South Africa Launches Points-Based and Nomad Visas Within 30 Days, Home Affairs Minister Says
18:27 19.09.2024 (Updated: 18:54 19.09.2024)
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The presidency and the country's major businesses say the country's current visa system is holding back economic growth. It has averaged less than 1% over the past decade, which is not enough to reduce one of the world's highest unemployment rates at 33.5%.
The country will issue work visas on a points-based system and nomad visas for those who work remotely for organizations based elsewhere. The upcoming implementation will accelerate economic growth, South African Home Minister Leon Schreiber stated.
“A person who is employed and paid in another country will now be able to move to sunny South Africa to spend all of their dollars, yen, euros, pounds, or renminbi right here,” Leon Schreiber emphasized. “Our new remote-working visa must be one of the best deals I’ve ever come across. South Africa carries none of the cost of employing these nomads, yet we reap all of the benefits.”
Attracting just 11,000 more tertiary-educated workers to South Africa annually would add 1.2% to annual GDP growth and increase the tax revenue by 1.32% per year. Moreover, increasing tourism arrivals by 10% could add a further 0.6% to annual GDP growth, the minister explained.
Schreiber is a member of the Democratic Alliance. This party narrowly lost to the ruling party in the elections held in May this year. He is overhauling the visa application process, which can currently take more than a year.
