 2019, and a new critical skills list is intended
to be implemented in April 2019,” she said.
“With major changes possible in the new legislation, the time
spent drafting the latest minor amendments could have been better
spent finalising visa/permit applications which are long
outstanding, so that the affected applicants could finally go home
and visit their families,” she said.
New Immigration Act
De Saude Darbandi has previously raised concerns about this new
Immigration Act, with the new critical skills list significantly
shorter than previous lists â€` omitting numerous key skills.
Among others, the designation ‘corporate general manager’ appears
to have been dropped from the list, and no provision is made for
equivalent skills, she said.
“This implies that high-level CEOs, business managers and
consultants will no longer be able to apply for scarce skills
visas, which raises questions about whether foreign business
investors and multinationals will be able to support their local
investments with the right level of staff.
“The draft list now allows for foreign language skills only if
they are to be used in call centres. This excludes the high-level
foreign language skills needed by organisations engaged in pan-
African and international trade, consulting and support.
“For enterprises desperately short of next-generation technology
skills to drive innovation, it should come as some concern to find
that Artificial Intelligence and machine learning experts, IoT and
data science skills are not included on the new critical skills
list.”
Permanent residency
Also of concern in the new regulations are changes which could
mean that many long-term foreign residents are no longer eligible
to remain in South Africa.
“The white paper proposes that the granting of citizenship to
foreigners be considered as exceptional and require an executive
decision of the minister, and calls for a points-based system for
permanent residence and citizenship,” she said.
It will also effectively scrap the current system of being able to
apply for naturalisation after spending a number of years in the
country â€` replacing it with a long-term residence visa, which
should be renewed at intervals.
She noted that the white paper is vague about who will qualify for
permanent residence and citizenship, and that if economic
contribution is used as a metric, it could leave children,
pensioners and working-class citizens out in the cold.
“The white paper does not appear to recognise how much of a
deterrent it is to skilled foreigners to know that, no matter how
long they have lived in South Africa, and no matter how much they
have contributed, they cannot become permanent residents or
citizens,” she said.