The Minister of Home Affairs has published the draft amendments to the Immigration Regulations, 2014 and has invited the public to comment via written submissions. The written submissions should reach the Department by the 29 March 2024.
The draft amendments contain the following key changes:
The Regulations have been amended to exclude Radiological Reports as a requirement for both temporary residence visas as well as Permanent Residence applications. This is already in practice.
The requirement that a Police Clearance Certificate is only required from countries where the applicant has resided for 12 months or longer during the 5 years preceding the application is confirmed. This is also already in practice.
The fact that Spouses and Children of South African citizens or permanent residents may now submit their visa applications from within South African is confirmed. This has also been in practice for a number of years following a Constitutional Court ruling.
In addition to the above it is now confirmed that the parent of a South African citizen or permanent resident may also submit their visa application from within South Africa. This follows a recent Constitutional Court judgement.
Section 11 (4) of the Regulations lists certain prescribed activities in terms of which a person can apply for a visa. This list has been amended to include work conducted for a foreign employer on a “remote basis”. This amendment caters for the Remote Working Visa which has been in the offing for some time. It is a welcome amendment. The amendment further includes the information that the key requirement for this visa is that the foreigner must be earning a salary of at least R 1 million per annum.
Regulation 18 is also amended to confirm that an application for a Critical Skills Visa may include proof of registration with the professional body in which case the visa will only be issued for a period not exceeding 12 months or it may include the proof of a certificate of registration in which case the visa may be issued for the full allowable period.
A further two more additions are also made to Regulation 18. These additions state that applications for work visas must be adjudicated in accordance with the points-based system determined by the Minister, from time to time. This is a significant change and confirms that a Points Based Work Visa regime will be introduced. It is further confirmed that the Minister in determining the Points Based Work Visa system should have reference (but not be limited) to the following:
The draft regulations confirm that both a Remote Working Visa as well as a Points Based Work Visa regime will be introduced and both of these should be welcomed.
