There has been a a lot of negative reaction to the changes that have been implemented with regards to South Africa’s immigration laws. To look at the crux of the changes, and why they have had such a negative reaction, Alec Hogg was joined by Jess Green from Immigration South Africa. Jess answers the important questions for professionals affected by the change. The big question raised, despite the practical frustration is a much bigger issue with regards to developing the economy in SA and bringing the right people into the country – are the people in charge actually on the right track? – LF
GUGULETHU MFUPHI: Well, how will South Africa’s immigration changes impact corporates, individuals, and key sectors? To help answer that question is Jess Green from Immigration South Africa. Jess, good to have you, well we’ve often been keeping up to date with you, with regard to the visa regulation changes, but from your interactions, with some of the major corporates in South Africa, how are they managing to navigate their way around this new element?
JESS GREEN: Well, when we speak about corporates in general, for them it is more a matter of just wanting to comply and to make sure that the employees are complying, whether in their own right or from the company’s point of view. A lot more are corporate visa applications that we are looking at processing, which is a special type of visa that companies are then allowed to employ a certain amount of individuals, over a certain amount of time. They get pre-authorisation certificates to do so. Other than that, for companies, well some of them fall into industries that are somewhat more affected than they used to be.
ALEC HOGG: The whole story, about the new regulations, Jess; why are people so upset?
JESS GREEN: The main reason why they’re so upset, if you actually look at the new regulations,  not necessarily so new – they were published a long time ago, they were only brought into effect now, on the 22nd May, but the main reason why people are upset, across the board is that there was very little grace period in which to comply. Some people found themselves, from one day to the next, illegal in South Africa or, as what you say, undesirable, which is the correct terminology, and through no fault of their own. They had applied on time for a renewal, Home Affairs had taken too long to issue it, and, on leaving the country, they were, banned or someone finds themselves, suddenly illegally working for a certain firm. Certain things like that, that’s actually the real problem.
Had there been a bit more leeway or lee-time or grace period, as they say, I think many of the problems would have, been sorted out quite quickly.
GUGULETHU MFUPHI: Jess, what do you make of the update that we recently received, regarding the Zimbabwean’s three-year extension period?
JESS GREEN: Yes, so that’s of particular interest because it was announced at 10:00 yesterday in Pretoria. There are still a few questions around it. What fee will these Zimbabweans have to pay? It is, called the ZSP or Zimbabwean Special Dispensation Project, if you take the long version and, effectively a lot of Zimbabweans were given a sort of amnesty if they were here illegally, or if they just wanted to legalise themselves four years ago, but those permits are now expiring in December. You have over 250,000 people, well you actually have a lot more, but you have 250,000 people, on these visas, who will then become illegal. They don’t want to return home. They are quite entrenched here. Some of them have built lives here and they want to stay. So the Home Affairs Minister of Zimbabwe, I think his surname is Mohadi, and our Home Affairs Minister, Malusi Gigaba, have met and finally come up with a new way to keep these people here.
However, to keep them legally – and obviously, those that should be here – I think a lot of people say ‘oh, no, we shouldn’t have foreigners and they are taking South African jobs’. The bottom line is they are here and a lot of them add very, valuably to our economy, so I think it is a great move. It just remains to be, seen if they can actually process these many permits, in the short space of time they say will be able to, three months and 250,000 people. That’s over 80,000 a month. I don’t know.
ALEC HOGG: Jess, we are a business channel and, clearly, the people who are watching this are wondering about the problems that they have, in bringing in skilled people, from other parts of the world. Is there any progress in that front? Is Government understanding and appreciating that we can only grow an economy if we have the skills put into those difficult positions?
JESS GREEN: That’s something I feel very passionately about. I am more a global mind, where I don’t mind where you come from, if you’ve got great skills, please come in, no matter how many of them there are, and if we need those skills. The good news is, is that the Critical Skills list has been introduced and updated from the quota; and the Exceptional Skills Permit lists are of the past, and it is far more comprehensive and I believe that it will address a lot of the skill shortages that we currently find. However, some skills are not on those lists, I mentioned a while ago, math and science teachers, I don’t see them there. Yet we find that there’s a huge issue in South Africa, with basic education, specifically in the math and science subjects, so why are they not on the list? I’m not sure, so one or two small things but, in general, it is really great to see that that list has been expanded greatly.
ALEC HOGG: Well, if the math and science teachers responsible for compiling this list of critical skills.
JESS GREEN: Well, I think it’s a number of departments together, who speak together. One of their gripes, well, to answer your question, I think it is the Department of Education, probably, or the Department of Labour heads that and the Department of Home Affairs is probably consulted. One of the gripes about the new regulations is that although the public was, consulted to be able to make a comment, for about a month or so. There was never an actual sit down, with industry leaders and experts, in Immigration and a lot of these immigration lawyers, and other people that know the law, were not. They’ve actually expressed dismay at that but they’ve been, told numerous times, in the media, and privately that there is not going to be any change to the law.
GUGULETHU MFUPHI: Tough times ahead, well certainly we hope that that does change. Next time, Alec, we’ll get into…
ALEC HOGG: It’s crazy. We need to talk more and we need to communicate more.
JESS GREEN: Absolutely.
ALEC HOGG: If the economy needs certain people, talk to them, and find out. Don’t be a bureaucrat and say ‘I will tell you who will come into the country and who can’t’, if you don’t actually know.
GUGULETHU MFUPHI:Â Exactly.
ALEC HOGG: Thanks Jess. That was an interesting interview, wasn’t it?
GUGULETHU MFUPHI:Â Very interesting. Well, that was Jess Green, from Immigration South Africa there, updating us on the latest, with regards to the visa applications here, in SA.
