Business analyst Critical Skills Visa Assessment 2022
Business analysts as of 2022 have been removed from the critical skills list for 2022.
Contact Migrate With Q for more information.
As part of applying for a critical skills visa, an applicant needs to register with a professional body, council or board. This is part of the requirements that the Department of Home Affairs set out when they introduced the critical skills visa in 2014 when they updated the immigration act.
If you fit the criteria for a corporate general manager then you should read our detailed blog post: Corporate General Manager Critical Skills post.
The aim of the professional body, council or board is to assess the competency of the applicant by assessing them through exams, references letters from previous employers and confirming your qualifications. Therefore to apply for the critical skills visa, you need to be registered with a relevant professional body, council or board.
The Department of Home Affairs has recently updated the critical skills list for South Africa.
If you are in the ICT sector then you can read our detailed blog post on IITPSA critical skills visa assessment and how to become a member.
Engineers applying for a critical skills visa should apply through ECSA for membership including specialist engineers.
The assessment for the critical skills visa needs to be done before you submit your application and thus you need to apply for this assessment first before doing anything else.
The advantage of this visa is that you can apply for a permanent residence permit if you have five years of experience for you and your immediate family members.
These are the different South Africa visa types you could apply for.
Which occupations are assessed through IBASA?
IBASA which is short for Institute of Business Advisors South Africa are responsible for the following critical skills occupations: Please check if your qualification is listed below.
- Director
- Policy and Planning management
- Corporate General Manager
- Programme Project Manager
- Quality System Manager
- Customer Service Manager (Business Process Outsourcing Sector)
- Research and Development
- Call or Contact Centre Manage
- Investment Analyst
- Business Development Officer
- Economist
- Market Research Analyst
- Policy Analyst
You must apply for an occupation related to your qualification will be assessed against your experience. New applications for the visa must submit proof of assessment from the body or council. These are the regulations you must comply with to apply for a work visa. Your level of experience will be assessed after you obtained your qualification and thus we cannot stress enough that you outline your experience in your CV with start and end dates of employment with clearly marked at which employers you have obtained this experience.
What documents are needed for the Assessments?
A business analyst applying for a critical skills visa or any of the above occupations must submit the following documents:
- All foreign qualifications must have been assessed by SAQA the South African Qualifications Authority and you need the certifications to prove this. The SAQA certificate must be included in the application.
- Two letterheads of recommendations from your current or previous employers on official letterheads. (Please ask your previous employers to specifically address the duties you were responsible for which is relevant to the occupation you are applying under.)
- Copy of your current passport which must be certified. (Please ensure that your passport is valid at the time of submission)
- Copy of your visa page if you have temporary residence in South Africa. (Ensure that your temporary residence visa is valid at the time of submitting)
- Certified copies of your degree, diploma and transcripts. All foreign qualifications must be assessed by SAQA and if your qualifications are written in a foreign language then they should be translated into English by a sworn translater.
- A detailed CV that states your experience with each employer, specific start and end dates.
- Completed membership forms.
- Proof of payment.
Once your application form has been filled in and all documents are 100% correct please use the following reference format for payment Surname-CSV.
Email your application with the above attachments to admin@ibasa.org.za
What are the costs for the assessment and duration?
Cost
The critical skills assessment will cost R 5,000.00 and the applicant has the opportunity to enrol a member for free for one year. This means that you are offered 12 month’s free membership when you pay for your assessment.
After your twelve months has expired, you then have to pay to renew your membership with IBASA. All fees paid to them are non-refundable and this means that if your assessment is rejected by IBASA that you will not be refunded.
The onus rests upon you to ensure that all documents are included and that you have all the information stated on each document that is requested from them.
Duration
Once they have received your application, it will then be sent to the relevant expert to be assessed. Their assessment can take up to 1 month to complete and if your application is successful then you will be awarded a membership certificate and the critical skills letter confirming your skills and application.
Financial Advising Occupations:
People who have secured employment in the South in the financial advising sector must undergo formal training. This sector requires professionals to have a licence. To provide financial services to the people of South Africa, you need to have a state-approved licence as per the country’s Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services Act which is a national law. Individuals must have obtained an appropriate education like a degree from a university, then apply for an FSP licence.
Changes to the critical skills visa for South Africa
Previously applicants could apply for a 12-month critical skills visa even without having secured employment in South Africa. They were awarded 12 months to secure employment with a company, however, since 2022 foreign job-seeking applicants must now first secure employment and only then be awarded the visa. There have been many occupations removed from the critical skills occupation list and therefore we advise you to first check that your occupation is listed on the critical skills list for South Africa.
The required criteria now first having to secure employment before applying for the visa places more pressure upon you as employers are not educated where the visa immigration process is concerned and knowing that registration with a professional body can take a while before you can move on with your visa application.
If you have aspirations to work in South Africa and are currently listed on the critical skills list, we would advise you to become registered with a body or council so that this lengthy process is eliminated. We would further advise you to get your qualifications assessed by SAQA as well. The more prepared you are, the more receptive an employer would be to offer you employment knowing that you have the process underway. Mentioning that you have your qualification assessed and that you are registered with a council or board in South Africa is an advantage to you.
If you are in the position of a critical skills visa and you considering changing employers then you can read our blog post critical skills visa change of employer.
Contact Migrate With Q to assist you in applying for the visa. We are more than happy to assist you and remove all the hassle from the process from you.
Charl Vollmer has 8 years of experience helping people immigrate to South Africa. I am passionate about helping people and making their dreams a reality. Charl constantly stays up to date with South African Immigration rules and regulations. To contact Charl, visit our contact page.