With Six months left for the grace period to lapse, many ZEP permit holders still find themselves either not having obtained the new visas they applied for and still waiting for the outcome, or simply not having acted and applied for the relevant visa.
What is certain is that for a ZEP permit holder, if your intention is to continue legally residing in SA beyond December 2022, not having a longer term visa/permit at this stage, or at least having submitted an application for a mainstream visa, has many repercussions, despite the extension and grace period granted by the Minister until the end of 2022.
For the ZEP businessperson, this has resulted in:
- Closure of bank accounts
Having their business and personal bank accounts frozen, thereby not being able to access funds for the operation of the business and day to day living. This puts one’s life on complete halt as one cannot function with no funds, later on, just live on a day to day. This is an extremely frustrating position to be in.
- Lost clients
Losing long-existing service level agreements with clients is a major issue as clients are anxious to continue with these agreements based on an uncertain legal status of the business owner. It is a legitimate fear of the client and this is negatively affecting the success and progression of the businesses as some are losing big contracts which literally sustained the businesses,
- Lost deals and tenders
Many are also losing out on lucrative deals and tenders, which they would otherwise have obtained, because business entities and potential clients do not want to risk entering into long term deals and agreements with individuals who do not have long term legal status in the country. These are lost opportunities which you may never get again.
- Impacted Long-term loans/mortgage bonds
With long term loans taken out for purchase of machinery and equipment, or mortgage bonds, or long-term leases for business premises, there is a huge impact as repayment terms will be severely affected, and with no access to funds since bank accounts are frozen, this compounds the problem.
- Non-compliance with statutory obligations
With some organisations it has become difficult to maintain the businesses obligations as they are directly linked to the owner, for example, registering with UIF, COIDA, and other statutory bodies required for specific businesses. Not fully complying with statutory obligations for anyone operating a business in SA is not only illegal but negatively impacts the business. Furthermore, the more you delay to regularise your stay, the more difficult it will be to comply with these statutory obligations, which are also a huge part of the application process.
These problems are real, and not only impact you as the business owner, but the entire business. You risk losing everything that you have worked so hard for over the years, your employees’ livelihoods who depend on the existence of your business are also impacted, and very important, your family and all those who depend on you are affected. Therefore, one needs to ensure to apply for the correct visa, to enable you to continue running your business legally in SA, and contributing at the highest level.
As a ZEP Business Permit holder, you have had the privilege to start and actively run your business legitimately in the country for the past decade, without having to comply with the initial requirements that an expat would ordinarily need to meet to obtain a business visa. For example, you did not have to prove a capital investment of R5 million which originated from outside SA and you had no obligation to employ 60% SA citizens or permanent residents in your business. It was a great opportunity for you to kick start your business and grow it, without having to comply with the requirements.
The Minister granted a grace period until December 2022 for ZEP permit holders to migrate to other mainstream visas that they qualify for. For the ZEP businessperson, it means that you are looking to migrate to the business visa, which requires compliance with all the requirements.Whilst, in some cases, you could potentially apply for a waiver of some of the requirements, such as the R5 million capital requirement, one still needs to have a full, comprehensive and compliant application for submission to the DTI so that they can recommend your business for continued operation beyond your ZEP permit, and then subsequently apply for the business visa through Home Affairs once your business has been recommended.
As an applicant for a business visa, you therefore need to ensure that:
- If you are going to apply for a waiver of the capital requirement, you are able to show the feasibility of your business and how you have been contributing to the national interest over the years
- You meet the minimum requirement of 60% SA citizens/permanent residents employees
- All your statutory registrations are in order, as you cannot submit undertakings for your mandatory statutory registrations such as UIF, PAYE, COIDA, etc.
- Your financials are all up to date and in order
