Say what you will about the former Minster of Home Affairs but he was indeed a man of action. Whether his actions were right or wrong in the public`s eye he still took action. On the 21st of April 2016 the Minister granted a blanket waiver to graduates from South African universities who studied degrees in the area of critical skills.
The Exemption was uploaded on the the VFS website and can be downloaded on the following link http://www.vfsglobal.com/dha/southafrica/pdf/PR-critical-skills-waiver.pdf . This is significant for the many foreigners who graduated from SA universities but were struggling to apply for permanent residence because they did not meet the requirements.
The Waiver waives 3 requirements for Permanent Residence under section 27(b) ;
- confirmation of the Skills or Qualifications from a SAQA accredited professional body, bod or council or relevant government department;
- Submission of proof of post qualification experience of at least 5 years
- Submission of testimonials from previous employers and comprehensive CV.
Effectively what this means is that when applying for the Permanent Residence the applicant must comply with the general requirements and produce his or her degree certificate from and SA institution and register with the professional body only. It is not clear if applications under this category can be submitted without existing critical skills work visa but having one certainly does improve the chances of success.
For more information or assistance with your Permanent Residence application or any other immigration matter contractor offices.
Munyaradzi Nkomo
Lead immigration specialist at Strategies Migration Services SA
Email munya@immigrationspecialists.co.za
Cell: +2774 337 0269
tel : +2711 064 4875
www.immigrationspecialists.co.za