In July 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined the Government of National Unity’s (GNU) collective mandate in this area through his call to “overhaul the visa regime to attract skills and investment and grow the tourism sector”.
Just three months later, the Department of Home Affairs says it has delivered on this mandate through a set of worldclass reforms.
“The gazetting of all required elements for the remote work visitor visa and the new points-based system for work visas amounts to the single most progressive and pro-jobs regulatory reform South Africa has seen in decades,” said Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber.
He said the department’s meticulous attention to detail to ensure that these reforms are fit-for purpose and market-friendly has resulted in two products that begin to reposition South Africa as a world-class destination for investment and tourism to create thousands of new jobs for South Africans.
“Importantly, the new points-based system also introduces a transparent framework to adjudicate visas in order to tackle corruption,” he said.
According to the department, the remote work visa “enables highly paid individuals who are employed abroad and thus do not compete with local workers, to spend their valuable foreign currency right here in South Africa, pay value-added tax into the South African fiscus, eat at South African restaurants and buy South African goods and services from South African producers”.
The new points-based system for work visas combats corruption and inefficiency by cutting red tape and introducing a transparent points scale to objectively determine who qualifies for a critical skills or general work visa.
Additionally, for general work visa applications submitted outside of the Trusted Employer Scheme, a newly introduced threshold of R650,796 in gross annual income – which amounts to double the median income in the formal sector – will better protect existing jobs at the lower end of the market while injecting skills at the top.
Independent research commissioned by the Reserve Bank and the International Food Policy Research Institute shows that growing the number of high-end skills as a share of the total South African population by just 0.02%, can boost annual economic growth by up to 1.2%.
The same research projects that an enhanced visa regime can create seven new jobs for every additional skilled worker attracted into the economy.
“By harnessing the power of market-based regulatory reform to cut red tape and enhance transparency, Home Affairs is fighting corruption in our immigration system while delivering on the GNU’s apex priority to grow the economy and create thousands of new jobs for the people of South Africa.
“I want to thank the Presidency and Operation Vulindlela for their valuable support and I look forward to continue working together to roll out further reforms that combat corruption and create jobs,” Schreiber said.
As an interim measure, while the department lays the foundation for digital transformation to shift exclusively to online application and adjudication, applicants for the remote work visa as well as for the critical skills visa and general work visa under the new points-based system, can continue to submit applications through the relevant service providers and South African missions abroad.
The relevant documents can be accessed at dha.gov.za.
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