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Another visa mess for South Africa-Andre Smit
The City of Cape Town has slammed the Department of Home Affairs for creating confusion and continuing to score “furious” own goals with the introduction of remote work visas in the country.
Mayoral committee member for economic growth, James Vos, said the department had shot itself in the foot over the past month with the premature publication — and subsequent withdrawal — of regulations that would create this category of visas.
“On March 28, the DHA published the amended immigration regulations. However, this was a day before the closing date of the public comment period. And then, on April 12, the minister issued a notice withdrawing the March 28 amendments,” Vos said.
Among other things, the regulations replaced the highly controversial critical skills list with a new points-based system and introduced the remote work visa class. The minister said at the time of the withdrawal that the regulations would be reviewed within a week, but has since remained silent.
“South Africa’s visa system is already notoriously a mess and this latest batch serves only as a reminder of darkness. The hundreds of thousands of employees who work in the tourism industry, not to mention those who need work, cannot afford even more chaos caused by the department.”
Vos said the tourism industry and businesses urgently need clarity on the status of the remote worker visas. The delays could cost the country millions of rands in additional tourist spending.
“Businesses in many more industries are equally frustrated as the skilled staff they need are unable to enter the country due to unprocessed visas,” he said.
The MEC said that businesses in industries such as business process outsourcing have complained about the current visa system hindering expansion and skills transfer, while others have flagged challenges in obtaining visas for delegates, forcing the relocation of conferences and events to other parts of Africa.
Vos requested the department to provide a detailed plan to address the crisis of the visa system and stick to that plan.
Cape Town has been a big proponent of the remote work visa and says it is in an excellent position to benefit economically.
“A fully functioning visa system will be a boon to our country’s economy, driving investment and jobs for millions of desperate South Africans. I call on President Cyril Ramaphosa to put pressure on the department to get it done,” he said.
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