Cabinet has welcomed the gazetting of South Africa’s new visa regime as a key step towards attracting international skills and investment, growing tourism and creating jobs.
The Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, held a media briefing on Thursday on the outcomes of the Cabinet meeting held on Wednesday.
Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber announced the gazetting of the reforms on Wednesday, 9 October. The gazetting has been described as another success under Operation Vulindlela.
READ | President Ramaphosa welcomes reform of visa regime
In July 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined the Government of National Unity's 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, Home Affairs has delivered on this mandate through a set of world class 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 Schreiber earlier this week.
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, in order 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.
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 showed that an enhanced visa regime can create seven new jobs for every additional skilled worker attracted into the economy.
Schreiber explained that the new points-based system also introduces a transparent framework to adjudicate visas in order to tackle corruption.
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. – SAnews.gov.za
