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Obstructionist home affairs officials bar entry of foreign investors

Source: Business Day, 24/08/2019


Recent news reports point to an ever-weakening economy, shocking unemployment levels and a worrying skills exodus. The taxpayer base is being eroded as the very South Africans qualified to build the economy leave the country in droves.
While SA loses skills, business capital and jobs as a result, other countries are gaining â€` partly thanks to their initiatives to offer “golden visas”, in which applicants must invest heavily in their destination country and are given residency or citizenship in return. These golden, or investor, visas, offered by more than 20 countries worldwide, require investments of R2m-R20m and are reported to have grossed more than €25bn in Europe alone during the past 10 years.
Applicants are often required to invest in property and some form of national development fund for a minimum period, bringing significant revenues into the destination country. In addition to their financial investment, new residents or citizens also bring with them spending power, skills, tax revenues and the probable creation of jobs in their new home country.
Severely challenged in its efforts to raise the necessary revenues to improve public service delivery, SA surprisingly not only does not tap into this potential pot of gold but it actively closes its borders to foreigners keen to bring investment, skills and business capability into the country.
SA appears to regard all foreigners with suspicion, making visa, residency and citizenship applications a complex nightmare that actively deters foreigners, despite the fact that many foreigners would like to invest and live in SA.
As an immigration specialist, we receives numerous inquiries from wealthy individuals looking to purchase property for leisure use, and from skilled individuals wanting to work or open businesses in SA. While it may seem surprising to South Africans who want to emigrate, many foreigners see SA’s weather, tourist facilities, game reserves and general quality of life as attractive drawcards.
It is simply easier to acquire a visa fraudulently than to endure the emotional strain of acquiring a visa lawfully, which could take years because in most instances administrative appeals are necessary
For each foreigner investing in a holiday home, wine farm or safari lodge and for every skilled entrepreneur setting up shop in SA, we see a multitude of jobs being created and much-needed tax revenue generated.
Yet SA persists in locking down its borders. The home affairs department’s processes are beset with delays. Its officials enforce internal policies over the laws of the country, and wrongful application refusals result in lengthy and expensive legal battles for applicants.
Compounding these challenges, the critical skills list looks set to omit designations such as corporate GMs and financial investment advisers, excluding foreign applicants highly skilled in the fields of business development and finance. Visas and permits are refused daily without any justifiable grounds. Applications for even the simplest visa are all too often resolved through litigation, and even then the department frequently does not comply with court orders.
It is simply easier to acquire a visa fraudulently than to endure the emotional strain of acquiring a visa lawfully, which could take years because in most instances administrative appeals are necessary. Unsurprisingly, a growing number of fraudulent visas appear to be in circulation.
Despite our president’s call to “open borders” and urging South Africans to look at foreigners coming to SA positively, the department of home affairs, which is responsible for regulating the entry of foreigners into SA, appears to be tightening immigration controls against skilled foreigners, foreign teachers, wealthy business people and retirees, refusing to issue visas to these individuals for reasons that extend far beyond the scope of the Immigration Act.
Encouraging interest
Our firm was co-founder of a multisectoral task team that recently made recommendations at a meeting with the acting director-general of home affairs and other officials on the question of scarce skills. Concern was voiced about the potential impact the Bill on International Migration and the critical skills list could have on efforts to grow the economy.
Our recommendations were well received, and it was encouraging that the acting director-general has encouraged public participation. However, several of our recommendations to boost foreign investment would require buy-in from other government departments. For instance, our recommendation on reducing the R5m foreign operating capital required to start a business would require a decision by the department of trade & industry, which has shown an encouraging interest and has expressed its wishes and intention to make SA great again.
However, no matter how receptive the acting director-general is to industry recommendations, and no matter how conducive the bill and scarce skills list is to immigration, the success of any new legislation â€` or efforts to attract foreign investment â€` will depend on how they are implemented in practice.
This is where the real challenge lies: home affairs officials are well known for their tendency to delay or summarily refuse applications, or make decisions not aligned with the letter and intent of the relevant laws.
These officials need to act with due respect for the law, their constitutional obligations, immigration jurisprudence and the rights of people and in the best interests of the country to attract foreign skills and investment and support the government’s economic growth objectives.


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