South Africa is working towards allowing all African citizens to enter the country without visas – but at first “trusted travellers” like diplomats, officials, academics, business people and students will be the only ones to benefit.
The Department of Home Affairs has outlined its steps towards scrapping visa requirements in its latest White Paper on International Migration, which was adopted by cabinet six weeks ago but has not yet been made public.
The African Union’s Agenda 2063, championed by former AU Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, calls for the scrapping of visa requirements for all African citizens travelling on the continent by 2018 based on the views of the African Renaissance.
The African passport was launched with great ceremony by Dlamini-Zuma and Rwandan President Paul Kagame at last year’s AU summit in Kigali.
According to the White Paper, South Africa “fully supports the vision of an Africa where its citizens can move more freely across national borders, where intra-Africa trade is encouraged and there is greater integration and development of the African continent”.
It said the current status was untenable. “For instance, on average Africans need visas to travel to 55% of other African countries. They can get visas on arrival in only 25% of other countries. Finally, they do not need a visa to travel to just 20% of other countries on the continent.”
Security-based approach
But the White Paper, which moves South Africa’s approach to immigration from a purely administrative one to a security-based approach, warns that the scrapping of visas needs to happen with caution.
South Africa’s risk-based approach “advocates for an incremental removal of migration formalities for frequent and trusted travellers including diplomats, officials, academics, business persons, students, etc.”
Source
International and private school fees to increase by 15% in Egypt
An informed source from the Education Ministry said Minister Tareq Shawqy will declare the details behind his decision on the tuition fee increase for privately-owned and international school within the coming two days.
The source added that the Minister refused schools demanding a 20 percent increase, stressing that the rate of increase should be 15 percent for all stages at international schools, not only for newcomers. The rate ranges between 7-15 percent for the national sections.
The minister stipulated that no fees should be collected in US dollars or any other foreign currency. Violations will be referred to the prosecution.
Abeer Hany, the head of the Ministry’s public department of private and international education, said a new law is being finalized to organize the work of privately-owned and international schools before the beginning of Ramadan. Ministerial decisions No. 420 and 422 on private and international education will be merged together.
The new law, according to Hany, will include all the chapters on private and international education. It will also include chapters on the fees, rates of increase, certificates, methods of accreditation, licenses and others.
Source
Permanent Residence Applications submitted prior to 2 June 2014 at the Department of Home Affairs’ local offices.
The Department of Home Affairs was, prior to 2 June 2014, receiving applications for permanent residence permit through its local offices, utilising a Track and Trace System. The Department has adjudicated all applications received through the Track and Trace System, however, there appears to be about 4616 applications on the System which the Department has no records.
For more information and specifics on the Acts to refer to please see attached documents or contact tracy@relocationafrica.com or +27217634240 for more detail.PR Historical Applicaitons and check your name is on this list – Names of PR outstanding 2014
Angola immigration changes – companies may pay foreign employees in foreign currency & offer agreed benefit packages
ANGOLA | Companies May Pay Foreign Employees in Foreign Currency and Offer Agreed Benefit Packages
In March, Pro-Link GLOBAL reported on Angolan Presidential Decree (No. 43/17) which required foreign workers in the country to be paid only in kwanzas (the local currency), capped benefit packages at 50 percent of base salary, and placed a maximum length on foreign employment contracts of 36 months. See our Immigration Dispatch of March 20 for more details. At that time, we believed the policy to be misguided and likely detrimental to business activity in Angola by making it more difficult to recruit the needed skilled foreign labor. Apparently, Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos now agrees and, on April 24, the President signed a new decree (No. 78/17) repealing the earlier decree.
The net result of the two decrees is that we are now back to the prior rule that companies and their foreign employees are free to contract for whatever salary, in whatever currency, with whatever benefits package, for however long, they agree. While employment-based immigration in Angola will continue to be a somewhat challenging and opaque affair, this is at least a positive “about face” after previously heading in the wrong direction.
Source
South Africa ‘working on scrapping visa for all African citizens’
South Africa is working towards allowing all African citizens to enter the country without visas – but at first “trusted travellers” like diplomats, officials, academics, business people and students will be the only ones to benefit.
The Department of Home Affairs has outlined its steps towards scrapping visa requirements in its latest White Paper on International Migration, which was adopted by cabinet six weeks ago but has not yet been made public.
The African Union’s Agenda 2063, championed by former AU Commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, calls for the scrapping of visa requirements for all African citizens travelling on the continent by 2018 based on the views of the African Renaissance.
The African passport was launched with great ceremony by Dlamini-Zuma and Rwandan President Paul Kagame at last year’s AU summit in Kigali.
According to the White Paper, South Africa “fully supports the vision of an Africa where its citizens can move more freely across national borders, where intra-Africa trade is encouraged and there is greater integration and development of the African continent”.
It said the current status was untenable. “For instance, on average Africans need visas to travel to 55% of other African countries. They can get visas on arrival in only 25% of other countries. Finally, they do not need a visa to travel to just 20% of other countries on the continent.”
Security-based approach
But the White Paper, which moves South Africa’s approach to immigration from a purely administrative one to a security-based approach, warns that the scrapping of visas needs to happen with caution.
South Africa’s risk-based approach “advocates for an incremental removal of migration formalities for frequent and trusted travellers including diplomats, officials, academics, business persons, students, etc.”
Source