South Africa bill could add approval hurdles to skilled foreign hiring

South Africa’s proposed Employment Services Amendment Bill could add a second approval stage for foreign nationals who have already been admitted to work, raising the prospect of delays in hiring for high-skill roles. The Daily Maverick argues that the added process could slow lawful recruitment, including for skills the government has identified as scarce.

The bill’s proposed section 2(1)(h) would require the Act to facilitate and regulate the employment of foreign nationals who are not illegal foreigners. The Daily Maverick’s central concern is that other provisions could impose an additional labour-market test on holders of critical-skills visas under section 19(4) of the Immigration Act.

That would subject workers in a category created for occupations in short supply to a further assessment before employers can hire them. The proposal would mark a change from the approach described in the article: the 2022 draft allowed employers to exceed a quota when a foreign national filled a position requiring critical skills.

South Africa’s points-based system, in force since October 2024, automatically gives an applicant whose occupation appears on the Critical Skills List enough points to meet the threshold for a critical-skills work visa. The proposed labour-market test could therefore add a step after that eligibility threshold is met. The bill is being debated amid high unemployment.

South Africa’s latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey reports an official rate of 33.6%; the broader measure rises to 43.8% when it includes people who want work but have stopped seeking it. The Daily Maverick says tackling concern about foreign employment is a stated government priority, while warning that restrictions could obstruct recruitment for jobs requiring scarce skills.

Opposition to the bill has also drawn substantial online participation. joburgetc.com, citing IOL, reported that a petition by the South African Constitution Reform movement against the proposal received more than 155,700 submissions in 72 hours. That figure measures petition submissions, not a vote or an established measure of public opinion.

The petition’s reported traffic included 59,960 visits from Johannesburg and roughly 57,000 from Durban. The movement reported that KwaZulu-Natal made up 36% of participation and Gauteng 32%, with 52,390 responses recorded in Gauteng.

These figures show the petition’s reported geographic reach; they do not establish how participants’ views compare with those of the wider population. The policy tension is between the stated goal of regulating foreign employment and the concern that another screening stage could make it harder to fill high-skill vacancies.

The cited reporting does not identify a final legislative decision or establish how the proposed approval process would operate in practice.