South African Visa Changes Affecting Businesses | Section 11 (2)
On May 17, 2014 / Leave a comment
Immigration Act South Africa 2014 Changes – Visa Changes Affecting Businesses – Section 11(2) Visas Only Available From Embassies – Blog Series Part 7 – Release May 2014
Business’ needs differ, but one thing all businesses have in common is the need for expert skills to grow. These expert skills can more often than not be found in South Africa, but at times international skills are required to address certain areas within a company.
When foreign skills are required it does not always mean that a permanent position needs to be filled or created. Utilising skills of non-permanent staff for specific projects is common.
Visitor visa with work endorsement only available at embassies
For these “temporary” positions the Department of Home Affairs still requires foreign nationals to have the relevant endorsement to work in South Africa even of the candidates are not paid in South Africa.
Until now a visitor’s visa with work endorsement as referred to under Section 11(2) of the Immigration Act provided a straight forward way of ensuring that companies complied with the legal requirements of foreign nationals having the necessary paperwork to carry out business in South Africa.
Until 14th May (for most foreign nationals) this visitor visa could be applied for at the South African Department of Home Affairs and if approved applicants would receive the necessary work endorsement on their visitor’s visa upon entry into South Africa at airport immigration.
From 14th May onwards this will no longer be the case and an application for a Section 11(2) visa will need to be submitted at the South African embassy in the country of residence of the applicant prior to his/her arrival.
In terms of timing and the process there will be little change.
What will change are the costs as visa applications first need to be couriered to applicants, applicants will need to arrange submission at the embassy, and in some cases the applicant will need to submit the passport along with the application, meaning that travel during the processing of the application will be limited.
Some companies will naturally consider ignoring the requirement for a valid work endorsement and have their foreign candidates enter on a visitor’s visa and have them conduct work or business illegally. The risk of this will increase as the penalties for both the employer and the candidate will become more severe. It is thus essential to consult with your immigration specialist and evaluate your specific risk.
For more information please contact us.
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