It is common knowledge that South Africa has a high unemployment rate and a shortage of suitably qualified/skilled persons. However, South Africa continues to be the destination which expatriates, multi-nationals and investors see as the land of hope, growth, and new beginnings.
The Critical Skills List has been used to determine whether an applicant is eligible for a Critical Skills Work Visa, this has been a steadfast requirement for some time. However, with the release of the new Critical Skills List as of 2nd February 2022, the Department of Home Affairs will now dictate the eligibility for a Critical Skills Work Visa according to levels prescribed by the National Qualifications Framework (NQF).
The new Critical Skills list, which was gazetted in February 2022, includes numerous Engineering occupations such as Electrical, Chemical and Mining Engineers, which were left off of the draft list.
On February 2nd, 2022, the Minister of Home Affairs released an updated Critical Skills List (CSL) for Critical Skills Work Visas and Permanent Residence Permits in this category. The Critical Skills list stipulates which occupations and qualifications are deemed to be critical in the Republic of South Africa for either an application for a work visa or permanent residence permit. The list is comprised of 101 occupations that have been identified as critical for the South African labour market.
The Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) supported the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) in developing and applying a methodology to select occupations for the Critical Skills List (CSL) through the Labour Market Intelligence (LMI) research initiative in 2020. The CSL serves as the foundation for granting critical skills work visas (CSVs) to foreign nationals with critically scarce talents.
