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South Africa’s Critical Skills List names 142 occupations, from actuaries and data scientists to millwrights and specialist anaesthetists. The version in force was published by the Minister of Home Affairs as Notice R. 3934 in Government Gazette 49402 of 3 October 2023, and it replaced the list published in 2022.
As at September 2026, it is still the list the Department of Home Affairs links from its own Critical Skills Visa page. Many guides, including an earlier version of this article, reproduce older lists, so check the date before you rely on one.
What the list is used for
The notice determines skills “to be critical for the Republic of South Africa in relation to an application for a critical skills work visa or permanent residence permit”.
For the Critical Skills Work Visa, the list decides the route. Since October 2024 (current figures in Notice 5448 of 18 October 2024), Critical Skills and General Work applications have been scored on a 100-point test, and an occupation on the list is worth the full 100 points by itself. That entry sends an application down the Critical Skills route rather than the General Work Visa route. Our guide to how the points-based system scores work visa applications covers the rest of the table.
The same list underpins applications for permanent residence in South Africa based on critical skills.
How the gazette sets out each occupation
The schedule has no subject categories apart from one heading over the 32 specialist medical and dental entries. It is one numbered table, and each row carries six things:
- the number, 1 to 142
- an OFO code from the 2021 Organising Framework for Occupations
- the occupation name
- the OFO description of the work
- the minimum qualification
- the professional-body registration required
Management, engineering and finance entries mostly ask for NQF level 8 (honours, postgraduate diploma or four-year bachelor’s). Most science entries, and Architect, Urban and Regional Planner, Biomedical Engineer and Economist, ask for a master’s at NQF 9. ICT entries ask for a bachelor’s or advanced diploma at NQF 7, technologists and technicians for a diploma or advanced certificate at NQF 6, and the trades for a National or Intermediate Certificate (NQF 4 or 3). Medical and dental specialists need a Master of Medicine or Master of Dentistry.
Every row also names the registration required. For almost every entry that is a professional body, council or board recognised by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA). For the specialist medical and dental practitioners it is the Health Professions Council, together with active registration in the country where the practitioner currently practises, and for the nursing categories it is the South African Nursing Council. The one exception is University Lecturer, where the gazette says no SAQA professional body is required and asks instead for a letter of support from the dean, head of school or university registrar.
The 142 occupations, grouped by field
The groups below are ours; the names are the gazette’s, shortened where it adds a long qualifier.
| Field | Count | Occupations on the list |
|---|---|---|
| Management | 14 | Director (Enterprise or Organisation, medium enterprises or larger); Policy and Planning Manager; Corporate General Manager (medium enterprises or larger); Programme or Project Manager; Quality Systems Manager; Customer Service Manager (BPO sector); Research and Development Manager; Manufacturing Operations Manager; Engineering Manager; Supply and Distribution Manager; Chief Information Officer; Data Management Manager; Environmental Manager; Call or Contact Centre Manager |
| Natural and earth sciences | 17 | Physicist; Climate Change Scientist; Chemist; Geologist; Geophysicist; Materials Scientist; Mineralogist; Hydrologist; Oceanographer; General Biologist; Biotechnologist; Microbiologist; Zoologist; Agricultural Scientist; Food and Beverage Scientist; Conservation Scientist; Environmental Scientist |
| Engineering, architecture and planning | 23 | Industrial, Civil, Mechanical, Aeronautical, Chemical and Agricultural Engineer, and the Engineering Technologist in each of those six fields; Mining Engineer; Metallurgist; Biomedical Engineer; Naval Architect; Quantity Surveyor; Electrical Engineering Technologist; Energy Engineer; Energy Engineering Technologist; Electronics Engineer; Architect; Urban and Regional Planner |
| Technicians and drafting | 5 | Chemistry Technician; Town Planning Technician; Electronic Engineering Technician; Mechanical Engineering Technician; Draughtsperson |
| ICT and digital | 12 | ICT Systems Analyst; Data Scientist; Software Developer; Programmer Analyst; Developer Programmer; Applications Programmer; Computers Quality Assurance Analyst; Computer Network and Systems Engineer; Network Analyst; ICT Security Specialist; Multimedia Specialist; Multimedia Designer |
| Finance, economics and business | 14 | Actuary; Tax Professional; External Auditor; Internal Auditor; Forensic Accountant; Investment Analyst; Investment Manager; Investment Advisor; Corporate Treasurer; Organisational Risk Manager; Business Development Officer; Policy Analyst; Market Research Analyst; Economist |
| Specialist medicine and dentistry | 32 | Specialist dentists in five fields (community dentistry, maxillo and oral pathology, maxillo-facial and oral surgery, oral medicine and periodontics, prosthodontics); specialist medical practitioners in 27 fields: anaesthesiology, cardiothoracic surgery, clinical pharmacology, public health, dermatology, diagnostic radiology, emergency medicine, medicine, neurology, neurosurgery, obstetrics and gynaecology, ophthalmology, orthopaedics, otorhinolaryngology, paediatrics, seven pathology fields (anatomical, chemical, clinical, forensic, haematological, microbiological, virological), plastic and reconstructive surgery, psychiatry, radiation oncology, surgery, urology |
| Nursing, pharmacy and veterinary | 10 | Specialist Nurse Educator; Registered Nurse in intensive or critical care, mental health, peri-operative (theatre), emergency (trauma) and child (paediatric) nursing; Registered Nurse Midwife Specialist; Industrial Pharmacist; Veterinarian; Veterinary Nurse |
| Education | 3 | University Lecturer (senior lecturer and above, in listed subject categories only); FET Phase School Teacher, Grades 10 to 12, STEM subjects only; Senior Phase School Teacher, Grades 8 and 9, STEM subjects only |
| Aviation | 2 | Air Traffic Controller; Occupational Instructor (Air-Traffic Space) |
| Contact centres | 2 | Inbound and Outbound Contact Centre Consultant, each requiring first-language ability in one of the languages the gazette names, among them German, Dutch, French, Italian, Spanish and Mandarin |
| Trades | 8 | Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Mechanic; Metal Machinist; Millwright; Mechatronics Technician; Lift Mechanic; Electrical Equipment Mechanic; Transportation Electrician; Instrument Mechanician (Industrial Instrumentation and Process Control) |
Occupations people expect to find, and do not
- Chartered Accountant is not an occupation on the list. The nearest entries are External Auditor, Internal Auditor, Forensic Accountant and Tax Professional, and each is matched on its own description.
- General medical practitioners are not listed. The medical entries are all specialists.
- General registered nurses are not listed. Only the six specialist nursing categories and the specialist nurse educator appear.
- Electrical Engineer is not listed, although Electrical Engineering Technologist is.
If your title is close to an entry but not the same, the OFO description is what counts, so we compare the duties in your employment contract with it.
The notes at the end of the schedule
The first of four notes after the table states that “a critical skills work visa is not a work-seekers visa”. Every application must come with an offer of employment from an employer that is verifiable and in good standing with the Department of Employment and Labour.
The fourth note says engineering applicants registered with a SAQA-recognised body as “Candidate” will be considered, on condition that they work under the supervision of a qualified professional where applicable. The second and third send Corporate General Manager, Director and University Lecturer applicants to extra requirements in the Critical Skills Technical Report on the Department’s notices page.
Beyond the list: the rest of the case
The list is set by ministerial notice, so it can change. The government’s revised White Paper on citizenship, immigration and refugee protection would fold both work visas into one skilled worker category; until legislation and a new notice follow, the 2023 list applies.
The list tells you whether your occupation qualifies. It does not settle the rest of the case: the SAQA evaluation of your qualification, the professional-body registration, the job offer and the supporting evidence.
If your occupation is on the list, or nearly on it, our Critical Skills Work Visa page sets out those requirements and how we assess and prepare the case.
First published
