At the State of the Nation Address delivered on Thursday, 11th February 2016, President Jacob Zuma touched on the subject of assisting companies with bringing in employees that have skills that are scarce, and in high demand in South Africa.
Zuma had the following so say:
“We have heard concerns from companies about delays in obtaining visas for skilled personnel from abroad.
“While we prefer employers prioritise local workers, our migration policy must also make it possible to import scarce skills.”
Since the amended Immigration Act was passed on 22 May 2014, it has become increasingly difficult to obtain a work visa, even for highly skilled foreigners that have skills that are in short supply in South Africa. Part of the reason is that the new process requires communication between the departments of home affairs and of labour, with the latter needed to verify whether the skills are indeed ‘scarce. This is applicable to foreigners applying for General Work Visa's, as well as companies applying for Corporate Visas.
It is important to hear these sentiments being expressed by the Government as there are many areas where South Africa has a shortage of skills that can only be filled by foreigners being provided with easier access to working in South Africa.
