by the Safari Dispatch team
Career advice

South Africa work visa for lodge jobs: the 100-point test explained

Since October 2024 a general work visa needs 100 points; lodge salaries under R650,976 earn none, so junior roles fail without a Trusted Employer.

SafariCareers · Updated 17 October 2026

For a paid lodge job in South Africa you apply for the work visa yourself, normally from your home country, with the employer supplying the job offer and signed undertakings. The employer no longer needs a labour department certificate; instead you must score 100 points, and salary points only start at R650,976 a year. That leaves foreigners with senior, well paid or highly qualified posts, or jobs with an employer accredited under the Trusted Employer Scheme. Foreigners can guide, but only with a work visa that covers guiding and registration as a tourist guide.

The general work visa, lodged at the mission in your home country

Paid work needs a work visa under section 19 of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002, usually the general work visa; the critical skills visa needs an occupation on the critical skills list. You apply on form DHA-1738 with police clearances, a medical certificate and qualifications evaluated by SAQA. The employer signs a contract conditional on the visa and undertakes to cover deportation costs and report changes to your job.

A visitor’s visa holder cannot apply for a change of status from inside South Africa, except in exceptional circumstances set by regulation. Law firm guides say first applications are lodged at the mission serving your country of residence, usually through VFS Global.

The 100-point test that replaced the labour certificate

A Ministerial waiver dated 8 October 2024 removed the labour department certificate from the general work visa. Since 9 October 2024 every general work and critical skills application has needed 100 points, with a job offer mandatory. Checklists lag: Toronto’s April 2026 list drops the certificate, while Canberra’s December 2025 page still asks for it.

Criterion Points
Occupation on the critical skills list 100
Qualification at NQF level 9 or 10 50
Qualification at NQF level 7 or 8 30
Salary above R976,194 a year 50
Salary from R650,976 to R976,194 a year 20
Salary below R650,976 a year 0 (no band)
More than 10 years’ experience 30
5 to 10 years’ experience 20
Job offer from a Trusted Employer 30
Proficiency in an official South African language 10

Running a lodge salary through the table

A guide, chef or front-of-house job paying under R650,976 a year earns no salary points. Without a Trusted Employer offer, the best total is 50 for qualifications, 30 for experience and 10 for language: 90, a fail. Between R650,976 and R976,194, you pass only with a level 9 or 10 qualification and at least five years’ experience (20, 50, 20 and 10 make 100). A level 7 or 8 qualification tops out at 90 in that band. Above R976,194, a level 7 or 8 qualification and five years’ experience already reach 100. A Trusted Employer offer adds 30 to any of these totals.

Fees and timing

Item Fee
Work visa, Home Affairs fee (also covers renewal) R1,520 (official)
General work visa at the Canberra mission AUD 131 (official)
General work visa at the Toronto consulate CAD 115 (official)

VFS adds a service fee we could not confirm. We found no current official processing time: Canberra quotes 21 working days but also says it is currently not available.

Five years at most, renewable from inside the country

A general work visa is issued for up to five years, or 12 months if your SAQA evaluation is still pending. Because it is not a visitor’s visa, you can renew it while in South Africa. We found no official limit on total years.

Guiding needs registration as well as the visa

Guiding is not reserved for citizens, but every tourist guide must register with a Provincial Registrar under section 50 of the Tourism Act 3 of 2014, for three years at a time, renewable and valid in every province. The Department of Tourism says a non-citizen needs “a valid working visa granting permission to work as a tourist guide”, SAQA-recognised competence, usually through a CATHSSETA-accredited provider, and first aid. Our guide to FGASA levels covers the qualifications. We found no published registration fee for non-citizens.

Volunteering on a volunteer visitor’s visa

Unpaid work for a bona fide non-profit lasting more than 90 days needs a volunteer visitor’s visa under section 11(1)(b), valid for up to three years, with a host letter confirming the role is unpaid. Canberra charges AUD 37. Under 90 days falls under an ordinary visitor’s visa, and payment in any form means you need a work visa. See our volunteering listings.

An old skills list, and two proposals that are not law

The critical skills list in use is still the February 2022 list, extended in August 2022; we found no 2025 or 2026 replacement. The Trusted Employer Scheme took second-phase applications from 20 July to 4 September 2026.

The Employment Services Amendment Bill (B16 of 2026) is not law. It would require a labour market test and a skills transfer plan for every foreign hire, and let the Minister set foreign-worker quotas by sector, occupation or region, with employers of fewer than 10 people excluded by default. Fines would run from R100,000 to the greater of R1 million or 10% of turnover. Public comment closes on 6 November 2026. The Revised White Paper approved by Cabinet on 3 April 2026, which would merge the general work and critical skills visas into one skilled worker visa, is policy only; the Minister hopes to table a bill early in the next financial year.

Ask about salary and Trusted Employer status before you accept

Ask the employer early who prepares the paperwork and pays, where the salary sits against the points bands, and whether they are a Trusted Employer. Do not start work, paid or unpaid, until the visa is approved. Citizens and permanent residents are first in line: see jobs in South Africa, and compare our Botswana and Tanzania permits guide.

This is a plain-language summary of the rules as they stood in October 2026, not legal advice. Rules and fees change, so check the official sources below or ask the employer before you apply.

Sources

We check facts against the organisations’ own pages and the job ads we link to. Rules, fees and pay change, so check the source before you rely on a figure. Spotted something out of date? Email editor@safaridispatch.com.