South African Immigration Changes 2019 and 2020 

The frenetic reporting on the current election season will end next week, and major policy announcements, so crucial to te recovery of the South African economy, will go unnoticed. The likelihood of changes to South African Immigration laws and regulations is quite high, based on the White Paper published by the South African Government. 

In addition, the intermittent communications through Home Affairs Head Office, various public statements and the deliberations at the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee, indicate that amendments may happen soon.

The two imminent issues are: 1) The updating of the Critical Skills list; and  2) The Draft Immigration Bill which is currently before Cabinet. It needs to be said at this stage that if the Draft Bill is before Cabinet and is likely to be published soon, it does not make sense for the Critical Skills list to be amended, simply to cover this interim period. The Critical Skills list amendment, which has been circulated in draft form, will reduce the number of available "skills" on the list and make compliance with requirements more difficult for applicants and employer companies. There is a systemic skills shortage of skills required for current economic needs, as acknowledged by the Government. This need, does not, hoverer translate into wider legislation and simplified processes. The disjuncture is evident when speaking to corporate leaders who say that the public political promises are not translated into better service and easier application processes. 

One other issue which will influence the new Immigration regime is the number and seriousness of the Court Cases which have gone against Home Affairs and the number of cases currently on the court rolls. There are more than 4000 opposed court cases on the High Court rolls, which is a huge drain on State resources during the litigation process and creates ongoing legal costs as well as damages liabilities for the State. This will have to be addressed by the new parliament after the coming elections as it is an unsustainable position. 

Contact Leon Isaacson This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for assistance.   www.globalimsa.com