For a foreigner who is applying for a either a General Work permit, Quota Work permit and in some cases, Exceptional Skills work permit, a SAQA document is required for the application to be accepted by the Department of Home Affairs.

SAQA is the South African Qualifications Authority – This is a South African organization that evaluates the foreigner qualifications comparing to the South African equivalent.

SAQA is based in Pretoria, South Africa, these applications take approximately 4 – 6 weeks to be finalised.  For each category, the point system differs – for a General Work permit - a 4 (twelve years of schooling - matric or grade 12) is required, Quota Work permit – this is dependant on the skills that the foreigner has (the ideal point would be 6) and Exceptional Skills, if required - any minimal level would be accepted.

For further information on South African work permits, please see here

Information supplied by www.intergate-immigration.com