Ramaphosa welcomes gazetting of visa reforms
President Cyril Ramaphosa has welcomed the visa regime gazetted on Wednesday.
Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber gazetted reforms under Operation Vulindlela, a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms and support economic growth.
The Remote Work Visa is meant to enable highly paid individuals who are employed abroad and do not compete with local workers to spend foreign currency in South Africa, pay VAT into the South African fiscus and buy South African goods and services, helping to grow local jobs.
The new system seeks to introduce a transparent set of criteria to objectively determine who qualifies for a Critical Skills or General Work Visa.
Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya says the new points-based system for skilled work visas will create more flexible pathways for highly skilled applicants while combatting corruption and inefficiency.
"This will better protect existing jobs at the lower end of the labour market while injecting skills at the top.
"These reforms remove bureaucratic hurdles and are designed to make it easier for South African companies and multinationals to hire skilled workers, as well as making South Africa a realistic prospect for remote workers seeking an opportunity to combine work with tourism."
President Ramaphosa said: “The opportunities unlocked by our new system are a passport to faster economic growth and to welcoming more people around the world to our beautiful country.
“Many more reforms are in process with the aim of us achieving more rapid, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, which is the top priority of the Government of National Unity.”
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