President Cyril Ramaphosa has thrown his weight behind the new work visa regulations, saying they send a clear signal to business that SA is committed to attracting skills that enable economic growth and job creation.
Second-draft amendments to immigration regulations gazetted by the department of home affairs last week — dealing with two visa categories: a remote working visa and the critical skills visa — make provision for a point-based system for work visas determined by the minister, taking into account age, qualifications, language skills, work experience, offer of employment and the ability to adapt within SA.
The draft regulations effectively allows foreigners working for foreign companies on a six-month visa not to register with the SA Revenue Service (Sars) if the worker earns less than R1m in that six-month period. However, if the visa is issued for longer than six months, the worker must register with Sars.
In his weekly newsletter on Monday, Ramaphosa said: “The publication of the new draft regulations are part of our ongoing drive to reform the country’s visa system, making it easier to attract the skills our economy needs and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship. An efficient, agile, responsive visa regime is key to attracting business investment and boosting economic growth.”
He said international experience showed employees with critical skills contributed to improved productivity, enhanced innovation and improving the competitiveness of the firms they worked for.
Last week, the DA Western Cape spokesperson on finance, economic opportunities and tourism, Cayla Murray, said the “total absence” of any mention of the remote worker visa by Ramaphosa in his state of the nation address (Sona) on Thursday was a let-down.
A remote worker visa would encourage more people to work in the country. Murray noted the absence of any mention of the remote worker visa in Ramaphosa’s speech is “not only an oversight but a significant failure to capitalise on a vital economic opportunity”. The DA demanded immediate action and transparency regarding this issue.
“This glaring oversight is a major let-down, especially considering the president’s commitments in his previous two Sonas to implement the remote working visa. The silence on this critical economic driver is a clear failure in prioritising SA’s economic and job growth prospects,” Murray said.
The department of home affairs has previously committed itself to implementing the remote working visa by June 2023. “However, the lack of progress and clear communication on this missed commitment is alarming and unacceptable. The remote working visa is not a mere policy proposal; it’s a crucial catalyst for injecting foreign capital into our economy and generating numerous jobs,” she said.
On Monday, Ramaphosa said draft regulations would significantly boost “our efforts to attract workers with critical skills to SA”.
“The introduction of a remote working visa responds to the rapidly evolving world of work, where increasing numbers of skilled workers, notably in the tech industry, are attracted by the lifestyle benefits of working from a remote location.
“It also caters to so-called digital nomads, who are able to work virtually from any location in the world. A remote worker who wants to work in SA while being employed by a foreign company will be able to receive such a visa,” the president said.
SA, which is blighted by low economic growth, high unemployment and persistent power cuts, needs “far more people with the right skills” to succeed in the global economy.
“This is so that our economy can be competitive, grow and create employment,” Ramaphosa said, noting, however, that it would take some time before the country was able to produce enough skilled people to “enable our country to grow rapidly”.
A review report published in 2023 found SA’s available labour supply “does not match demand from companies, which are essentially looking to employ management-level personnel, professionals, engineers, technicians, science and maths educators, as well as IT experts”. This means that, at least in the short-term, many of these high-level skills must be sourced internationally, the president said.
The country was fast becoming an increasingly attractive destination for industries such as “business process outsourcing and customer experience, [and] attracting more skilled workers will be important”.
“Last year, for example, a leading international strategic advisory firm ranked SA second as the most favoured offshore customer experience delivery destination globally.
“Since 2016, government has invested more than R3bn towards supporting the growth and expansion of business process outsourcing, and is targeting the creation of approximately 500,000 jobs in the sector by 2030.”
Ramaphosa said: “In line with our ongoing efforts to attract higher levels of investment and promote job creation, the new work visa regulations are a milestone. They are part of high-impact structural reforms we are undertaking to improve the business operating environment.
“They send a clear signal to business that we are committed to attracting skills that meet the demands of a modern, inclusive and growing economy.”
DA Western Cape MEC of finance and economic opportunities Mireille Wenger has called on people to review the draft amendments. Comments must be submitted to the department of home affairs by March 29.
The DA and organised business have often highlighted SA’s poor visa regime, blighted by huge backlogs, which they say is harming investments and economic growth.
Update: February 12 2024
This article has been updated with new information throughout
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