Written by: Andreas Krensel, CEO, IBN Immigration Solutions
Edited by: Lauren Daniels, IBN Immigration Solutions

Context

IBN Immigration Solutions’ CEO, Andreas Krensel, has had decades of experience working in the corporate immigration sector in Africa. This experience has allowed him insight into typical ‘red flags’ multinationals may encounter when planning a corporate mobility project into Africa. 

Introduction

If you work in Human Resources or as a Global Mobility Manager, you know that having an experienced immigration lawyer to guide you through immigration legislation can be invaluable. When you’re working to get your assignees into Africa, knowledge of the local framework becomes even more important, as processes and lead times on the continent are often unpredictable and immigration legislation changes, even more so.

1: Local Employment is a Requirement

“Most African countries require local employment,” states Krensel in the above video. Most African countries do not offer Intra-Company Transfer Visas where an understudy can be upskilled or the employee may keep the relationship with the employer in their home country intact. Immigration legislation in most African countries requires that the foreign national be employed by a local company to work in that country. Employer of Record companies may be a solution here, but this is a separate application that could lead to further obstacles and wait times. 

2: Extended Processing Times

Immigration authorities in Africa often struggle with long processing times for a variety of reasons, including poor service delivery, inadequate staffing, mismanaged or damaged technological equipment and outdated processing policies. As Krensel mentions in the video, in Botswana, wait times for short-term work visas have gone up from two to eight weeks. In Kenya, it can take up to six months for a Class D work permit to be approved and in South Africa, Spousal Visa processing has experienced delays of up to a year in some cases. 

Countries around the world are experiencing increased wait times post-pandemic and at IBN Immigration Solutions, we encourage potential assignees to keep this in mind when planning their corporate mobility journey and begin immigration administration as soon as possible to avoid disappointment. 

3: Government Fees

“I always see eyes rolling back in the heads of people I send quotes to – our service fees are always kind of expected… and then they see the government fees in Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya, Nigeria, even Ghana – and they can easily rack up to 2000 USD or 3000 USD per person…” says Krensel. For many assignees, accompanying spouses and children must come along, as the assignee is the breadwinner. To put this into perspective, an assignee could end up paying around 6000 USD or 101 337,30 ZAR for themselves, one spouse and one child. Partner with an immigration firm that is experienced with calculating these fees within Africa and communicating costs effectively to help you prepare your overall immigration plan and your pocket. 

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About Andreas Krensel LLM, IP (SA)
Andreas Krensel is a registered Immigration Practitioner and qualified German attorney. He holds dual citizenship and has spent the last 18 years in South Africa advising large multinationals as well as private customers on immigration into South Africa and the rest of Africa. He is a well-known expert on African corporate immigration, a regular speaker at international conferences as well as the author of two books on the topic of African corporate immigration. 

About IBN Immigration Solutions
IBN Immigration Solutions is a multiple award-winning boutique immigration firm providing specialist immigration services for African countries, as well as some international markets. Our vision is to enable talent to work and live within Africa and contribute to developing this energetic and fascinating continent and its people. We believe in making Africa a better place and complying with international laws. 

Contact Us: www.ibn.co.za 

If you would like more information on this topic or immigration in general  or would like to arrange interviews or quotes, please do not hesitate to contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Read more at https://www.ibn.co.za/blog-and-news/corporate-red-flags/