Remote Work Visitor Visa: Home Affairs introduces reforms to boost economic growth

The Department of Home Affairs on Wednesday announced the gazetting of the Remote Work Visitor Visa and the new Points-Based System for Work Visas.

The department’s Minister Leon Schreiber said this is “the single most progressive and pro-jobs regulatory reform South Africa has seen in decades”.

“The Department’s attention to detail, to ensure that these reforms are fit-for-purpose and market-friendly, has resulted in two products that begin to reposition South Africa as a world-class destination for investment and tourism to create thousands of new jobs for South Africans.

“Importantly, the new points-based system also introduces a transparent framework to adjudicate visas in order to tackle corruption,” Schreiber said.

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Reforms by Home Affairs

Schreiber said the following reforms are fit-for-purpose and market-friendly:

• The Remote Work Visa enables highly paid individuals who are employed abroad and thus do not compete with local workers, to spend their valuable foreign currency right here in South Africa, pay Value-Added Tax into the South African fiscus, eat at South African restaurants, and buy South African goods and services from South African producers.
• The new Points-Based System for Work Visas combats corruption and inefficiency by cutting red tape and introducing a transparent point scale to objectively determine who qualifies for a Critical Skills or General Work Visa.

According to the department, the general work visa applications outside of the Trusted Employer Scheme, applicants must earn at least R650 796 per year.

This amount is double the average income in South Africa’s formal sector.

It said the goal is to safeguard lower-end jobs for locals while allowing highly skilled foreigners to contribute to the economy.

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Schreiber emphasises transparency and efficiency

Furthermore, Schreiber added that the new research conducted by the Reserve Bank and the International Food Policy Research Institute indicates an increase in high-end skills in South Africa and a more efficient visa system.

“By harnessing the power of market-based regulatory reform to cut red tape and enhance transparency, Home Affairs is fighting corruption in our immigration system while delivering on the GNU’s apex priority to grow the economy and create thousands of new jobs for the people of South Africa,” he added.

The department concluded that even though it works towards an online application and adjudication process, applicants under the new Points-Based System can still submit their applications through relevant service providers.

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