The rules relating to corporate visas, which enable organizations and farms to bring large numbers of skilled workers into South Africa, have changed.
In terms of Immigration Directive 36 of 2014, issued on 21 April 2015, corporate worker certificate holders who also qualify for critical skills visas, will be allowed to change their status from within South Africa and without needing to leave the country. The new rules apply with immediate effect.
Corporate worker certificate holders
Corporate worker certificate holders who do not qualify for critical skills visas will not be affected by the changes. Since 26 May 2014, corporate worker certificate holders have not been allowed to renew their visas or submit change of status applications from within South Africa. In order to change status to another type of visa, the applicant needed to travel back to his or her country of ordinary residence in order to apply. In effect this meant that corporate worker certificate holders could only stay in the country for a maximum of three years, after which they needed to leave.
Changes for Corporate Visa Holders
The recent changes bring with them a number of new opportunities to corporate visa holders and highly-skilled migrant workers.
Businesses which experience skilled worker shortages are encouraged to contact SAvisas.com for more advice.
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