South Africa is welcoming skilled foreigners with open arms. The government has issued a list of quota work permits for selected professions, which means foreign nationals with the required qualifications and experience will be allowed to enter the country without first having secured employment.
The permits are issued according to a yearly quota, determined by the National Critical Skills list according to how scarce or essential a particular skill is in South Africa.
The regulations are designed to raise skills levels in the country, as part of the broad government initiative boost economic growth to 6% by 2010 and halve poverty and unemployment by 2014.
Last year Public Service and Administration Minister Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi announced that foreign nationals who met the requirements would be allowed to apply at a foreign mission abroad or at any Home Affairs office inside South Africa.
The quotas were determined in consultation with the departments of Trade and Industry and Labour.
- Work Permit Quotas
- Science & Engineering
- Health & Education
- Information Technology
- Agricultural Sciences
- Management and Commerce
- Joburg Opens Migrant Helpdesk
- Diversity is an urban strength
- Foreigners Create Jobs
Work Permit Quotas
Unlike other work permits, quota work permits are issued to applicants before they have secured employment. Holders are allowed into to South Africa so that they can look for jobs in specific professions. The permits don't guarantee employment; rather, they give skilled foreigners the opportunity to compete for work in the country on an equal footing with South Africans.
This is a major departure from the previous system, which required proof that a South African could not have filled the post.
Fifty-six occupations have been identified, with the requirement that the potential job seeker should have at least five years experience and have registered with their relevant professional body.
"These quotas are determined using the National Critical Skills list - a mechanism designed to assist in recruiting certain skills into South Africa," Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa Nqakula said when the quotas were announced.
"Foreign nationals who are already in the country and possess the needed skills may also apply for work quota permits. These do not only apply to those outside the country."
The full list of the annual quotas for each profession is below. All require registration with the relevant professional body, where applicable, and at least five years' relevant experience.
Science & Engineering
• Aeronautical engineers - 500
• Aircraft maintenance engineers - 500
• Autotronics: vehicle diagnostic technicians - 500
• Avionic engineers - 250
• Chemical engineers (including rubber & plastic) - 100
• Construction: civil/structural engineers - 5000
• Design and engineering: piping and pipe laying - 500
• Electronic: radio frequency and signal engineers; microwave and satellite engineers - 500
• Geologists - 100
• Astronomers - 200
• Astrophysicists - 200
• Atmospheric physicists - 200
• Surface physicist - 200
• Space scientists - 200
• Geophysicists - 150
• Industrial Engineers - 5000
• Jewellery designers - 250
• Mechanical engineers (including pressure vessel and stress analysis) - 1000
• Metallurgical engineers (including material processes and development; metrologists) - 250
• Mining: rock and colliery engineers - 100
• Aircraft maintenance technicians - 1000
• Architectural technicians - 1000
• Aviations technicians (aviation-specific design and machining technologies) - 1000
• Dimensional controllers - 100
• Earth sciences technicians - 250
• Electrical mechanical including instrumentation - 1000
• Electronic technicians: silicon and microchip developers - 1000
• Foundry metallurgists - 500
• Hydraulics and pneumatics technicians - 1000
• Industrial / product development technologists - 1000
• NDE technicians - 500
• Tool designers (including millwrights, melters, coded welders and moulders) - 3000
Health & Education
• Maths and science teachers - 1000
• Biological science technicians - 3000
• Bioinformatics - 1000
• Biomedical engineers - 1000
• Combinatorial and computational chemistry - 150
Information Technology
• Software developers - 1 500
• Software engineers - 1 500
• ICT security specialists (including dimensional controllers) - 1000
Agricultural Sciences
• Agricultural economist (econometrics) - 500
• Agricultural engineers (including farm irrigation systems engineers) - 1000
• Agricultural extension officers (technology-focused) - 1000
• Agricultural statistics: biometrician, crop modeler - 1000
• Agricultural biotechnologists, genetic markers and promoters - 1000
• Virologists - 250
• Oenologist / viticulture - 350
• Geneticists (plant breeders) - 1000
• Pasture scientists - 500
• Plant pathologists - 1000
• Food safety quality-assurance specialists - 500
• Veterinarians - 500
Management and Commerce
• Actuaries - 500
• Financial market analyst - 500 Risk managers - 500
Joburg Opens Migrant Helpdesk
Johannesburg has opened a migrant helpdesk to provide legal migrants and asylum seekers with information on basic services such as housing, education and healthcare in the city.
The helpdesk, which has been running since November 2006, complements rather than replaces existing immigration facilities. Johannesburg Mayor Amos Masondo officially opened the helpdesk, based in the inner city.
Masondo committed the city to ensuring the welfare of foreign residents, saying that rapid urbanisation and accompanying migration had become part of the Johannesburg landscape and had to be dealt with accordingly.
Diversity is an urban strength
"Migrants contribute to the cultural diversity of and assist to create our vibrant city," Masondo said. "We must recognise diversity as an urban strength. Like urbanisation, migration can and should be managed. It cannot be completely controlled, let alone halted."
Besides providing foreign residents with information on basic services, the helpdesk also puts them in touch with non-governmental organisations that assist migrants and asylum seekers.
These include the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the South African Migration Project, the Wits University Law Faculty's refugee desk, Lawyers for Human Rights, Black Sash, the Refugee Children's Project, the Bienvenue Shelter, and Jesuit Refugee Without Voice.
"The City of Johannesburg is adopting a progressive approach with regards to ensuring that migrants to this city feel that they are part of an inclusive city," Masondo said.
While the helpdesk should not be seen as promoting and servicing illegal migrants to the detriment of Johannesburg's own residents, Masondo added, illegal immigrants would be dealt with in a humane and proper manner if they sought assistance.
Access to services depends on documentation verifying a person's status as a migrant or an asylum seeker. Nori Tapiwa, the co-ordinator of the Zimbabwe Diaspora Forum, said the most pressing issues for asylum seekers were usually shelter, food and documentation when they entered the country.
In due time, para-legal advice will form a core part of the service, as it is anticipated that many migrants will look for help regarding human rights violations and harassment.
Foreigners Create Jobs
Xenophobia has been a major concern for the city, with research showing that migrants are far more likely to be victims of crime and are more likely to be treated with disdain and distrust.
Joyce Tlou, the national co-ordinator for non-nationals at the South African Human Rights Commission, said that the focus should move away from stereotypes.
"What is lacking is showing the visible contribution that migrants make to the city," Tlou said.
Research by the Forced Migration Studies Programme at the University of the Witwatersrand confirms that foreign nationals contribute substantially to Johannesburg's economy.
The entrepreneurial spirit of African migrants provides much-needed employment to locals, according to Professor Loren Landau, the programme's director. "Our research shows that [migrants] are better educated and are far more entrepreneurial than their South African counterparts."
Landau felt that the challenge for the city lay in the number of migrants who streamed in from other areas of the country, many of whom had never worked before and did not have the necessary skills.
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Tax for South African Expatriates working abroad and Foreign Employees in South Africa
