General Work Visa
The General Work Visa is the main route for a skilled person who has a South African job offer but whose occupation is not on the Critical Skills List. Since October 2024 it is decided on a points system, so the work is in scoring your qualifications, experience, salary and offer correctly, and getting the evidence right, before you submit.
Free assessment. A client manager will call you.
Eligibility
A confirmed job offer from a South African employer
The General Work Visa is built around a signed offer of employment or contract with a South African employer. The visa is tied to that employer and that role. It is not a work-seeker visa, so you cannot move first and look for work afterwards.
Reaching 100 points on the eligibility system
Since 18 October 2024 the General Work Visa is decided on a points-based system rather than the old labour-market test. Points are scored on your qualifications, your years of experience, the salary the role offers, whether the employer is a Trusted Employer, and South African language ability. You need to reach 100 points and meet all the other prescribed requirements.
A SAQA evaluation of your qualifications
Where you hold a foreign qualification, it must be evaluated by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) to confirm its South African equivalence. SAQA deals only with the applicant directly, so we guide and coordinate this step rather than submit it for you. Home Affairs currently accepts proof that you have applied at submission, which supports a 12-month visa; the full visa needs the evaluation itself.
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
-
01 · With us
Strategy and points check
You get: your points position
-
02 · You apply, we guide
SAQA evaluation
You get: proof of application, then the certificate
-
03 · We review
Assemble and review
You get: a complete file
-
04 · In person
Submission
With us at VFS, guided at a mission
-
Home Affairs
Decision
Adjudication
Each step in detail
Strategy and points check
We map your qualifications, experience, salary and offer against the points system, confirm you can realistically reach 100 points, and identify the evidence you will need before any money is spent.
SAQA evaluation
Where you hold foreign qualifications, you submit them to SAQA for evaluation; we guide the documents and timing. Your visa application can go in on proof that you have applied, but the full visa needs the result, so this step starts early.
8-20 weeks
Assemble and review
Job offer, SAQA result, qualifications, salary evidence, police clearances and passport are assembled and pressure-tested against the points table and the prescribed requirements. If the SAQA result is still pending, proof of application supports a 12-month visa; the full visa of up to five years needs the result.
2-4 weeks
Submission and adjudication
Submissions are in person. If you are our client, we can personally accompany and support you at the VFS centres in Cape Town, Pretoria and Johannesburg. If you submit at a South African mission abroad, we prepare you fully and guide you through the process, but we cannot attend with you. Processing and adjudication timelines vary depending on the application type and the relevant authority.
8-26 weeks
Mistakes that cost a refusal
Assuming the employer still has to run and document a labour-market test. That mechanism ended in October 2024; the application now turns on whether you reach 100 points, scored largely on your own profile.
Underestimating the points position. A role that does not score enough on qualifications, experience and salary can fall short of 100 points even with a genuine offer, so the points need checking before you spend anything.
Starting the SAQA evaluation late. Home Affairs currently accepts proof that you have applied at submission, but it only supports a 12-month visa, and extending to the full term needs a positive SAQA result filed within that year. SAQA deals only with the applicant, so the application has to start early.
Treating permanent residence as automatic at five years. It is a separate application and, on the work route, less straightforward than for Critical Skills holders.
How the route works in practice
The General Work Visa is the route for people who have a South African job offer but whose occupation is not on the Critical Skills List. It lets you live and work in the country for the length of your contract, up to five years, with your family alongside you, and it can in time open a route toward permanent residence.
It is also the route that changed most in late 2024, and a good deal of older guidance about it is now wrong.
What the points system changed
Until October 2024, the General Work Visa rested on a labour-market test: the employer had to advertise the role and show that no suitable South African could fill it. That mechanism is gone. Since 18 October 2024 the visa is decided on a points-based system, and your application has to reach 100 points across a defined table.
The points come from your qualifications, your years of experience, the salary the role offers, whether your employer is an accredited Trusted Employer, and South African language ability. Reaching 100 points is not the only requirement, you still need the offer, the character documentation and the rest, but it is the gating test, and it is scored largely on your own profile rather than on the employer running an advertising exercise. The practical consequence is that the offer alone does not carry the application: the numbers have to add up first.
SAQA evaluation
Where you hold a foreign qualification, it must be evaluated by the South African Qualifications Authority to confirm it is equivalent to a South African standard. The visa application does not have to wait for the result: Home Affairs currently accepts proof of a SAQA application at submission. On that basis the visa is issued for 12 months, and it is extended to the full term if you file a positive SAQA result within that year. If your points depend on the level of a foreign qualification, we check how that level will be evidenced before your file goes in, because the points are scored on what you submit. SAQA is still worth starting early, because it works to its own timeline and deals only with the applicant, not a third party acting for them. Our role here is practical rather than nominal: we tell you exactly what to submit, get the documents in order, and time the evaluation so your file can go in for the full visa rather than a 12-month one. You submit it; we guide and coordinate it.
The route to permanent residence
Holding a work visa for five continuous years can open a route to permanent residence, but it is a separate application and it is not automatic. On the General Work route it is generally less straightforward than it is for Critical Skills holders, because the Department of Home Affairs looks closely at the strength and continuity of the work record. We would rather set that out plainly at the start than imply a guarantee the law does not give.
What we do
What we offer is a South African team that does this work every day: scoring your case against the points system, sequencing the SAQA evaluation, assembling evidence that stands up, and getting the submission right first time. If you want to know whether the General Work Visa fits your situation, the next step is a focused conversation about your role, your qualifications and your timeline.
What that buys you
We score your case against the points system before you commit, so you are not paying to pursue a visa the numbers do not support.
We sequence the SAQA evaluation so it does not become the bottleneck that holds you on a 12-month visa instead of the full one.
We assemble and pressure-test the evidence so the file goes in once and goes in right.
We are honest about the permanent-residence picture on the work route, rather than implying it is automatic at five years.
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
Do I need a job offer for a General Work Visa?
Yes. A signed job offer or contract from a South African employer is required before you apply, and the visa is tied to that employer. It is not a work-seeker visa, so you cannot enter to look for work and convert later without a separate route.
How is the General Work Visa decided now?
Since 18 October 2024 it is decided on a points-based system, not the old labour-market test. Points are scored on your qualifications, work experience, the salary the role offers, whether the employer is a Trusted Employer, and South African language ability. You need to reach 100 points and meet the other prescribed requirements.
How long is the visa valid?
Up to five years, usually aligned with your employment contract, and it can be renewed while you remain employed in the role. If you apply on proof of your SAQA application, the first visa is issued for 12 months. If your employment ends, the visa lapses and a new application is needed for a new employer.
Can I change employers on this visa?
No. The visa is tied to your sponsoring employer and the specific role. Moving to a new employer requires a fresh application.
What is the SAQA evaluation?
It is the South African Qualifications Authority's assessment confirming your foreign qualification is equivalent to a South African standard. SAQA deals only with the applicant directly, so we guide the documents and timing rather than submit on your behalf. Home Affairs currently accepts proof that you have applied at submission, which supports a 12-month visa; you need the evaluation itself for the full visa.
Can I apply for permanent residence?
It can be possible after five years of continuous work on the visa, but it is a separate application and not automatic. On the General Work route it is generally less straightforward than for Critical Skills holders. We confirm whether and when you qualify on your free assessment call rather than promising it upfront.
Can my family come with me, and can they study?
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.
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.