Corporate permit

Corporate Permit

In today’s globalised economy, many companies prefer to look further afield than their base country in finding quality personnel. Very often, factors such as language proficiency and specialised training play a role in how companies approach the issue of recruitment. In order to assist multinational or foreign-owned companies in this regard, South African immigration legislation allows for the allocation of a so-called Corporate Permit to deserving companies.

South African legislation relating to companies makes it easy to do business in South Africa

In basic terms, the Corporate Permit allows a company based in South Africa to employ foreigners, and also provides a simplified process for granting a Work Permit to those employees. It is important to note that the Corporate Permit is not issued to a worker, but to the employing company.

In order to qualify for the Corporate Permit, the company needs to provide a detailed plan of its human resources, showing how many employees are required, how long they are going to be employed for, and how much they are going to be paid. The plan also needs to supply a comprehensive job description for each employee. The job description is essential because, in many cases, it can be used as proof that no South African citizen can be employed to do that specific job.

So, if you are struggling to find qualified or experienced personnel in South Africa, or if you have already identified people overseas whom you would like to employ, the Corporate Permit is definitely a potential solution to your recruitment situation. The Corporate Permit makes it easy to plan your human resource situation, and allows you to employ relatively large numbers of foreign workers for a set period of time.

Once a company has obtained the Corporate Permit, the employees then need to apply for Work Permits individually. However, the process whereby they make their applications is significantly streamlined, and also cheaper, in comparison to those making ordinary Work Permit applications, without the Corporate Permit.