South African owned firms and locally based multi-national businesses have a range of visas to consider when seeking to employ foreigners, but clearly the most useful visa to apply for when foreign skills are needed urgently on site is the Short Term Work Visa in terms of Section 11(2) of the Immigration Act.
The publishing of the much-awaited draft of the Critical Skills list has been welcomed with open arms by industries across South Africa, it has however also been met with disdain by many ordinary South Africans.
South African farmers who operate their businesses close to the country’s borders with neighbours such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho, where sources of labour including semi-skilled workers abound, can apply for a bulk visa to import labour when required.
On 18 February, the Department of Home Affairs gazetted an invitation for public comment on the draft Critical Skills List that was compiled in 2020.
South African (SA) business executives, artisans and professionals who travel to work on the rest of the African continent had a difficult enough time navigating the red tape to get work permits and visas approved before the Covid-19 Lockdown.