Critical Skills List updated

IMPACT – MEDIUM

The South African government has added occupations to the 2022 Critical Skills List.

Key Points:

• As of Aug. 2, those who work in 38 additional healthcare occupations are now eligible for Critical Skills work visas and, potentially, permanent residency if they have the requisite post-qualification working experience.
• Eligible applicants with appropriate skills, qualifications and post-qualification experience falling within the parameters of one or more of the critical skills categories may apply for a Critical Skills Work Visa, subject to meeting application requirements.
• The Critical Skills List now includes 140 occupation categories, including in a number of STEM fields such as information technology, engineering and natural sciences, among others.
• The updated list also covers a number of categories for health-related professions, including nurses, general and specialist medical practitioners and researchers were removed.

Additional Information: The Critical Skills List reflects skill sets that are deemed critical for South Africa and its economy. The list affects which occupations companies and other institutions are eligible to recruit and hire foreign workers for without needing to conduct labor market testing.

BAL Analysis: The announcement of an updated Critical Skills List is welcome news as the Feb. 2 list did not include many healthcare occupations.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com.

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