In terms of Section 31(2)(c) of the South African Immigration Act, the Minister of Home Affairs, for good cause, may waive any prescribed requirement or form in terms of visa or permanent residence permit applications.
By considering this, Dr Leon Schreiber, Minister of Home Affairs approved a waiver of the requirement of the Certificate of Recommendation by the Department of Employment and Labour for a general work visa - with condition that this application be adjudicated in terms of the Point-Based System which was implemented on 08 October 2024. This means that applicants are no longer required to submit a Labour Recommendation, nor do they need to apply for a separate waiver to have this requirement waived.
In addition, Minister Schreiber also partially waived the requirements in terms of Regulations 18 (3) (b) for general work visas, which in turn is the requirement of a SAQA evaluation certificate. Partial refers to the condition that provided that in a case where the outcome of the SAQA evaluation is not readily available at the time of the submission of a general work visa application, proof of an application submitted to SAQA must be included in the application and if successful, the general work visa will only be issued for a period of twelve (12) months. In the case of submission of the actual SAQA evaluation certificate, the visa will be issued for a period not exceeding five (5) years.
To confirm, the SAQA requirement is the process where foreign qualifications must be evaluated by the South African Qualifications Authority and to South Africa's nearest NQF level.
All applicants wishing to apply for general work visas must ensure they adhere to the Point Based System and must ensure they reach the 100-point threshold through a combination of points other than through an occupation listed on the critical skills list. They also need to ensure all other prescribed requirements are met.
Should you require any additional information regarding this waiver topic, you may reach out to us via our Contact Form on www.movingsouthimmigration.com. Alternatively, we may be reached on sue@movingsouthimmigration.com or +2773 5357 534.
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