In his recent State of the Nation address President Ramaphosa again stated that a Remote Working Visa would be introduced in South Africa. It is important to note however that he said exactly the same thing in last years State of the Nation address, and nothing has happened since them.

In fact when the Minister of Home Affairs was asked last year in parliament about the introduction of the Remote Working Visa he dismissed it, and advised that the current legislation doesn’t make provision for the introduction of a remote working visa and accordingly there were no plans to introduce one. Let’s hope that the President and Minister of Home Affairs are now on the same page.

The Western Cape Government has been pushing for the introduction of such a visa since May 2021, and has provided a draft of how the existing legislation can be amended to allow for the introduction of a Remote Working Visa.

South Africa is getting left behind with catering to the needs of tourists that can work from anywhere in the world, and over 40 countries now provide some kind of special visa catering for the lifestyle of “digital nomads”.