The visa reforms gazetted this week by the Home Affairs Minister have been widely welcomed as they are expected to boost economic growth in the country.
On Wednesday, Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Leon Schreiber, gazetted the Remote Work Visa which will enable individuals who are employed abroad to work and live in South Africa, while the new Points-Based System for skilled work visas is expected to make it easier for South African companies to attract foreigners with scarce skills.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said the “opportunities unlocked by our new system are a passport to faster economic growth and to welcoming more people around the world to our beautiful country”.
The presidency said the reforms looked to achieve more rapid and inclusive growth and create jobs by removing the constraints that have held the economy back in the past.
Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa) East Coast chairperson Brett Tungay said the hospitality sector had been calling for the legislation for some time.
“Fedhasa has been pushing for this legislation for a couple of years, so we are extremely chuffed that it has now come through. It is a good thing not only for the tourism and hospitality sector but for the economy at large.”
He noted that the Covid-19 pandemic had led to a change in how people work, especially with people now working remotely.
He added there were countries that were deriving substantial economic benefits from having remote workers and South Africa had up until now been left out.
Tungay said the visa reforms would help the tourism and hospitality industry, create jobs and provide good economic spin-offs for the country.
Waldo Krugell, an economics professor at North-West University, said it was difficult to determine the numbers of digital nomads who will take up the remote work visa.
“Probably nowhere near enough to move aggregate economic growth. I do think it will benefit the economies of specific places. The Western Cape already has lots of European visitors escaping their winter here and now more will be able to do it as remote workers too.
“The points-based system for critical skills and general work visas is a game changer. Companies have all but given up attracting international talent, and improving that system unleashes a whole new dynamic.
“Again, employing top internationals does not lead to economic growth in the next quarter, but we will benefit from their skills, experience and networks. It is the way to compete in the international economy.”
Economist Dawie Roodt said the visa reforms were “crucially important”.
“People do not work at a place or in a geographic area that much anymore; they can be anywhere, because as long as you have a good internet connection, you can basically be anywhere in the world. That is the future of work, people are working remotely and they want to go to nice places like South Africa, with wonderful weather and they need to be able to work.
“By approving and embracing these new visas, it will put South Africa where we are supposed to be, where the modern economy is operating.
We will get the benefits because we will get people spending money in South Africa.”
Regarding the points-based system for skills visas, he said we need foreign skills in the country.
“We are a skills scarce country. Foreigners coming to South Africa do not take away work from South Africans, they actually create more job opportunities.”
The Mercury