South Africa’s plan to attract remote workers with a new nomad visa has been delayed due to the need to update tax laws.
Initially, the rollout of the visa faced setbacks because the proposed changes did not adhere to the required public consultation processes. President Cyril Ramaphosa first unveiled the plan for this remote-working visa during his 2022 state-of-the-nation address, VisaGuide.World reports.
South Africa’s complex work permit system, which can take over a year to navigate, has been identified as a barrier to economic growth by the presidency and major business groups.
There is just a tax-related matter that needs to be addressed in the regulations. Once that is done, the department will commence with the rollout.
South Africa Cuts Visa Backlog in Half & Proposes Tax-Free Remote Worker Plan
Since the new coalition government was formed on June 30, the backlog of over 300,000 residence permit applications has been reduced by half.
As Bloomberg explains, the Home Affairs Ministry initially suggested a plan where remote workers, earning at least one million rand ($56,490) annually, could live in South Africa for up to six months without paying local taxes.
Earlier this year, VisaGuide reported that South Africa approved its digital nomad, which aimed to attract tech talent. The Department of Home Affairs proposed changes to immigration laws to support this initiative.
After publishing the draft regulations in February, the government invited public feedback to influence the final visa rules. However, local media reports indicate that the final regulations were identical to the draft, suggesting that public input was not considered.
Andreas Krensel, founder of IBN Immigration Solutions, criticized the lack of consideration for public opinion in the legislative process, calling it a significant issue.
South African authorities revealed a significant visa processing backlog in May this year, with 92,157 pending visas. The Department of Home Affairs continued to struggle with this issue, with Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi identifying spousal visas as a major contributor to the delay.
The backlog includes 18,661 applications for the Relative’s Visa (Spouse) and 41,083 for the Visitor’s Visa Section 11(6) (Spousal). Other notable backlogs were seen in the Relative’s Visa (minor child) with 3,883 applications, the Visitor’s Visa Section 11(1)(b)(iv) (Work > three months) with 2,609 applications, and the Relative’s Visa (brother) Section 18.
On the other hand, the Visitor’s Visa Section 11(1)(b)(i) (Academic) and the Exchange Visa Section 22 have the smallest backlogs, with only 14 and eight applications pending, respectively.