Question NW405 to the Minister of Home Affairs
07 March 2023 - NW405
van der Merwe, Ms LL to ask the Minister of Home Affairs
Whether, he will clarify the position on e-visas as stated by the President of the Republic, Mr M C Ramaphosa, during the State of the Nation address that after the Government has completed a comprehensive review of the work visa system, it will move quickly to implement the recommendations put forward and will also introduce a remote worker visa, compared to his statement in 2022 that the current visa categories are legislated by the Immigration Act, Act 13 of 2002, and that in its current form the Act does not make provision for a digital nomad e-visa, therefore there are no plans to implement a digital nomad e-visa; if not, (a) why not and (b) what are the timeframes in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
a) Honourable Speaker, the Department has developed a plan for the implementation of the recommendations from the Vulindlela Team that compiled a report on the review of the work visa regime and part of the implementation plan is the amendment of the Legislation and Regulations to include the remote work visa.
b) The amendment of the Regulations will be undertaken in the new financial year, 2023/2024, while the Legislation is still at the Green Paper stage.
END