{"id":848841,"date":"2026-01-28T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=848841"},"modified":"2026-01-27T17:49:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T15:49:25","slug":"one-of-south-africas-most-important-groups-of-people-is-leaving","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/848841\/one-of-south-africas-most-important-groups-of-people-is-leaving\/","title":{"rendered":"One of South Africa’s most important groups of people is leaving"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

South Africa’s healthcare workers are facing steep unemployment challenges, leading many to emigrate to countries such as Canada, Australia, the United States, Portugal, and the United Kingdom, which offer job security and growth opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emigration experts have flagged a rise in healthcare professionals looking to emigrate for job opportunities, continuing a trend highlighted by reports in 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“One in four emails we get is always from a healthcare professional wanting to emigrate,” said Beaver Immigration consultant Nicholas Avramis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Canada, which faces shortages of 60,000 nurses and 10,000 family doctors, has become an appealing emigration destination for South African healthcare workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By 2024, Canada had authorised over 7,781 temporary work permits for South Africans, of which 600 were for healthcare professionals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Those demand\/supply numbers are going to continue to increase in 2026, even though Canada is tightening up its doors to immigration,” said Avramis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Immigration consultants have reported a significant increase in inquiries from South African healthcare workers, with Beaver Immigration noting a 50% rise in interest since early 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avramis also noted a common trend among South African healthcare specialists applying for one-year fellowships in Canada, with the hope of staying longer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He stated that fellowships are a popular entry route to Canada because healthcare workers entering through this program are exempt from the strict Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA) requirements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a year of employment in Canada, South African nationals may apply for permanent residency. Avramis noted that South African doctors are well aware of this opportunity and its potential benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Canada is short 70,000 nurses for the next ten years, and there are not enough medical schools or young people to fill these spots,” said Avramis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the demand for nurses in Canada remains strong, South African nurses face challenges relocating due to insufficient funds for emigration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This situation leaves them relying on large recruitment events and opportunities offering fully covered positions, which are rare. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beaver Immigration noted that, in addition to specialists, nurses, general practitioners, pharmacists, and dentists, more are expected to apply to emigrate in 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Africa’s mass exodus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In 2025, it was reported that over 125,000 healthcare professionals had resigned in South Africa over the previous decade, highlighting a crisis within the system that is driving willing professionals out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Health has revealed that from 2013 to 2025, South Africa lost 12,745 doctors, 58,897 nurses, 1,341 pharmacists, and 23,941 administrative personnel. In addition, 28,199 other healthcare practitioners have also left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South African Medical Association (SAMA) vice chairperson Dr Zanele Bikitsha confirmed that nearly 6,000 doctors and nurses resign from government hospitals each year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to doctors and nurses, the country is facing a shortage of medical specialists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A recent wave of resignations caused three cardiologists to leave the largest hospital in the southern hemisphere, Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, in December 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of December, the hospital had lost all of its cardiologists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additionally, three out of the four ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialists in the department have also resigned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bikitsha said that, despite popular belief, the resignations are not due to an unwillingness to work, but rather due to a lack of positions available in the public sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the open letter from SAMA, which was addressed to the president in early 2025, the association reported that over 1,800 junior doctors who had completed their training and community service were sitting unemployed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Many are forced to volunteer, work without pay in the public sector, just to maintain their
skills and hope for eventual employment. This fuels emigration, exacerbating the brain drain and further weakening our healthcare system,” said SAMA in its letter to the president.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With over 125,000 healthcare professionals having resigned in South Africa over the last decade, Canada has become a popular emigration destination.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":660223,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9876],"tags":[14273,11325,6697,10090,11240],"class_list":["post-848841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-beaver-immigration","tag-brain-drain","tag-canada","tag-emigration","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=848841"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848841\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":849023,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/848841\/revisions\/849023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/660223"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=848841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=848841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=848841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}