New visa rules for foreigners executing short-term projects in South Africa will put R1-billion in investment and 1 600 local jobs in jeopardy, specialist migration company Global Migration SA said on Friday.

According to a directive issued on April 30 and distributed to local Home Affairs offices and missions abroad, all applications made by visa-exempt or visa-restricted applicants, would now have to be made abroad at a South African mission, as opposed to the Home Affairs head office issuing a letter of permission after an application was made, which was then attached to an application made at an embassy or port of entry.

“Ten South African missions abroad were contacted today and only two of them were able to provide information on this process. In both cases, the information provided contradicted what was contained in the directive," Global Migration MD Leon Isaacson noted.

He said the directive was not clear regarding whether applicants had to make a full application in person at a South Africa mission abroad for a visa-exempt applicant, or whether an approval letter would be issued by the mission, in such a case, and presented at the port of entry on arrival.

“There is also no indication of how long the process will take and there is conflicting information about the requirements, which creates confusion all round," Isaacson added.

He also pointed out that the travel and work schedules of many A-list actors and skilled experts in other fields were such that they could not return to their home countries to submit visa applications as this would create additional cost and inconvenience and severely hamper projects, investment and associated job creation.

Moonlighting Films South Africa head of production Theresa Ryan-van Graan noted that the new application procedure had potentially jeopardised future investment in the South African film industry.

She said US television series ‘Homeland’, which was scheduled to start production in Cape Town next month, might have to reschedule production days at great expense due to these changes.

“Many of the actors simply cannot leave their current locations and go back to the UK – or US – and wait for an unspecified period in London.  The requirements and process are unclear to officials and applicants alike, [while] the previous process worked well,” Ryan-van Graan said on Thursday. 

"There needs to be a comprehensive policy review with a working, efficient system which facilitates much-needed investment and growth. Immigration is a critical part of that process and should be responsive and efficient," Isaacson concluded.