If you want to work in South Africa, you will need to apply for a temporary residence visa which specifically allows you to do so. This article discusses the various visa categories that allow for work in South Africa.
Critical Skills Visa
A critical skills visa may be issued to a person who has specific skills and qualifications that, according to the Department of Home Affairs, are needed in South Africa. The latest critical skills list was published in October 2023 and includes a list of 142 occupations.
To assess your eligibility, and before applying for a critical skills visa, a number of steps must be taken, including:
- Submitting your qualifications for evaluation to the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) if they were obtained outside of South Africa. SAQA will compare your qualifications to the closest South African equivalent and will provide you with an NQF level.
- Receiving an offer of employment, in line with the critical skills list, from a verifiable company in South Africa, as a critical skills visa is not open to work-seekers.
- Registering with the relevant SAQA recognised professional body for your occupation, if required by law, and obtaining a confirmation of your skills and qualifications from the professional body, or another council, board, or government department.
Intra-Company Transfer Visa
An intra-company transfer visa allows a foreign company to transfer an employee to a branch, subsidiary, or affiliate of that company in South Africa.
The application will need to demonstrate the skills that you will be transferring to the South Africa citizen and permanent resident employees and how this will be done.
General Work Visa
If you do not qualify for any other work visa in South Africa, you will need to consider the general work visa.
Before the general work visa application, you will need to apply for a letter of recommendation from the Department of Labour. The Department of Labour must confirm that there is no South African citizen or permanent resident who has the same set of skills and qualifications as you, despite a diligent search done by the prospective employer. The prospective employer’s search must have been done with help from the Department of Labour.
As an alternative to applying for a letter of recommendation from the Department of Labour, you can submit a waiver application, asking the Department of Home Affairs to waive this requirement for your application. A waiver application will need to motivate why you should be allowed to take up the job in South Africa, despite citizens or permanent residents having similar skills to yours.
Visitor’s Visa with Work Endorsement
A visitor’s visa with a work endorsement may be issued to someone who wishes to conduct short-term work in South Africa, for a period of 180 days or less.
The visa application will need to motivate why the short-term work is necessary and show why your skills and qualifications are required in South Africa.
Retirement Visa with Work Endorsement
A retired person’s visa may be endorsed to allow for work in limited circumstances, such as when you are retained on a consultancy basis by a former employer.
Spousal Visa with Work Endorsement
If you are the spouse (both by marriage or life partnership) of a South African citizen or permanent resident, your spousal visa may be endorsed to allow you to work in South Africa.
Long-Term Visitors’ Visa
If your foreign contract of employment requires that you conduct certain activities in South Africa, you may be issued with a visa allowing such work under certain circumstances.
Exchange Visa
If you are 25 years old or younger, you may be issued an exchange visa based on an offer from your employer for a period no longer than one year.
Study Visa
While not strictly a work visa, a study visa allows you to conduct part-time work in South Africa for 20 hours per week.
Of the visa categories above, the critical skills visa, general work visa, retirement visa, and spousal visa may provide you with a path to permanent residence in South Africa.
As expert immigration lawyers in South Africa, Lee & Truter Attorneys can assist you and guide you through any visa application in South Africa. Contact us for assistance.