Companies working on South Africa’s digital communications infrastructure will earn the maximum sector score under the second phase of the department of home affairs’ Trusted Employer Scheme (TES), which opened for expressions of interest on Monday.

The scheme, which pre-vets employers so that their work visa applications face reduced documentary requirements and priority processing, was gazetted on 20 July in the Government Gazette. The notice was signed by home affairs minister Leon Schreiber on 11 July.

Under the first of three scoring pathways, which covers South African-based operations, applicants are marked out of 100 across four factors: investment pledges (30 points), employment (25), economic sector (25) and skills transfer (20). Companies must reach a minimum of 80 points to qualify.

The sector criterion is where the tech industry stands to benefit. The gazette awards 15 points to companies in manufacturing, advanced manufacturing, services and resource-based industries, but 25 points – the full allocation – to those in energy or in “strategic integrated projects”, which the notice defines as covering “energy, transport, water management and digital communications”. Applicants need a certificate from the department of trade, industry & competition confirming the sector in which they operate.

To score on employment, a company must have at least 100 staff, of whom at least 60% are South African citizens or permanent residents. That rises to 25 points for more than 150 staff on the same ratio. Companies with fewer than 100 employees score zero on this factor, which places most local start-ups outside the pathway.

Investment

The investment factor requires fixed capital investment above R100-million, excluding operational expenditure, either as a pledge to the South Africa Investment Conference or as proven investment since 2018. Investments between R100-million and R200-million earn 20 points; above R200-million earns 30.

The second pathway targets companies that run, or undertake to establish within 12 months, a regional or global head office in South Africa. It weights financial contribution most heavily, at 50 points, requiring cumulative corporate income tax and PAYE contributions to Sars of more than R500-million over the last two tax years. Companies yet to establish the office can qualify on an auditor’s factual findings report confirming more than R500-million is budgeted.

Read: SA tech graduates arrive in jobs unprepared as skills gap widens

A third pathway, new to phase 2, covers what the gazette calls synthetic financial centres in the South African financial sector. It hinges on authorisation from the Reserve Bank’s financial surveillance department.

That pathway routes visa applications through an “SFC visa facilitation office” that must certify that “all proposed roles are mapped to qualifying OFO codes on the critical skills list, including any additions proposed and accepted by” home affairs, and that the applicant has passed pre-screening for compliance with the department’s points-based work visa system.

Richard Firth, CEO of software firm MIP Holdings, said the scorecards reveal what the scheme is really for.

“The scorecards make it clear that this isn’t simply an immigration policy, it’s an investment policy,” he said. “Large capital investment, significant corporate tax contributions and establishing regional headquarters are heavily rewarded. Government is effectively saying: if you invest meaningfully in South Africa, we’ll make it easier to bring in the people you need to build your business.”

Firth argued in January that South Africa’s regulatory environment made it easier for multinationals to move local skills offshore than to invest in them at home. He said phase 2 goes some way towards addressing that.

“By rewarding companies that establish regional headquarters, invest significant capital and create employment here, South Africa becomes a more attractive place for global businesses to expand. That creates more high-value jobs for South Africans and increases the likelihood that talented professionals remain in the country rather than looking abroad.”

But he questioned how the gazette weights skills transfer. The factor is worth 20 of 100 points on the first pathway. It does not appear at all among the four factors on the head office pathway, and carries five points on the financial sector scorecard, where the accompanying commitment is to employ a minimum of five South African citizens or permanent residents within 24 months of starting operations.

Knowledge

“The real question is whether we’re using immigration to build local capability or simply to fill immediate gaps,” Firth said. “Skills transfer is worth 20 points under the investment pathway, yet it disappears entirely for companies establishing regional or global headquarters, where tax contribution becomes the dominant measure.

“Long-term economic success depends on knowledge staying behind. Every specialist who enters the country should leave South Africa with more local capability than existed before they arrived. A faster visa process should be viewed as an accelerator for skills development, not a substitute for it.”

Read: South Africa’s skills advantage is being overlooked at home

Jobs portal owner Pnet said the scheme would help employers facing skills shortages, but flagged its reach. “The scheme is primarily designed for larger employers that can demonstrate significant investment, skills development and economic contribution,” it said. “Many smaller businesses may struggle to benefit directly from the programme, despite facing acute challenges in recruiting and retaining specialised talent.”

It said the benefits could still extend over time to “smaller businesses that compete with larger companies for the same talent but cannot match their salaries, benefits packages or career opportunities”.

The department said phase 2 “features a dedicated online application process that will ultimately be integrated into the world-class Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) platform”.

Schreiber said in February that home affairs intends to route all visa processing through the ETA and eliminate manual processing by the end of the current administration in 2029.

“The launch of a bigger and better TES is yet another marker that home affairs increasingly works as an economic enabler, rather than as a constraint,” Schreiber said in a statement.

Read: South Africa’s most overlooked export: our tech talent

The gazette is blunt about who the scheme is not for: its stated purpose is to ease the processing of applications for “senior executives, technical personnel, corporate employees and investors”. It states plainly that it is “not for the employment of unskilled and low-wage labour”.

Expressions of interest close on 4 September 2026, with outcomes due within 30 working days of that date. Successful applicants will be expected to sign a memorandum of agreement with the department. – © 2026 NewsCentral Media