“I graduated here in South Africa in 2019 and gained experience working remotely for a Dutch firm, but have been unable to grab a skilled visa despite receiving three job offers here,” says Dephine, a database design specialist from Zimbabwe.
“Each time, I’m told there are South Africans who can do my job.”
The Southern African-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned last week that 100,000 essential jobs in South Africa are at risk because South Africa won’t quickly approve the skilled visas required to bring trained foreign workers like machine technicians and CEOs.
German companies from Mercedes Benz to Bayer are some of the largest foreign employers in South Africa and trade between the two countries has increased from $3.72bn in 1995 to $8.89bn in 2021.
According to a Bloomberg report, between 2014 and 2021, just 25,298 skilled-worker permits were approved by South Africa’s
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