The Department of Home Affairs says it has seen strong interest in its new remote work visa, with many foreigners expressing desire in Cape Town. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In October, Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber gazetted far-reaching reforms for South Africa\u2019s visa regime, such as the Remote Visa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Born from Covid-19 when many workers were working from home or remotely, many countries issued new visas to accommodate mobile professionals from other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Although the South African Department of Home Affairs received similar requests, no visa existed locally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Department thus decided to introduce legislation to tackle this deficiency, which should see foreign nationals spending their earning locally and paying taxes to SARS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
South Africa joins roughly 50 countries that grant visas to allow remote work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new visa will thus high-earning foreigners who are employed as international professionals and work in South Africa as remote workers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
These individuals have to provide proof of employment, with workers needing at least R650,000 per annum. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
They will need to have a valid passport, no criminal record, and be from a country where South Africa has a tax agreement with another country to ensure that their funds go into the local fiscuss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In certain cases, workers will need to submit a certificate of vaccination, such as Yellow Fever. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Speaking with Xpatweb MD Marissa Jacobs, Phindiwe Mbhele, Director of Corporate Accounts at the Department of Home Affairs, said that there has been an uptick in enquiries from remote workers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Department also anticipates a huge uptake of the Remote Work Visa in 2025 as the news about the visas starts to gain traction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mbhele added that there will be a significant rise in interest in the remote work visa due to workers’ preference for working remotely across the globe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He alluded to a study by the international company Buffer where 98% of respondents indicated that they would like to work remotely at some point in their careers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Xpatweb said that there are currently an estimated 40 million digital nomads globally, which could grow to 60 million by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LinkedIn estimated that 10,000 of the world\u2019s remote workers are working from South Africa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mbhele added that reports and rankings have the potential to boost South Africa’s appeals to foreigners, such as recent TimeOut rankings, which named Cape Town as the best city in the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n