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General Work Visa South Africa | Immigration Law 2014

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Previously the requirements for a General Work Visa in South Africa were as follows:

• The candidate needed a job offer from a company in South Africa.
• The candidate needed proof that the company tried to recruit South Africans by advertising nationally.
• The candidate’s qualifications had to be reviewed by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA).
• The candidate needed EITHER a recommendation from the Department of Labour (DOL) OR a salary benchmarking certificate.

The majority of foreigners chose the salary benchmark certificate as it only takes a few days, in contrast to the recommendation from the DOL which can take up to 3 months.

Under the new immigration law however, there is no longer an option between the two in the application for the General Work Visa. Candidates are now required to obtain a recommendation from the DOL and salary benchmarking certificates are no longer accepted in applications.

Some of the key requirements for the DOL recommendation application:

• Workplace Skills Plan (WSP) from the South African employer or a report of all training planned or programmes already conducted.
• Employment Equity Plan (EEP) with an outline of the workforce of business , specifying citizens/residents versus foreign nationals.
• Private recruitment agency report – Written evidence of labour search from, at least one relevant private recruitment agency (Initiate International can assist with this).
• Sectoral organizations/professional bodies report – Written evidence of labour search from sectoral organizations/professional bodies. This can be from umbrella organisations or SETA’s.
• Inspection by the DOL.

Although the DOL states that it would furnish its recommendation within 30 days, it is likely that it will take longer, which will impact the preparation time before a General Work Visa application can be submitted. In the light of this, we strongly advise companies to contact us and discuss the Department of Labour’s requirements, since they will have a significant impact on the eligibility of candidates.

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Andrew Wicks

Over the past 11 years, Andrew’s entrepreneurial spirit, as well as his business acumen, has led to the establishment of small to medium enterprises worldwide. Promising opportunities in the fields of IT, mobile distribution and advertising (amongst others) have been converted into successful business units in a variety of global markets. Andrew returned to South Africa after seven years in Europe to found Initiate International. He remains totally hands-on and has expanded the company across three continents.

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