The Department of Home Affairs has issued a directive about the rules for Short Term Work Authorisations or Section 11 (2) Visitors Visas with endorsement to conduct work.

The rules that are set out in the directive are the following:

1. An applicant may make only one application for a Section 11 (2) Visa in a calendar year.
2. A Section 11 (2) visa will not be initially issued for a period exceeding 3 months.
3. Where the applicant makes an application for an extension the extension may be allowed for a period not exceeding 3 months.
4. If a visa was issued with dates that overlap into a new calendar year then the dates falling into the new calendar year will be calculated as part of the new calendar year.
5. When submitting an application for an extension the adjudicators will check that the person does not end up spending more than 180 days in South Africa in a calendar year.
6. A Section 11 (2) visa should not be used for conducting ongoing regular work activity.

As stated above the directive explicitly clarifies that Section 11 (2) visas are not to be for the purposes of conducting regular ongoing work.

It is important to take note of this as it indicates that the Department of Home Affairs are aware that such visas are being misused, and that companies are using Section 11 (2) Visa’s in order to bring applicants to South Africa for the purposes of conducting regular ongoing work instead of rather making applications for long term work visas.