{"id":74371,"date":"2024-10-03T18:29:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-03T18:29:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africa-introducing-visa-reforms-to-boost-economy-says-minister"},"modified":"2024-10-03T18:29:00","modified_gmt":"2024-10-03T18:29:00","slug":"south-africa-introducing-visa-reforms-to-boost-economy-says-minister","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/south-africa\/all-news\/south-africa-introducing-visa-reforms-to-boost-economy-says-minister","title":{"rendered":"South Africa introducing visa reforms to boost economy, says minister"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. <\/strong><\/span>South Africa is introducing reforms to its strict visa regime in more skilled workers and tourists, home affairs minister Leon Schreiber said, signalling a shift away from past immigration policies that critics have labelled xenophobic.<\/p>\n

The immediate changes will include a new points-based system for work visas that makes eligibility automatic if you have certain qualifications, and the launch of a remote work visa, both of which he said should be finalised in \u201ca matter of days\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cVisa reform to attract tourists, to attract capital, to attract skills are some of the most powerful things we can do in the short term to kick-start economic growth,\u201d Schreiber told Reuters in an interview.<\/p>\n

As it stands, foreigners with job offers in South Africa can wait months or years for a visa and are sometimes denied for unexplained reasons.<\/p>\n

Western tourists usually obtain visas easily on arrival but visitors from China and India, both potentially lucrative markets, have to submit off-putting paperwork.<\/p>\n

The country has a reputation for being especially unfriendly to immigrants from other African countries, who are sometimes accused of \u201cstealing\u201d jobs in a context in which a third of South Africans are unemployed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a false dichotomy to suggest that we cannot grow the economy and at the same time combat xenophobia,\u201d Schreiber said, adding that bringing in skilled foreigners can help create jobs.<\/p>\n

Schreiber called the current system a \u201ccatastrophic failure\u201d that keeps out the kind of people South Africa needs.<\/p>\n

When he took office in July, South Africa had a backlog of 306,000 visas that had been accumulating for more than a decade, he said. His team has now made it through 62% of those by bringing in reinforcements and working overtime, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lack of skills in the economy is the second biggest impediment to economic growth and job creation (after power cuts),\u201d he said, citing research by the National Treasury.<\/p>\n

He is planning to digitise the paper-based visa system within five years to reduce the potential for fraud and bias by case workers and speed up processing, though he acknowledged there could be budget constraints.<\/p>\n

<\/b><\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About South-Africa<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – South-Africa. South Africa is introducing reforms to its strict visa regime in more skilled workers and tourists, home affairs minister Leon Schreiber said, signalling a shift away from past immigration policies that critics have labelled xenophobic. 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