President Cyril Ramaphosa says they wanted to attract critical skills into the country to meet the growing demands of the economy.
He said reforms in the visa regime were part of the structural reforms in the economy.
A responsive visa regime was key to attracting businesses and investments in South Africa, said Ramaphosa.
It has been shown internationally that workers with critical skills boost economies and improve productivity, and competitiveness of the companies they work for.
They wanted to attract critical skills into the country to enable the economy to grow.
The government has over the last few years been asked to implement structural reforms in the economy.
The Department of Home Affairs last week published Immigration Regulations for critical skills.
Ramaphosa, who was writing in his weekly newsletter on Monday, said the draft regulations will address the issue of the needed skills in South Africa.
“In line with our ongoing efforts to attract higher levels of investment and promote job creation, the new work visa regulations are a milestone. They are part of high-impact structural reforms we are undertaking to improve the business operating environment,” said Ramaphosa.
This was a message that the country was sending out that they need critical skills to meet the demand of the economy.
On the visa regime, the government has set out two categories that would be part of regulations that have been sent for public comment by the Department of Home Affairs.
He said these were for a remote working visa and the critical skills visa.
Ramaphosa said a report last year found that there was a shortage of skills in certain areas.
This meant that companies were looking for professionals, IT experts, engineers, technicians and educators.
The department has drafted amendments to the Immigration Regulations.
“Last week, the Department of Home Affairs published for public comment draft amendments to existing immigration regulations that will significantly boost our efforts to attract workers with critical skills to South Africa. The draft amendments deal with two visa categories: a remote working visa and the critical skills visa.
“The introduction of a remote working visa responds to the rapidly evolving world of work, where increasing numbers of skilled workers, notably in the tech industry, are attracted by the lifestyle benefits of working from a remote location. It also caters to so-called digital nomads, who are able to work virtually from any location in the world. A remote worker who wants to work in South Africa while being employed by a foreign company will be able to receive such a visa,” said Ramaphosa.
He added that the draft regulations were part of their work to reform the country’s visa system.
This would make it easier to attract critical skills into the economy.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
Politics