Corporate Work Visa
The Corporate Work Visa is the route a South African company uses to bring in foreign staff under a single corporate authorisation. The employer first secures a Corporate Visa setting the number of foreign workers it may hire; each worker is then issued a visa linked to that authorisation. It suits companies hiring several foreign employees at once rather than a single individual.
Free assessment. A client manager will call you.
Eligibility
An employer that holds a valid Corporate Visa
The route only works where the South African company has a Corporate Visa approved by the Department of Home Affairs, which authorises it to employ a set number of foreign workers. The worker visa exists only as a link to that corporate authorisation, so the employer's application comes first.
A role within the employer's authorised numbers
Your position has to fall within the number of foreign workers the employer's Corporate Visa allows. The employer assigns you against that authorisation as part of your application.
A contract tied to the sponsoring company
You need an employment contract and a letter of assignment referencing the corporate authorisation. The visa lets you work only for the sponsoring company; it does not allow you to change employers.
Qualifications or experience that fit the role
Foreign qualifications need a SAQA evaluation, or your skills and experience have to match the job. Where your profession requires registration with a professional body, that registration is needed too. We confirm what applies to your role on your free assessment call.
Police clearances and passport
A valid passport and police clearance for each country you have lived in for twelve months or more after the age of eighteen, during the five years before your application.
From free assessment to approval
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01 · Employer, with us
Employer's Corporate Visa
Labour certificate first, then a set number of workers
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02 · Employer issues, we guide
Assign workers
Contract and letter of assignment
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03 · We review
Assemble and review
One complete file per worker
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04 · In person, with us
Submission
Each worker, separately
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Home Affairs
Decision
On each worker's visa
Each step in detail
Employer's Corporate Visa
With a certificate from the Department of Employment and Labour in hand, the company applies to the Department of Home Affairs for a Corporate Visa, which sets the number of foreign workers it may employ. This authorisation is the foundation for everything that follows.
Assign workers against the authorisation
Once the corporate authorisation is in place, each worker is assigned a role within the approved numbers and issued a contract and letter of assignment referencing it.
Assemble and review worker files
Each worker's contract, letter of assignment, copy of the employer's Corporate Visa, passport and police clearance are assembled and reviewed before submission.
2-4 weeks
Submission and adjudication
Submissions are in person. If you are our client, we can personally accompany and support each worker at the VFS centres in Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg. For submissions at a South African mission abroad, we prepare each worker fully and guide them through the process, but we cannot attend. Processing and adjudication timelines vary depending on the application type and the relevant authority.
8-26 weeks
Mistakes that cost a refusal
Treating the worker visa as standalone. It is tied to the employer's Corporate Visa, so if that authorisation lapses or is cancelled, that in effect ends the linked worker visas.
Starting the worker applications before the employer's Corporate Visa is in place. The corporate authorisation has to exist first; the worker visas hang off it.
Assuming the visa allows a job move. It does not: it is tied to the sponsoring company, and changing employers means a fresh application under another route.
Expecting a direct route to permanent residence. The Corporate Work Visa does not provide one; reaching residence means switching to another category, such as Critical Skills.
How the route works in practice
The Corporate Work Visa is built for companies, not individuals. Where a South African business needs to bring in several foreign employees rather than one, it can apply for a Corporate Visa that authorises a set number of foreign hires, and then place each worker on a visa linked to that authorisation. For the right employer it is more efficient than running a separate work visa application for every person.
It is a two-part route, and the order matters. The employer’s Corporate Visa has to be in place first, because each worker visa exists only as a link to it.
How the two applications fit together
- 2. Then each worker appliesCorporate Work Visa: worker 1
- 2. Then each worker appliesCorporate Work Visa: worker 2
- 2. Then each worker appliesUp to the authorised number
With a certificate from the Department of Employment and Labour in hand, the company applies to the Department of Home Affairs for a Corporate Visa. That authorisation sets out how many foreign workers the company may employ. Once it is approved, each worker is assigned a role within those numbers and applies for a Corporate Work Visa that references the corporate authorisation. The worker visa lasts up to three years, generally tracking the corporate authorisation and never outlasting it. It cannot be renewed inside South Africa, so a further visa means a new application from outside the country.
The dependency runs one way. If the employer’s Corporate Visa lapses or is withdrawn, that in effect ends every worker visa linked to it. That is why we treat the corporate authorisation and the worker files as a single, sequenced piece of work rather than separate jobs.
What the visa does and does not allow
A Corporate Work Visa lets you work for the sponsoring company, and nothing wider. It does not allow you to change employers, and it does not carry a built-in route to permanent residence. If reaching residence is part of your plan, that means moving to another visa category in time, such as the Critical Skills Work Visa, and we will say so at the outset rather than let it come as a surprise.
Your family is not shut out. A spouse or life partner and dependent children can apply for accompanying visas, and children can study in South Africa. An accompanying partner visa carries no right to work, so a partner who wants to work needs a work visa of their own, and we look at which one fits.
What we do
What we offer is a South African team that handles both halves of this route, the employer’s Corporate Visa and the individual worker visas, keeps them consistent and compliant, and gets the submission right first time. If your company is weighing up how to bring in foreign staff, the next step is a focused conversation about the roles you need to fill and the numbers involved.
What that buys you
We handle both halves of this route: the employer's Corporate Visa and the individual worker visas that link to it, so they are sequenced correctly.
We keep the worker files inside the authorised numbers and consistent with the corporate authorisation, because each worker visa exists only as a link to it.
We assemble and pressure-test each worker file before submission, so they go in once and go in right.
We are clear from the start that this route has no direct path to permanent residence, so the company plans around that rather than discovering it later.
We work on a transparent flat fee, quoted once we understand your case. We do not publish prices because the right number is the case-specific one.
Sources
South African immigration is decided by the Department of Home Affairs. These are the official pages behind what you have just read, so you can check it against the source rather than take our word for it.
- Department of Home Affairs: immigration services
Authoritative for visa and permit categories, requirements and application channels.
Guided by our team in Cape Town
Every page here is maintained by Intergate Immigration’s client managers in Cape Town, the same people who handle your case from the free assessment to approval.
Meet the team
Questions people ask
What is the difference between a Corporate Visa and a Corporate Work Visa?
The company applies for the Corporate Visa, which authorises it to employ a set number of foreign workers. Each worker is then issued a Corporate Work Visa linked to that authorisation. One is the employer's authorisation, the other is the individual's permission to work under it.
How long is a Corporate Work Visa valid?
Up to three years, generally aligned with the employer's Corporate Visa, and never beyond it. It cannot be renewed inside South Africa, and you cannot change to another visa there either, so any further visa means a new application made from outside South Africa. If the employer's Corporate Visa lapses or is cancelled, that in effect ends the linked worker visas.
Can I change employers on a Corporate Work Visa?
No. The visa is tied to the sponsoring company's corporate authorisation. Moving to a different employer requires a fresh application under another visa route.
Does a Corporate Work Visa lead to permanent residence?
Not directly. Unlike the Critical Skills Work Visa, it has no built-in residence pathway. Reaching permanent residence means switching to another visa category that does. We map that out if it is your longer-term aim.
Can my family come with me?
Yes. A spouse or life partner and dependent children can apply for accompanying visas, and children can study in South Africa. Note that an accompanying partner visa carries no right to work; a partner who wants to work needs a work visa of their own.
What does the employer need to qualify for a Corporate Visa?
The company needs a certificate from the Department of Employment and Labour, and has to satisfy the Department of Home Affairs of its need to employ foreign workers and commit to ongoing reporting and compliance with South African labour law. We review the company's position against those requirements before it applies.
Speak with our South African team.
A focused conversation about your situation, the route that fits and your timeline, before any money is spent.
Free assessment. A client manager will call you.