Visas still snarl up investment, say envoys

Source: Sunday Times, 10/02/2019

European diplomats in SA say there are ongoing frustrations over
“restrictive” visa regulations and procedures to obtain work and
temporary residence visas and permits that are “hampering rather
than helping” investment and job-creation opportunities.

They are repeating calls for the visa regime to be simplified.

This week, two diplomats told the Sunday Times there were still
“major difficulties” with visa regulations, particularly for CEOs
to get work permits, causing some potential investors to cancel
travel plans in frustration.

“The definition of essential skills, for which work permits are
issued to investing foreigners, was recently narrowed rather than
widened,” a senior diplomat said.

“As for tourism, the recent relaxation on documentation required
for unaccompanied minors remains unfortunately too ambiguous as it
still allows immigration officials to request such documentation
in case of doubt.”

He said in practice, business people had to sometimes seek
intervention from ministries to get visas. He said the system
should be fixed to allow ease of travel rather than companies
having to contact other people for help.

“We have raised this but do not get much traction. In fact we have
seen a tightening of policies that stifle potential investment,”
he said.

Another diplomat said the length of time it took to process visas
sometimes led to travel plans being cancelled.

Their concerns follow a letter to

Ramaphosa by the EU delegation to SA on October 19 last year on
behalf of the 28 EU member states, alerting him to persisting
difficulties ahead of his investment summit.

The letter, sent to presidency director-general Cassius Lubisi,
and copied to then home affairs minister Malusi Gigaba, tourism
minister Derek Hanekom, international relations minister Lindiwe
Sisulu and economic development minister Ebrahim Patel, said EU
ambassadors based in SA all saw “considerable potential for
further growth in visitor numbers and economic investments from
Europe if encouraged by the right policies”.

The letter, signed by EU delegation ambassador Marcus Cornaro and
Austrian ambassador Johann Brieger on behalf of the presidency of
the Council of the EU, expressed concern that none of the measures
to modify visa requirements announced by Gigaba in September
affected EU member states. It said there was “a risk of ambiguity”
about requirements for travelling children, and obtaining work and
residence visas for SA “remains challenging for European
citizens”.

“Work and residence visas are often an essential part of
investment projects, in particular for small and medium
enterprises,” the letter states.

“We therefore encourage the South African Government to include
improved travel measures for all citizens of the European Union as
part of the investment and tourist drive.”

The ambassadors called for visa requirements in place for some EU
states to be waived, the allowed duration of stay to be brought up
to 90 days, and asked that procedures for residence and work visas
and permits be “simplified and clarified”.

Ramaphosa announced on Thursday that SA would introduce a “world-
class” eVisa regime this year to assist in growing the local
tourism sector. Instead of applying for a South African visa at an
embassy, prospective visitors could apply online, and the final
visa could be printed at home.

He said the goal was to receive 21-million tourists by 2030, up
from 10-million in 2018.

Home affairs minister Siyabonga Cwele told the Sunday Times
yesterday that the eVisa programme would be piloted in New Zealand
and, depending on its success, would then be rolled out elsewhere.

Ramaphosa also said a team from the presidency, Invest SA, the
National Treasury and the department of planning, monitoring &
evaluation had been established to address policy, legal,
regulatory and administrative barriers that frustrate investors.

A diplomatic storm erupted last week over a memorandum by five
Western nations also flagging obstacles to investment, including
concerns about the rule of law and visa regulations.

Sisulu issued a demarche against Britain, the US, Germany, the
Netherlands and Switzerland for handing the memorandum directly to
officials in the presidency instead of communicating via
diplomatic channels. The ANC accused the five nations of wanting
to influence the outcome of the May elections and wanting “regime
change”.

The letter from the EU Commission was sent to the presidency after
Ramaphosa’s announcement of an economic stimulus package and
recovery plan.

Presidency spokesperson Khusela Diko was not available for
comment. International relations spokesperson Ndivhuwo Mabaya said
it was normal for the department to receive such letters from
embassies.

“This is what ambassadors do every day. They represent the
interest of their countries and their citizens,” he said.

Home affairs spokesperson Siya Qoza said the department was
committed to supporting the president’s investment drive and as at
the end of January, SA had visa waiver agreements with 20 of the
28 EU countries.

He said SA issued four types of work visas, which were “pretty
simple to obtain depending on the purpose”. These are the critical
skills, intra-company transfer, general work and corporate visas.

Qoza said the modification of visa requirements announced by Cwele
at the end of November were followed by an uptick of 0.61% in
traveller movements from December 1 to January 15.

The definition of essential skills, for which work permits are
issued to investing foreigners, was recently narrowed rather than
widened

Senior foreign diplomat