Foreign executives and engineers, tens of thousands of them, have sometimes been waiting for more than a year for their work visas for South Africa, while a sluggish administration forces some companies to abandon their projects in the continent’s main industrial power.
The government recognizes that the country, plagued by endemic unemployment and a serious electricity crisis, suffers from a shortage of qualified workers. And if in other countries there is the problem of long administrative delays, South Africa urgently needs manpower and skills to revive a sluggish economy, according to experts.
“The delay is astonishing,” laments Busisiwe Mavuso, director of Business Leadership South Africa, which brings together dozens of international companies, including BP, Nestlé and Unilever.
Some have even suspended or even abandoned their projects in the country.
Interior Minister Aaron Motsoaledi explained to a parliamentary committee in September that due to a serious lack of administrative staff, 74,000 visa applications were pending processing. Contacted by AFP, the ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Unsurprisingly, the phenomenon has worsened since the coronavirus pandemic: in 2021, only 3,047 visas were issued based on sought-after skills, such as mastery of a foreign language, representing a 45% annual drop compared to 2019. according to official figures. About two-thirds of the applications were rejected. Lung x-rays, criminal records from all the countries in which you have resided or even bank account statements for several months, the list of documents to provide is as long as your arm.
Inconsistencies
International companies also complain about the inconsistency of the process. Some applications are processed in a few weeks, others take months. In some cases, applicants get a permit but not their spouse or children.
Files are rejected for reasons considered frivolous, such as the absence of a telephone number on a document. Obtaining a work visa can take 48 weeks or more. Four times more than in Nigeria or Kenya.
In an investigation last year by the European Union Chamber of Commerce in South Africa, an anonymous businessman claimed that the visa quagmire pushed him to choose Ghana to set up offices on the continent.
According to a government report last year, each arrival of a new qualified employee generates jobs in the country. A 1% increase in this immigration could increase GDP by 1.2%, while the country’s central bank’s growth forecast is only 0.8% this year. The report recommends reforms including specific visas for remote workers and startups and a trusted employer system to facilitate hiring.
The adopted changes are expected to be made public soon. But as the 2024 elections approach, doubts could arise, observers say: Many South Africans blame immigrants, particularly from countries in the region, for unemployment and the steady rise in crime.
According to Jakkie Cilliers of the Institute for Security Studies (ISS) in Pretoria, the government’s security approach to immigration is undermining efforts to attract investment. “We have a Department of Home Affairs and a Department of Labor that are actively trying to stop foreigners coming to South Africa,” he said.
Source: BFM TV
