As of the 2022 Census, South Africa is home to over 2.4 million foreign-born residents, among them around 7,400 individuals originally from the United States. While Americans make up a small share of the expatriate population, signs indicate a growing interest in making South Africa a long-term home.
On 29 May 2025, the Department of Employment and Labour published South Africa’s White Paper on the National Labour Migration Policy. The document outlines government’s official approach to managing cross-border labour mobility and sets the framework for how foreign skills will be accessed in the future.
Almost 80% of multinational and large corporations in South Africa experience an ongoing struggle to recruit critically skilled individuals, highlighting the severity of the talent shortage and its impact on business development, says Marisa Jacobs, Managing Director at the immigration specialist Xpatweb.
South Africa risks shutting the door to sought-after global professionals by not allowing direct employment access to their accompanying partners or spouses.
Role players in the immigration industry have welcomed the Department of Home Affairs’ (DHA) Smart ID rollout for naturalised citizens and permanent residents who, up to now, had to rely on the outdated green bar-coded ID books – leaving them vulnerable to the risk of fraud.
The successful deployment of drones to help secure South Africa’s borders and curb illegal crossings over the Easter Holiday stands as further testament to the Department of Home Affairs’ (DHA) vision of becoming a digital-first institution for enhanced service delivery and tackling pressing challenges through innovation.
It is well within the powers of the South African Revenue Services (SARS) to limit a taxpayer’s right to travel outside the Republic. A section in the Tax Administration Act (TAA) has a provision whereby a senior SARS official can even require “the taxpayer to surrender his or her passport to SARS”.
Former Home Affairs Director-General: Dr Mavuso Msimang will chair a newly appointed Immigration Advisory Board (IAB) to guide government policy. He recently led the Operation Vulindlela review of the visa system, was a co-founder of the African Parks Network, and previously held senior positions in SA Tourism and the State IT Agency (Sita).
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