February 2015
This summary is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered an authoritative guide on how to obtain work authorization in South Africa. The intent is to give the reader a general overview of the process only. Procedures and requirements may have changed since the writing of this article. For current and detailed information regarding the topics below, as well as documentary requirements, processing times, post-arrival and departure requirements, penalties for non-compliance, allowances for accompanying family members, and any other information pertaining to your specific needs, please contact your Pro-Link GLOBAL immigration professional.
Overview
BUSINESS VISITOR
Permitted Activities – Business visitors must generally limit their activities to the following:
• Attending training, interviews, business meetings or discussions;
• Attending seminars or “fact-finding” meetings;
• All other activities must be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Type of Business Visas – Certain nationals may enter South Africa without need of a business visa (visa-exempt nationals). However, these visa-exempt nationals will be required to submit an electronic request for travel authorization and receive travel authorization from the South African Department of Home Affairs prior to entering South Africa as a business visitor. All other nationals will require a visitor’s visa for business purposes (visa under Section 11 (2)).
Basic Requirements
1. Intention of a genuine visit for business and not for paid employment, nor establish any employment relationship with the South African host company;
2. Valid passport;
3. Evidence that there are no restrictions on his or her traveling to South Africa;
4. No intention to permanently reside in South Africa;
5. A ticket for onward travel from South Africa.
Estimated Processing Times – This varies by diplomatic post and country.
Maximum Time On Visa – This visa allows business people to make a short business visit to South Africa for up to three months. Duration of stay, multi-entry status and ability to extend business status will be on a highly-discretionary basis.
Typical Documents Required – All travelers need to present the following documents to officers in immigration clearance:
• valid passport or other acceptable travel document; and in some cases,
• a valid visa or authority to enter South Africa.
EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION
Basic Requirements – There are several different corporate immigration categories in South Africa. The most commonly used immigration category for temporary employment in South Africa is the intra-company transfer (ICT) work visa. This is a category for employers to sponsor qualified skilled workers to work as intra-company transferees in South Africa on a temporary basis. The employee should be a permanent employee with the company in the home country and transferred for a maximum of 48 months to a branch or subsidiary in South Africa.
Process Overview – The process for obtaining an intra-company work visa involves a one-step process summarized below:
1. Work visa application, submitted to the South African diplomatic post in the applicant’s country of residence.
Please note that medicals and police clearances will be required for all applications.
Estimated Processing Time – two to eight weeks.
Validity periods – ICT visas are generally valid for up to four years.
Family Members – Dependents of ICT work visa holders may not work without separate work authorization.
Source
Afrophobia not in SA, Nigeria’s vision for Africa – Nigerian foreign minister
Tshwane – South Africa and Nigeria have resolved to establish an early warning system in response to xenophobic attacks and to strengthen relations between the two nations.
International Relations Minister Maite Nkoana-Mashabane and her Nigerian counterpart Geoffrey Onyeama held a bilateral meeting on Monday. This follows a wave of xenophobic violence in SA in February.
The meeting was attended by several officials from both countries, including Nigeria’s interior minister and South Africa’s Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba.
Ten houses were torched in Rosettenville by angry residents who claimed the homes were being used by Nigerians for drug dealing and prostitution. Several Pretoria homes were raided by community members for similar reasons.
“For some time now, there have been these incidents of attacks and Nigerians have been victims,” said Onyeama.
He added that his government knew that violence aimed at Nigerian nationals in SA was not state sponsored.
‘Dynamic’ South Africa
“We know that the South African government has always condemned this, that the South African people have condemned this. It was the action of a small criminal minority,” he continued.
“We also recognise that not all the Nigerians in SA engage in lawful activity, but the vast majority are,” said Onyeama.
Source
Zimbabwe to engage South Africa over special dispensation permits
HARARE – The Zimbabwean government will be engaging the South African government this coming week to iron out the issue regarding Zimbabweans who are living and working or studying in the neighbouring country under a special dispensation permit, which expires on the 31st of December this year.
197 790 Zimbabweans living in South Africa under a special dispensation permit face deportation when the permit expires by year end.
Home Affairs Minister Dr Ignatius Chombo told a media briefing in Harare this Friday (yesterday) that the Zimbabwean embassy in South Africa has indicated that the South African Home Affairs Minister Mr Malusi Gigaba will be announcing the cabinet position on the review of the special permits and chances are high that the permits will not be extended.
The Home Affairs Minister said the Zimbabwe Special Permit (ZSP) was introduced in 2009 after a memorandum of understanding was signed between the two countries to facilitate the regularisation of Zimbabweans living in South Africa without proper documentation.
The ZSP allowed holders to work, conduct business or study in the neighbouring country for three years.
Dr Chombo will be travelling to South Africa on Friday to engage his counterpart Mr Gigaba over the issue.
Source
Immigration for South Africa
February 2015
This summary is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered an authoritative guide on how to obtain work authorization in South Africa. The intent is to give the reader a general overview of the process only. Procedures and requirements may have changed since the writing of this article. For current and detailed information regarding the topics below, as well as documentary requirements, processing times, post-arrival and departure requirements, penalties for non-compliance, allowances for accompanying family members, and any other information pertaining to your specific needs, please contact your Pro-Link GLOBAL immigration professional.
Overview
BUSINESS VISITOR
Permitted Activities – Business visitors must generally limit their activities to the following:
• Attending training, interviews, business meetings or discussions;
• Attending seminars or “fact-finding” meetings;
• All other activities must be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Type of Business Visas – Certain nationals may enter South Africa without need of a business visa (visa-exempt nationals). However, these visa-exempt nationals will be required to submit an electronic request for travel authorization and receive travel authorization from the South African Department of Home Affairs prior to entering South Africa as a business visitor. All other nationals will require a visitor’s visa for business purposes (visa under Section 11 (2)).
Basic Requirements
1. Intention of a genuine visit for business and not for paid employment, nor establish any employment relationship with the South African host company;
2. Valid passport;
3. Evidence that there are no restrictions on his or her traveling to South Africa;
4. No intention to permanently reside in South Africa;
5. A ticket for onward travel from South Africa.
Estimated Processing Times – This varies by diplomatic post and country.
Maximum Time On Visa – This visa allows business people to make a short business visit to South Africa for up to three months. Duration of stay, multi-entry status and ability to extend business status will be on a highly-discretionary basis.
Typical Documents Required – All travelers need to present the following documents to officers in immigration clearance:
• valid passport or other acceptable travel document; and in some cases,
• a valid visa or authority to enter South Africa.
EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION
Basic Requirements – There are several different corporate immigration categories in South Africa. The most commonly used immigration category for temporary employment in South Africa is the intra-company transfer (ICT) work visa. This is a category for employers to sponsor qualified skilled workers to work as intra-company transferees in South Africa on a temporary basis. The employee should be a permanent employee with the company in the home country and transferred for a maximum of 48 months to a branch or subsidiary in South Africa.
Process Overview – The process for obtaining an intra-company work visa involves a one-step process summarized below:
1. Work visa application, submitted to the South African diplomatic post in the applicant’s country of residence.
Please note that medicals and police clearances will be required for all applications.
Estimated Processing Time – two to eight weeks.
Validity periods – ICT visas are generally valid for up to four years.
Family Members – Dependents of ICT work visa holders may not work without separate work authorization.
Source
Immigration News and Updates
Mozambique
Mozambican officials have begun conducting audits of employers in Cabo Delgado province in an effort to find violations of immigration and labor law.
Mozambique recently tightened several laws on foreign work permits, and the government is conducting regular employer audits that may be scheduled or unannounced.
Further to the recent inspections undertaken in Maputo Province, the General Labor Inspectorate of the Ministry of Labor has now extended its site visits to Cabo Delgado province, initially focusing on mining and construction companies that are based there.
Employers may be fined for employing a worker without a work permit where one is required, and repeat offenders may have their facilities closed. Fines are determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on the type of violation involved. In addition, the government will publish the details of noncompliant companies and foreign workers in the local media. Foreign nationals working without a work permit may be fined and are frequently deported.
Morocco
Foreign nationals applying for or renewing residency permits are now required to fill out a new form with additional personal details and submit it to the main police station in Casablanca.
The form is comparable to a resume in asking about educational background and work experience, but also seeks information about the applicant’s family members, religion, political membership and previous travel.
To avoid delay, all pending and future applications for residence permits should include the new form.
South Africa
South African authorities have said they will put recently announced changes on the validity period of visas on hold pending further discussions.
Visas will remain valid beyond the expiration date of a visa holder’s passport and, pending further notification, authorities will continue to recognize the transfer of an existing visa from an old passport to a new passport. A Department of Home Affairs instruction that had aimed to change these rules has been scrapped.
South African authorities said earlier this month that visas would automatically expire 30 days before the expiration date on a visa h
older’s passport, regardless of for how long the visa was initially issued. BAL has learned, however, that the government has put this change on hold and will discuss the matter further. This means that for visas issued with a validity period that extends beyond the validity period of a passport, authorities will allow visa holders to travel into South Africa with their expired passport, their visa and their new passport. Those already in South Africa can transfer their visa from an old passport to a new passport.
South Africa’s reversal on a policy that would have created extensive administrative burdens on employers and visa holders is welcome news. That said, officials appear to be reviewing the policy, and additional change is still possible.
Kenya
Kenya has made it easier for stateless persons, migrants and their descendants to obtain citizenship.
A new regulation allows authorities to waive fees and documentation requirements for stateless persons, migrants and their descendants who are applying for citizenship and meet other qualifying criteria.
The change was made to provide the right to obtain citizenship to residents of Kenya who would otherwise be eligible for citizenship but who lacked proper documentation and, in some cases, the ability to pay the required government fees. After the regulation was issued, for example, members of the Makonde community, who have lived in Kenya for more than 50 years but were considered stateless persons, are now able to obtain citizenship.
The change will not have much of an impact on business, other than to facilitate evidencing the right to work of formerly stateless employees, but the eased processes are welcome news for those in Kenya who have had trouble obtaining citizenship because of a lack of supporting documents.
This information was sourced from balglobal.com