Cape Town – The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has introduced new innovations aimed at making it easier for businesses to recruit skilled foreign workers.
This was said by Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber on Thursday, as he presented his budget for the upcoming financial year.
Under Schreiber, the Trusted Employer Scheme (TES) was launched to streamline work visa applications for compliant companies.
The minister said that so far, 71 companies have been approved, enabling the recruitment of hundreds of engineers, including 246 software engineers and 147 nuclear engineers for Eskom.
“Two hundred and forty-six, is the number of software engineers that have been accepted into the country by just one company in the Trusted Employer Scheme that allows qualifying companies to verify documents of skilled workers they wish to bring to South Africa, shortening the adjudication process,” said Schreiber.
🪪 Home Affairs is undergoing the most exciting reforms since democracy! With a clear focus on digital transformation, DA Minister Dr Leon Schreiber is driving real solutions to systematically solve problems that have plagued our country for decades. Watch his address. 👇 pic.twitter.com/YyDzru1X71
— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) July 3, 2025
“One hundred and forty-seven, that’s the number of nuclear engineers that were brought in by Eskom to restore the Koeberg nucler power station, stabilising the national electricity grid and directly contributing to positive economic activity and it is Home Affairs reforms that facilitated that skill coming into South Africa.
“Seventy-one, is the number of companies that are currently participating in the Trust Employer Scheme, ranging from car manufacturers, mines, banks, service industries and telecommunications.”
In the tourism sector, the Trusted Tour Operator Scheme (TTOS) has led to the approval of 110 tour operators, the creation of 1,200 jobs, and the arrival of 17,000 tourists from China and India since February, the minister said.
Additional DHA achievements include:
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46,000 deportations — the highest in over five years,
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A 215% increase in illegal border crossing detections,
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Clearance of 300,000 visa backlogs,
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Issuing 3.6 million smart IDs in one year.
Schreiber tabled an R11 billion budget, including R5.5 billion for the Border Management Authority, saying that Home Affairs is on a transformative path that reflects broader potential for the country.
It has been one year of massive progress for #TeamHomeAffairs! Some highlights – with much, much more to come over the next year:
🗞️ Cleared 306 000 visa backlog
🪪 Delivered over 3.5 million Smart IDs – the most ever
🛂 Deployed drone and body camera technology at the border,… pic.twitter.com/3IJ3NK6VFW
— Leon Schreiber (@Leon_Schreib) July 3, 2025
“Home Affairs is on a transformative journey. If we can make Home Affairs work, so too can South Africa work.
“If this is what Home Affairs could do in just one year, imagine what we can do in five,” said Schreiber.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
