The types of temporary residence visas available in South Africa

In the second episode of our Immigration Law Podcast Series, Senior Associates Lee Masuku and Taryn York in the Employment Law practice and Immigration Law service offering, provide an overview of the various temporary residence visas available in South Africa, with a focus on the visas which authorise foreign nationals to work in the country. These visas include General Work Visas, Critical Skills Visas, Intra-Company Transfer Visas, and Short to Long Term Visitors Visas.

In addition, they discuss the purpose, duration, and conditions of the temporary visas outlined, as well as recent regulatory changes for certain visa categories.

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Transcript

Lee Masuku: Welcome to the CDH Conversations podcast. My name is Lee Masuku, a Senior Associate in CDH's Employment Law Department. Joining me in conversation today is Taryn York, also a Senior Associate in our Employment Law Department. Both Taryn and I work in the immigration offering at CDH. Taryn here we are again discussing immigration law.

Thank you for making time to chat to me today.

Taryn York: Thank you for having me, Lee. Yes, this is the second episode in our four-part immigration law guideline series for employers. To recap in episode one, we covered the basics in relation to immigration law compliance for employers. This was done by outlining the legislative landscape as well as by explaining the immigration compliance obligations for both employers and employees alike.

Lee Masuku: And now that we have the high-level overview covered, it would be great for employers to understand what exactly is available in terms of visas and permits for foreigners, as well as which of those are accompanied by a "right to work". Given that there are several visa and permit categories available in South Africa, this episode will cover visas and permits that are temporary in nature while episode three will cover permanent residence categories.

Taryn, perhaps to start us off, what makes a visa temporary in nature?

Taryn York: So, a temporary visa is one that is endorsed in a foreigner's passport. It is temporary because it is for specific purpose and expires after a particular period. Temporary visas also contain specific conditions that the holder needs to adhere to.

Lee Masuku: Now Taryn exactly how many types of temporary visa categories exist?

Taryn York: There are quite a few temporary visa categories available in South Africa. However, not all of these are strictly relevant for employers. Therefore, for purposes of this discussion, we'll be focusing our attention on the temporary visas that employers will most commonly come across.

Lee Masuku: Let's kick off our discussion with the General Work Visa. Now Taryn this visa's name is a bit of a misnomer, wouldn't you say so?

Taryn York: Yes, that's unfortunately correct Lee. Despite its name, a General Work Visa is issued to a foreign national authorizing them to take up employment within South Africa with a specific employer.

In other words, the visa will specify the name of the employer and the position that they occupy with that employer.

Lee Masuku: That's right Taryn and what this means is that the holder of a General Work Visa who wishes to take up employment with a different employer must first apply to the Department of Home Affairs for a conversion of their visa conditions.

It's also important to note that a General Work Visa is issued for a period of up to five years and is renewable.

Taryn York: That's correct Lee. Another important point to mention is that the requirements of the General Work Visa recently changed. Previously, in order to qualify for a General Work Visa, the prospective employer had to satisfy itself that no other South African citizen or permanent resident could be employed within a particular position. As part of the visa application a certificate to this effect would need to be obtained from the Department of Employment and Labor. Now the certificate is no longer required and General Work Visas are adjudicated based on a Points-Based System that was introduced in 2024. According to the points-based system, if you obtain a hundred points based on certain categories, you may be issued with a General Work Visa depending on whether you meet all other requirements of visa.

The points-based system is determined based on the foreigner's qualifications and NQF level, the foreigner's remuneration, the foreigner's work experience, whether the foreigner's prospective employer is registered with the Trusted Employer Scheme and whether the foreigner is proficient in at least one official South African language.

The hundred-point threshold can be reached through a combination of the points on the points-based system.

Lee Masuku: Thank you, Taryn. Another temporary visa that is issued for a renewable five-year period is a Critical Skills Visa. Now Taryn, what exactly constitutes a "critical skill" for purposes of this visa?

Taryn York: Well Lee Critical Skills Visas are issued to individuals who are in possession of pre-determined skills or qualifications that are scarce in South Africa and whose positions fall under the category of a "critical skill". And to deal with your question more directly, an individual may be issued the Critical Skills Visa provided that their skills are listed on the revised critical skills list, the most recent list having been issued by the Department of Home Affairs on the 3rd of October, 2023.

Similar to the General Work Visa, the Critical Skills Visa is also adjudicated based on the points-based system. If the hundred points threshold is reached through an occupation that's contained on the critical skills list, and provided that all other requirements are met, the applicant may be issued with the critical skills visa.

Lee Masuku: Yes so the attraction and retention of skilled workers is something that has been a topic of discussion of late in the South African labour market. Now, an Intra Company Transfer Visa is one of the ways that can facilitate local skills transfers. This is where an Intra Company Visa allows for the temporary transfer of employees between foreign companies with a South African branch subsidiary or affiliated company.

Taryn York: That's correct Lee and what is important to understand is that an Intra-Company transfer visa is valid for up to four years, but is not renewable. This is because the purpose of local skills transfers would be defeated if this visa were to be issued to foreign nationals for extended periods. It's important to understand that the purpose of the Intra Company Transfer Visa is broadly to identify a local skills beneficiary to prepare skills transfer plan, and to transfer the requisite skills to the identified skills beneficiary.

Lee Masuku: And then what about tourists Taryn? What kind of visa applies to them?

Taryn York: So there are essentially two types of tourist visas, which are both referred to as Short-Term Visitors Visas.

The first is a purely tourist visa in terms of Section 11 one of the Immigration Act. This visa is not accompanied with the right to work in South Africa. The second type of tourist visa is issued in terms of Section 11 two of the Immigration Act and does include an authorization to work in South Africa.

Visa issued based on project work for a short period, both forms of short-term visitors', visas are issued for up to 90 days and may be renewed in South Africa once for an additional period of up to 90 days, bringing the total to 180 days after which the foreigner would need to depart from South Africa.

Lee Masuku: So Taryn, there's also a visa known as a Long-Term Visitor's visa, which may be issued for spouses and dependents focusing for the moment on the so-called spousal visas within this category, this is a visa that may be issued to the spouse of a South African citizen or permanent resident holder.

The holder of a Spousal Visa is not automatically authorized to work in South Africa, and such authorization must specifically be endorsed on the foreign nationals visa. What about foreign nationals who are students Taryn? Are they allowed to work in South Africa?

Taryn York: A foreign national who is studying in South Africa and who is the holder of a Study Visa may conduct part-time work for a period, not exceeding 20 hours per week.

Moving on to the special dispensation permits, and by this I'm referring to the Zimbabwean and Lesotho Exemption Permits. Lee, what are these permits?

Lee Masuku: So Taryn, the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits were a special dispensation of permits that were issued to Zimbabwean nationals who were in possession of fraudulently obtained South African immigration documents in order to curb their deportation.

There are currently approximately 180,000 Zimbabwean nationals who are in possession of these permits. There has been persistent litigation in relation to the Director-General of Home Affairs decisions, not to extend Zimbabwean Exemption Permits after the expiry on 31 December 2021. Not withstanding this, there have since been a number of extensions of the expiry of the permits with the latest extension being granted until 28 November, 2025. So just over a month from now. What this means is that the holders of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits are legally authorized to work, study, and reside in South Africa until 28, November 2025. And they are not limited to working for specific employer or in a specific position. Lesotho Exemption Permits on the other hand, were initially created to address the influx of Lesotho nationals seeking asylum in South Africa.

They are special permits issued by the Department of Home Affairs that allows Lesotho nationals to live, work, and conduct business in South Africa. Holders of a Lesotho Exemption Permit are legally authorized to work, study, and reside in South Africa until the 28th of November 2025, and are not limited to working for a specific employer or in a specific position.

Taryn, the final visa that we need to touch on is the recently introduced Digital Nomad Visa. What exactly is this visa for?

Taryn York: The remote working visa, also known as the Digital Nomad Visa, was introduced in October, 2024 and is aimed at foreign nationals who would like to reside in South Africa while conducting work remotely for a foreign employer. One needs to apply for a Digital Nomad Visa through one of the South African Missions abroard. In order to qualify for a Digital Nomad Visa, a foreign national needs to earn at least R650,976 per annum. What is important to note for this type of visa is that the foreign national is not entitled to take up employment in South Africa and may not change their status unless under exceptional circumstances.

Lee Masuku: Now to close off  Taryn, violating one's visa conditions can lead to serious consequences. Could you briefly just explain what these violations could lead to?

Taryn York: Certainly Lee. Once again, to reiterate what we touched on in episode one of our podcast series where foreigners found to be breach of their visa conditions, they may be found guilty of an offense in terms of section 49 of the Immigration Act and may on conviction face, either imprisonment or the possibility of a fine. This may result in a criminal record in South Africa and even deportation. It's also important that a foreign national attends to the renewal of their visa or changing their status as soon as possible before the expiry or the status changes is required.

Lee Masuku: Now when we speak of status change, we are referring to a change in the type or category of visa. Some of these statuses can be renewed in South Africa while other status changes cannot take place while the foreign national is in the country. Well Taryn that's unfortunately all the time we have for this episode.

We will meet again in episode three to discuss the various permanent residents' categories available in South Africa.

Taryn York: Thanks, Lee, until next time!