The Department of Home Affairs has announced the gazetting of the highly anticipated Remote Work Visitor Visa and the new Points-Based System for Work Visas.

In July 2024, President Cyril Ramaphosa outlined the Government of National Unity’s (GNU) collective mandate ito “overhaul the visa regime to attract skills and investment and grow the tourism sector.”

Just three months later, Home Affairs has delivered on this mandate through a set of world-class reforms.

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said:

“The gazetting of all required elements for the Remote Work Visitor Visa and the new Points-Based System for Work Visas amounts to the single most progressive and pro-jobs regulatory reform South Africa has seen in decades. The Department’s meticulous attention to detail to ensure that these reforms are fit-for-purpose and market-friendly, has resulted in two products that begin to reposition South Africa as a world-class destination for investment and tourism to create thousands of new jobs for South Africans. Importantly, the new points-based system also introduces a transparent framework to adjudicate visas in order to tackle corruption.”

The Remote Work Visa enables highly paid individuals who are employed abroad and thus do not compete with local workers, to spend their valuable foreign currency right here in South Africa, pay Value-Added Tax into the South African fiscus, eat at South African restaurants, and buy South African goods and services from South African producers.

The new Points-Based System for Work Visas combats corruption and inefficiency by cutting red tape and introducing a transparent points scale to objectively determine who qualifies for a Critical Skills or General Work Visa.

Additionally, for General Work Visa applications submitted outside of the Trusted Employer Scheme, a newly-introduced threshold of R650 796 in gross annual income – which amounts to double the median income in the formal sector – will better protect existing jobs at the lower end of the market while injecting skills at the top.

Premier Alan Winde has lauded this critical milestone, saying it will go a long way in boosting the provincial economy and creating more jobs.

“We must collectively explore ways to unlock the potential of the Western Cape and the country’s economy. Our province has long been seen as a prime investment destination. This is a vital step towards attracting even more investment and assisting our economic recovery.”

Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis adds Cape Town is an ideal remote working destination and now people stay longer in the city and spend more money to the benefit of local businesses.