There appears a remarkable amount of misinformation flying about between South African expatriates abroad on when you can legally lose your South African passport. Is there any truth in that as a South African living and working abroad, you cease South African citizenship and must hand in your South African passport?
South Africa’s skills shortages in critical sectors remain an obstacle to growth. Renewed efforts to find solutions and to place skills development at the centre of the country’s development agenda are welcomed.
A dire shortage of highly skilled engineers and ICT professionals is severely constraining the growth of South Africa’s high technology sector to the detriment of job creation and economic growth, says Pierre le Roux, group managing director of technology solutions provider, Moyo Business Advisory (MBA).
It is now a matter of when and not if companies employing foreign nationals will be audited by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA). The arrest of at least 25 illegal foreign nationals at the beginning of May by the Cape Town Police, accompanied by officials from the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), sparked a scramble among the local business community who are concerned that they may unknowingly be employing foreigners who are working in the country illegally.
The work permit process can be time consuming and even painful, depending on your permit categorisation. One question often asked is whether an expatriate should consider a Permanent Residency application sooner, effectively lifting the expatriate’s status above the noise of normal work permit requirements. We found that there can be a significant upside however, depending on the complexities there may also be adverse consequences.
