Xpatweb held its Global Mobility Breakfast on 31 August 2023, during which gathering the latest information was shared on work visa best practices, including the challenges acknowledged by President Ramaphosa that companies are waiting too long for work visas to be issued to their foreign employees.
South Africa continues to face a critical skills crisis across many sectors, making it difficult for companies to recruit the resources they need. South Africans continue to look for greener pastures with various opportunities for South Africans to work abroad on the rise attracting our most skilled professionals. This uptick in migration has been exacerbated by various socioeconomic factors, including loadshedding and a weakening Rand.
The South African Immigration landscape is ever-evolving. However, in the past 18 months, it has faced drastic changes that have compounded pre-existing issues and brought to light new hurdles within the Department of Home Affairs (DHA).
Navigating the various work visa applications is quite tricky. Individuals and HR professionals assisting employees in applying for their work visas often face lengthy qualifying criteria and a complex application process that can be difficult to get right the first time around.
Businesses looking to hire talent from outside South Africa are optimistic about the department of home affairs introduction of a Trusted Employer Scheme to make the process easier, but are frustrated by current backlogs in the work visa system.
