The High Commission of South Africa provides two types of work permits, Intra Company Transfer and Secondment.

In the case of the Intra Company Transfer, the company must meet several conditions. First, it should have a recognised presence both in the UK and in South Africa. Third, both must be part of the same international group. If these three conditions have been satisfied, the candidate for Intra Company Transfer may then be considered for transfer from the UK office to the South African subsidiary or division.

As far as Secondment work permits are concerned, the applicant cannot move to South Africa to work. Secondments only allow candidates to visit the company’s South African office or branch and as part of their job description, to provide services, but not transfer there. A typical example of the type of services that could be carried out on a Secondment working permit is the installation of equipment, software or similar. The work being done is strictly observed, in order to ensure that only essential and specialised services are being provided. It is clear that only very skilled and experienced workers will be able to claim a Secondment working permit.

Before these work permits are issued, South African officials will consider further criteria in order to ensure that a candidate is fit to be issued with one. Of course, the individual must be able to carry out the job, but another major criterion is that the candidate should have worked for the company for period of at least six months.