South African president pledges to reform visa regime to boost foreign investment

Johannesburg, South Africa | Xinhua | South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday said that they will announce a significant overhaul of the country’s work visa system in a bid to further boost investment.

“This includes decentralizing the adjudication of visa applications to foreign missions and streamlining application requirements to reduce the timeframes for obtaining a work visa,” Ramaphosa said in his opening address at the 5th South Africa Investment Conference, which opened in Johannesburg Thursday.

“We will introduce a Trusted Employer Scheme for qualifying companies and establish a points-based system to provide more flexible pathways for skilled applicants, in line with global best practice,” he said, noting that immigration reform has long been cited by many businesses as an area of concern.

South Africa will introduce new visa categories for remote workers and start-ups to attract dynamic entrepreneurs, and will also be expanding the e-Visa system to include an additional 20 countries over and above the 14 that are currently eligible, and will extend the e-Visa system to cover new visa categories such as study, business and intra-company transfer visas, according to the president.

“These reforms will enable us to attract skills and investment, and create jobs while protecting and promoting the employment of South Africans,” he said.