Cape Town Mayor Geordin-Hill Lewis welcomed gazette of the Remote Work Visitor Visa and the new Points-Based System for Work Visas. He warmly received the major visa reforms and the exciting economic and job-creating potential to bring substantially more tourism to the shores.
According to Mayor Lewis, Cape Town is an ideal remote working destination and now people will be able to stay longer in the city and will spend more money to the benefit of local businesses.
He mentioned that it is refreshing to see swift action from Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber in promulgating these reforms. “We are looking forward to continue with these partnerships to unleash the economic growth,” said Lewis.
Member of the Mayoral Committee for Economic Growth – Alderman James Vos confirmed that the newly gazetted reforms align with the continued calls by City of Cape Town for an overhaul of the visa system and have game-changing potential for the economy.
Vos further mentioned that in the coming weeks, his team and he will engage the business leaders of Cape Town on the various reforms and how they can capitalize on it for the benefit of economic and job growth in the city.
“In my consultation with the role-players in high-growth industries of Cape Town, it was made clear that companies often need to bring foreign experts into the country to properly train their staff,” said Alderman James Vos.
Notably, these reforms make it easier for these companies to access the necessary specialists and provide skilled development.
James Vos added in statement that Cape Town has further been proactively preparing for these reforms by signing the partnerships with the tourism industry bodies and marketing agencies to promote Cape Town as a major global remote working location.
Department of Home Affairs has officially gazetted the two groundbreaking reforms. These reforms are set to overhaul visa regime of South Africa by delivering on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s July 2024 mandate to attract skills and investment while growing the tourism sector.
In three months, Home Affairs has made a significant strides towards modernising the visa system with the new regulations that are being lauded as pivotal, in positioning South Africa as a leading global destination for both investment and tourism sectors.
The Remote Work Visa aim at highly paid individuals employed abroad who do not compete with the local workforce but can still contribute to the South African economy.
By living and working remotely in the country, there is a chance that these individuals will spend their foreign earnings on local goods and services, will pay Value-Added Tax (VAT), and will boost the domestic tourism and hospitality sectors.
Also, the new Points-Based System for Work Visas seeks to reduce corruption and in-efficiency by streamlining the visa application process.
The system introduced a transparent points scale to objectively evaluate Critical Skills and General Work Visa applicants. It recorded a notable change that includes a threshold of R650,796 in gross annual income for General Work Visa applications. This intends to protect jobs in the lower end of the market by attracting high-end talent.
As the Department of Home Affairs is moving towards a fully digital system for visa applications, the applicants for the Remote Work Visa, possess Critical Skills Visa and General Work Visa that will continue to apply through existing service providers and via South African missions abroad, in the interim.