Work visa South Africa
Working in South Africa requires a work permit, which enables an individual to be employed there in a specific pre-arranged position and for a set period of time.

Visas in South Africa are also available for individuals who wish to start a business or invest in an existing enterprise.

Study visa South Africa
Studying in South Africa requires the South African Immigration Study Permit.

South African Immigration for Spouse and Family
Visas for a spouse can only be obtained by a life partner or spouse who is a permanent resident of South Africa or a bona fide citizen.

Family visas can be obtained for the entire family if necessary.

South African Retirement Visa
For retirees who wish to live in he country, a South African retirement permit can be granted. Its duration is for four years, but it can be renewed for an indefinite number of times.

Permanent Residence Visa in South Africa
Many of the visas previously mentioned are issued as a temporary residence permits. However, their holders may also qualify for permanent residency permits.

Visa to South Africa
Visitors to South Africa who only intend staying there temporarily, for holidays or visiting family and friends, may be granted Tourist Visas or South African Visitor Visas, which are normally valid for three months.

Work permit applications are handled by the Department of Home Affairs and once approved you also receive a temporary residence permit. This process may take time, since it involves documents coming from both South Africa and the individual’s source country.

The High Commissions and Embassies take care of intra company transfer applications and secondment. For the first category, the individual company has to have an established presence in both the source country and South Africa, under the same international group. The employee moving from the source country to South Africa should be clearly identified. Secondments, on the other hand, relate to a company in the source country sending an employee to South Africa to provide a specific service and the employee should be part of a wider service agreement. There is no specific criterion, but the selected employee must be able to do the task at hand and should have been employed by the company for not less than six months.

If a particular candidate is successful in his/her South African immigration application, a family member or members can accompany them, as long as the necessary documents are presented. An individual, however, cannot apply for a work permit directly. The employer should handle this, since the requirements have to be employer-specific. Visas are already included in the work permit application.

An independent government body, the Immigrants Selection Board (ISB), regulates South African visa applications.

People who may qualify for a South African Visa include those of good character, who are not likely to be a burden on the welfare system in the country and who have skills and experience in occupations, which are currently under-represented.

It is advisable that you complete the application process while in your country of residence and wait for the result before moving to South Africa. However, there are circumstances under which visa applications from within South Africa are allowed. These include you being in the country on a valid South Africa work permit, that you are married to a South African citizen or a permanent resident and are in the country on a valid temporary residence permit. It is also possible that a family member is sponsoring you, for immigration purposes, or you have been exempted from holding a temporary residence permit.

Several types of visa that the South African Immigration offers include medical, student, working, business and retirement.

South African citizenship is also available for anyone who wishes to live permanently in South Africa. When granted, the applicant is entitled to various benefits and rights including the right to vote. Citizenship can be obtained in three different ways, by birth, descent or by naturalisation.

All visas are subject to the ISB’s directive.

Even though Old Mutual PLC, an international insurance company, has its headquarters in London, it primarily focuses on the South African market. The company specialises in banking, stock market speculation, healthcare, investments, asset management and employee benefit packages for a wide range of clients. Because it has a continuing requirement for labour to work in all areas, Old Mutual PLC has a broad variety of job opportunities. The company provides the best health care facilities for its employees and maintains a professional source of help for those who have issues with marital or family distress, emotional difficulties, alcohol and drug abuse, difficulties with their children, stress overload and HIV positive diagnosis, etc.

South Africa’s retail sector is proud to present Pick ‘n Play, one of the largest and most successful food, clothing and general merchandise retailers. The history of the company goes way back, when it was started as a family-owned business. Four stores were bought in 1967 and since then the company has grown into a large supermarket chain that now has 14 hypermarkets, 106 supermarkets and 74 diminutive “family” stores in South Africa. Pick ‘n Play also has a majority interest in a group of stores known as Score. The company has openings from entry level to senior managerial positions.

The wire-line communication company, Telkom SA, is a mix of private 60% and state-owned 60%. The monopolistic company handles international connections to and from South Africa and fixed-line communications within the country. It has vacancies in management and administration, engineering and IT, etc. The company provides many benefits to its employees, including medical care, financing, retirement policies, telephone discounts, long service recognition, financial assistance for study schemes, training and educational leave.

Whatever the driving force behind your decision to immigrate, it’s vital to find out about how immigration works and what services are available to you. It’s worth planning your date of travel well in advance so that you have time to discover all there is to know about living and working in your chosen new country.

If you are planning to immigrate to Australia, South Africa, Canada or the USA, there are plenty of things to do before you leave. Of course one of the first things you’ll need to do is to find out about each country’s respective immigration policies, and make sure you can comply with them.

For example if you intend to immigrate to Australia you will need to obtain an Australian Visa. This can be applied for online, and you’ll have to undergo an assessment which will help determine your suitability for living and working in Australia.

Likewise if you want to move to South Africa, Canada, or the USA you will have to obtain the necessary Visa; and for each you will be assessed with regards to why you intend to immigrate to your chosen country. Much of the reason behind these Visa assessments is to find out what kind of skills you have and what you can bring to the country, if you do decide to work there.

There are a lot of permits that can be acquired by those migrating to South Africa, such as business, spousal, corporate, student, work, retired, life partner, and relatives’ permits. It requires a lot of screening before anyone can hold a South African visa. Migrants should apply for the visa through the South African representatives that are based in any of the countries around the world.

In applying, migrants should be able to fulfil all the requirements needed, such as passport, payment of prescribed fees, and vaccination certificate. The South African mission or representative needs the original passport of the person applying for the visa. However, they also accept applications filed by third parties, such as immigration practitioners, travel agents, or courier services. About $47 or €43 will be needed for payment of the application visa fee. The processing of the application takes about 10 days; however, it is wise to ask the South African mission or representative how long it will take to process. Aside from using the South African visa as an important document in entering the country, it can also be used for the migrants to receive medical treatment in South Africa.

Completing all the requirements that are required for the application for a South African visa is a must to be able to legally enter the country. If any discrepancy is found when the migrant arrives, he/she will almost certainly be deported to his/her country of origin.

Citizenship in South Africa has three main types that include citizen by birth, naturalisation, or descent. By birth, a child can be regarded as a South African citizen if his parents are South African citizens or permanent residents of the country during the time that the child is born.

A person is required to submit the BI-529 form, Determination of Citizenship Status, to determine an individual’s claim to South African citizenship. Any child who is born in South Africa and is adopted by the citizen of South Africa in terms of the Child Care Act of 1983 and is registered in the country is also a citizen of South Africa by birth. A foreign child who is born in the country and has no claim to any other citizenship can also obtain citizenship in South Africa by birth. By descent, a child who is born outside the country can also claim his citizenship as a South African, provided that at least one of his parents is a citizen of South Africa at the time that he is born. The birth of the child must have been registered in South Africa for him to acquire South African citizenship. Aside from birth and descent, foreign individuals can also acquire South African citizenship by naturalisation, as long as the requirements for such have been met.

Migrating to South Africa is not just transferring to that country; it also involves an individual deciding whether to take on South African citizenship and its responsibilities.

Your South African visa will not guarantee you to automatically enter South Africa, but only authorises you to go to a South African land border crossing or airport, where an officer will examine your visa to determine if you comply with the country’s entry requirements. The visa also serves the purpose of ensuring the correct selection of applicants, so that unfavourable persons will not be admitted to the country.

Specifically, student visas are valid for the entire duration of study. Visitors’ visas, which are intended for international travellers or residents of other countries who wish to visit South Africa, are issued for a length of 90 days or less, usually for business or tourism purposes. If you wish to stay in South Africa for more than 90 days for employment purposes, you need to secure a work visa instead of a visitor’s visa.

Visitor’s visa requirements include: travel documents or passport valid for a minimum of 30 days after the expiration of the planned visit; payment fee if applicable; vaccination certificate if required; statement and/or documentation stating the duration and purpose of the visit; two identity photos; and proof of financial means, such as salary advances, bank statements, and others. Your passport should also have at least two blank pages for entry/departure endorsements.

The validity period of the visa will be calculated starting from the date of entry to South Africa.

Applying for a South African work visa usually takes one week to 10 days. The application must be made by the employer on behalf of the applicant, and not the employee. Among other requirements, the employer needs to present a detailed labour contract, including all employment conditions and the entire period covered by the work permit, signed by both parties. The employer must also establish proof that the chosen foreigner is the best candidate for the job and that no local worker has been passed over in favour of hiring him.

In general, the documents needed to be included with a work visa application are: a birth certificate; application forms A, C, and BI-159; a marriage certificate if applicable; the worker’s employment contract with details about the designation, time, and salary of the employee; a medical certificate, proof of unsuccessful newspaper advertisements for the job and reasons establishing why a member of the local workforce was unsuited for the job; a translation of every certificate in English; and the employee’s testimonial that he or she is fit for the said job.

Other requirements include a passport valid for the entire period the employee wishes to stay in South Africa, a yellow fever vaccination certificate, and proof of enough funds to finance his stay.

Work permits in South Africa may be issued to foreign nationals either by a quota system as a general work permit or on the basis of exceptional ability or skills. The most easily recognised is the General Work Permit, which requires a specific job offer from an employer before an application is made. In applying on the employee’s behalf, the employer must prove that the position was unsuccessfully advertised in South Africa and that no native South African citizen who is qualified for the position was passed over in favour of the foreign national. The Intra Company Transfer is a work visa that allows an employee to transfer between a foreign company and its branch in South Africa.

Foreign nationals are allowed to work and live in South Africa depending on the period of time that they had agreed upon with their employers based there; as long as they have the skills and experience suited for the profession that they are applying for. The temporary visa provided for them cannot be used for the purpose of residing permanently in South Africa; they can be permitted only to extend their length of stay. Usually, a work visa is awarded for up to one year. However, if the foreign national’s job continues, the visa can still be extended provided this is applied for before it expires. Extensions are normally granted on a yearly basis.