On October 9th, 2024, a man named Leon Schreiber, who helps decide things about people coming into South Africa, shared some big news.
He said there will be new ways for people to get into South Africa to work or even visit while working remotely. This change will make it easier for people from other countries to come here and bring their skills or invest money.
Before, it was a bit hard and slow to get these visas, but now it should be much simpler!
By making it easier for people to come, the goal is to have more jobs and bring in more tourists and investors, which will help South Africa’s economy grow stronger.
Easy Peasy — New Visa Details
A report from a company called Business Tech says one visa lets well-paid people work from here. They can keep making money from their country while spending it in South Africa.
When these visitors buy things like food and services here, it helps businesses and the economy because they pay taxes and shop locally.
Leon Schreiber believes these changes are a big step forward. He says it makes things better for job creation than we’ve seen in a long time.
Understanding the Points System
Another change is the new points system for work visas. This is meant to make the visa process fair and quick.
The points help decide who can get a visa more easily. If you want a special job visa, you need to earn 100 points.
If you’re going for a General Work Visa without working for a trusted employer, you need to make enough money, at least R650,796 a year.
This income is a rule to protect jobs for people here while inviting skilled workers.
Who Can Get the New Work Visas?
There are certain rules to follow to get these visas. To qualify for a Critical Skills Work Visa, here’s what you need:
- You must complete all visa requirements first.
- You need to gather 100 points from a job on the important list of skills.
- If you get enough points by doing other things, you might still get a General Work Visa as long as you meet all the other rules.
Schreiber highlighted that these changes make it easier for both local and big international companies to hire people. He mentioned that President Cyril Ramaphosa wanted to change the visa system to bring talented people and money investment to the country.
How This Will Help the Economy
Some smart researchers looked into how this change can help. Studies show even a tiny increase in skilled workers could help the economy grow a lot by 1.2% each year.
Bringing skilled workers here could mean seven new jobs for every one skilled worker. That’s a big boost!
By cleaning up the visa process, cutting unnecessary steps, and being transparent, Schreiber aims to fight nasty corruption and level up the economy.
These new changes by Minister Schreiber promise to make South Africa a hotspot for talented people looking for work and investors. Making it easier to apply for visas and using the points system aims to build a better economy and open up many new job opportunities.
Overall, this can make South Africa more welcoming place for people from around the world, helping us reach big goals for economic progress.