The South Africa Critical Visa was introduced to ensure that the country was able to meet the different objectives of national projects such as the National Development Plan and the New Growth Plan that the country plans on implementing. The Critical Skills Work Visa (CSWV) therefore puts into consideration requirements, skills categories and the quotas that the country is targeting. These requirements were put into place by the demands of the occupations with low numbers as well as the list of scarce skills provided by the Department of Higher Education and Training.

For consideration for the critical skills work visa, an applicant has to have a valid passport, a medical report that is not older than 6 months, police clearance certificate if the individual is over the age of 18 years and a yellow fever vaccination certificate if the individual will pass through a yellow fever endemic area.

Apart from that, the applicant also has to provide proof that he/she falls under the critical skills category being applied for by indicating the specific field or occupation that the individual will be undertaking. This means that the profession or occupation has to be on the critical skills list before making the application. Additionally, the applicant also has to provide proof of registration to a recognized professional body to show that the individual is fully qualified to work in that sector. A letter has to be attached in this regard from the professional body to prove that the individual indeed has the proper qualifications and experience.

The employer also has to make sure that the employee’s passport is always valid during the entire duration of their term of employment. At the same time, the employer also has to accept the responsibility of deportation costs that may be incurred if the employee and his family violate the terms of this visa. Finally, the applicable payments have to be made when submitting the forms to enable the processing to begin.

The critical skills work permit is a temporary visa and allows the individual to stay in the country for a period of up to 5 years. However, an applicant does not have to have secured employment during the application process but will have to secure employment within the first 12 months of the granting of the visa in the specified field of specialization

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