{"id":866839,"date":"2026-07-20T14:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-07-20T12:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=866839"},"modified":"2026-07-20T16:19:54","modified_gmt":"2026-07-20T14:19:54","slug":"new-system-to-fast-track-visas-in-south-africa-launches-next-phase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/government\/866839\/new-system-to-fast-track-visas-in-south-africa-launches-next-phase\/","title":{"rendered":"New system to fast-track visas in South Africa launches next phase"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Department of Home Affairs has announced the launch of Phase II of its Trusted Employer Scheme (TES). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This initiative marks a significant step in modernising South Africa’s immigration system, which the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) said aims to reduce bureaucratic obstacles, attract investment, and support economic growth and job creation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phase II of the TES is a fully digital program designed to streamline and expedite work visa applications for qualifying companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DHA said that employers participating in the scheme will have access to an exclusive online portal, fewer documentation requirements, dedicated Key Account Managers, and accelerated visa processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DHA announced that, following the success of the initial phase, the expanded scheme will now encompass companies involved in strategic infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new phase is also said to include businesses establishing regional and global headquarters in South Africa, as well as eligible entities in the financial sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This initiative is part of the Department’s broader digital transformation agenda and features a dedicated online application process that will ultimately be integrated into the advanced Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) platform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

TES uses a risk-based approach to simplify visa applications for accredited employers, which the department said enables qualifying businesses to recruit critical skills faster, while upholding the integrity of the immigration system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To qualify, companies must demonstrate meaningful investment in South Africa, employ predominantly South African citizens or permanent residents, invest in skills development, and operate in priority sectors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applications to TES Phase II will be independently assessed by an interdepartmental committee to ensure a transparent, merit-based process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The launch of a bigger and better TES is yet another marker that Home Affairs increasingly works as an economic enabler, rather than as a constraint,\u201d said Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis directly contributes to the apex priority of the Government of National Unity, which is to grow the economy to create jobs,\u201d said Schreiber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said that the introduction of an online portal, as well as the ongoing work to transition TES into the world-class ETA platform, also forms part of the broader digital transformation agenda. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThrough our vision to deliver Home Affairs @ home, we are irrevocably committed to building a digital-first Department that enables investment, creates jobs, and makes South Africa\u2019s economy more globally competitive\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first phase of the TES<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) announced the Trusted Employer Scheme (TES) at the end of 2023, simplifying the visa application process for foreign workers for qualifying companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To be eligible, companies needed to meet specific criteria, including capital investment, offering graduate development programs, employing at least 60% South Africans, and maintaining good standing with relevant government departments, among other requirements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The DHA received 180 applications, of which 65 were approved. Additionally, 35 applicants were rejected for failing to meet the minimum criteria, but were given the opportunity to appeal for reconsideration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Several other companies submitted their applications late, which the DHA did not consider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was shared with Trusted Employers, and implementation was set to begin after the formalities were finalised. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the first phase of this system was launched, DHA Director of Corporate Accounts Phindiwe Mbhele told Xpatweb Managing Director, Marisa Jacobs, that the scheme was designed to allow South African employers to fast-track almost all visa categories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This includes the Critical Skills Work Visa, the Intra-Company Transfer Work Visa, and the General Work Visa, each with its own benefits and challenges. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, employers previously had to complete a SAQA verification and professional body registration for a Critical Skills Work Visa applicant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This process could take up to four months, which could significantly delay the visa acquisition process. The new system was aimed at enabling employers to mobilise talent much more quickly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, Mbhele emphasised that employers were still required to ensure that all qualifications, experience, and professional requirements are met, as failing to properly vet talent could have serious consequences for companies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The second phase of the Trusted Employer Scheme is underway, which could enable faster work visa applications.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":856337,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sma_x_autopost_status":"posted","_sma_x_autopost_error":"","_sma_x_post_id":"2079182291817935140","_sma_x_attempts":1,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[12715,25854,25855],"class_list":["post-866839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-government","tag-deaprtment-of-home-affairs","tag-trusted-employer-scheme","tag-work-visa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866839","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=866839"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866839\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":866892,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866839\/revisions\/866892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/856337"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=866839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=866839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=866839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}