Cape Town — President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed the new visa regime reforms gazetted by the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), as a key step towards attracting international skills, boosting tourism and job creation.
In a statement, Ramaphosa said the reforms would remove hurdles designed to make it easier for South African companies to hire skilled workers and to make South Africa a realistic prospect for remote workers seeking opportunities to work in tourism.
“The opportunities unlocked by our new system are a passport to faster economic growth and to welcoming more people around the world to our beautiful country. Many more reforms are in process with the aim of us achieving more rapid, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, which is the top priority of the Government of National Unity (GNU),” the president said.
President @CyrilRamaphosa welcomes the significant reforms to South Africa’s visa regime gazetted on Wednesday, 9 October 2024, as a key step towards attracting international skills and investment, growing tourism and creating jobs. https://t.co/VbAp8swjzo
— The Presidency 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) October 10, 2024
The DHA announced the reforms for the Remote Work Visitor Visa and the new Points-Based System for Work Visas after President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined the Government of National Unity’s (GNU) mandate in this area will “overhaul the visa regime and grow the tourism sector”, a statement read.
Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, announced that the Department has delivered its mandate and said the new systems were the most progressive reforms South Africa has seen in decades.
“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 to create thousands of new jobs for South Africans. Importantly, the new points-based system also introduces a transparent framework to adjudicate visas to tackle corruption,” he said.
The cutting-edge visa reforms by #TeamHomeAffairs embrace scientific research projecting that just a 0.02% increase in high-end skills can boost GDP growth by 1.2%, with every additional skill creating 7 new jobs for South Africans! 🇿🇦
Details here: https://t.co/eW4CGpHy2v pic.twitter.com/EOl4BymdK3
— Leon Schreiber (@Leon_Schreib) October 10, 2024
The Remote Work Visa will allow highly-paid individuals employed abroad to spend foreign currency in South Africa, pay VAT into the South African fiscus and buy South African goods.
The Points-Based System will combat corruption and inefficiency by cutting red tape and introducing points to objectively determine who qualifies for a Critical Skills or General Work Visa.
“Home Affairs is fighting corruption in our immigration system while delivering on the GNU’s apex priority to grow the economy and create thousands of new jobs for the people of South Africa,” Schreiber said.
Picture: X/@PresidencyZA
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
