The General Work Visa is Back
South Africa’s work visa system has finally re-gained some of its old flexibility. With the introduction of the Points-Based System (PBS) and related administrative tweaks, existing hurdles and practical challenges have been removed for many whose skills and experience are urgently needed in and will benefit South Africa. Key changes are:
- Applications for Critical Skills or General Work Visas can be made even if the evaluation of formal qualifications by SAQA has not yet been received. In this case, work visas are issued for 12 months. Importantly, once the SAQA evaluation is received, visas are extended to the maximum duration without a full new application being necessary.
- The Critical Skills Visa remains in place. Applications in this category continue to be open for those falling within the critical skills list.
- All others can qualify for a General Work Visa by meeting a threshold of 100 points under the new PBS. A recommendation by the Department of Labour is no longer required. Points are allocated as follows:
| Criteria | Points | Points | ||
| Qualifications: | NQF levels 9 and 10 (Masters or PhD) | 50 | NQF levels 7 and 8 (Bachelor / Honours degree / Postgraduate Diploma) | 30 |
| Offer of Employment (mandatory): | Above R976,194 gross per annum | 50 | Between R650,796 and R976,194 gross per annum | 20 |
| Work experience: | 5 – 10 years | 20 | 10+ years | 30 |
| Employment status: | Offer from Trusted Employer | 20 | ||
| Language skills: | Proficient in at least one official language | 10 | ||
Applicants can qualify through a variety of combinations of formal qualifications, salary (about R 55 000 or R 80 000), work experience (minimum 5 or 10 years), English (or other official) language skills, and the prospective employer being registered with Home Affairs under the Trusted Employer Scheme (TES).
Examples meeting the criteria are:
- Masters or Doctoral degree + Monthly salary of R 80 000
- Honours or Bachelor’s degree + Monthly salary of R 80 000 + 10 yrs work experience
- Masters or Doctoral degree + Monthly salary of R 55 000 + 10 yrs work experience
- Masters or Doctoral degree + Monthly salary of R 55 000 + 5 yrs work experience + Proficiency in English
- Employed by Trusted Employer under TES + Monthly salary of R 80 000 + 5 yrs work experience + Proficiency in English
The latest changes seek to make the work visa system more predictable and fair, and to allow for a greater variety of scenarios and constellations than before. At the same time, it maintains rigorous standards for those seeking to work in South Africa and to contribute to its economy. It can be expected to strike the balance between protecting the local jobs market and attracting skills and investment into the country.
Although a welcome opening of the work visa regime, the Points-Based System still excludes some foreign nationals who could contribute meaningfully to the South African economy, e.g. PhD holders with less than 10 years’ experience and a monthly salary of less than R 80 000, or extremely well-paid Managers with decades of specialised experience but no university degree. It is to be hoped that these cases will continue to be considered via individual exemptions.