Start with your career
Search the occupation you actually do now, not the visa category you hope to use.
PATHLENSA RISKATLAS.CO.ZA PRODUCT · SOUTH AFRICA
RISKATLAS.CO.ZA
Career → South Africa
Take the career you have and map a realistic pathway to South Africa.
Start with your occupation. Then check the South African occupation match, Critical Skills status, qualification recognition, salary evidence and the current official work-visa pathway.
Match it to South Africa
Use the South African OFO occupation identity and compare duties, not title alone.
Check critical-skills status
See whether the matched occupation appears on the current gazetted Critical Skills List or relevant amendment.
Check qualification recognition
If a foreign qualification is relevant, follow SAQA evaluation and any profession-specific registration requirements.
Check salary and offer requirements
Compare Demand Desk salary evidence with any current work-visa salary or employment-offer requirements.
Use the official visa pathway
Follow current DHA requirements and official application channels. Demand Desk explains the evidence; it does not decide eligibility.
Start with your career
Find the closest occupation in PathLens
Use the occupation finder first, then open the salary and pathway evidence for that occupation.
1 · Career match
South African occupation match
Match by duties and OFO identity, not job title alone. Once matched, PathLens can connect the occupation to salary, qualifications and demand evidence.
Browse occupations →2 · Migration pathway
Critical Skills & work visas
Use the gazetted Critical Skills List and current points-based work-visa framework to understand which official pathway is relevant.
Open Critical Skills wiki →3 · Recognition
Foreign qualification recognition
See how SAQA evaluation fits into the pathway, and where profession-specific registration may still be required.
Open recognition guide → Understand South Africa’s education framework →4 · Salary
What does the occupation pay?
Use PathLens salary evidence alongside visa salary thresholds. A salary estimate is evidence for planning, not a guarantee of an offer or visa.
Explore salaries →Employment Equity context
EE is a separate employment-market dimension.
Foreign nationals are excluded from the 2025 sector-target profile calculation, so a migrant may face a different workforce-planning context at a designated employer. That does not remove protection against unfair discrimination, and it does not mean an employer can automatically reject a foreign applicant.
Detailed migrant pathway
How a career turns into a South African skilled-work pathway
The sequence below explains the current framework using the official sources in the PathLens registry. It is a research guide, not a visa decision.
1. Start with the career, not the visa
Demand Desk first identifies the South African occupation that best matches the work you actually do. Visa pathways then sit on top of that occupation match.
- Compare your actual duties with the South African OFO occupation rather than relying on a familiar overseas job title.
- Open the Demand Desk occupation record to see demand, qualification and salary evidence.
- If the career match is weak or ambiguous, treat the migration pathway as unresolved until the occupation is clarified.
2A. Critical Skills Work Visa pathway
This is the career-led branch where the matched occupation appears on the gazetted Critical Skills List. Under the 18 October 2024 points system, an occupation on the Critical Skills List carries 100 points.
- Your matched occupation/critical skill must appear on the latest Critical Skills List.
- A valid offer or contract of employment is required by DHA's current Critical Skills checklist.
- The application must identify one occupation/critical skill for which it is being made.
- DHA asks for written confirmation from the relevant professional body, council, board or relevant government department confirming the applicant's skills/qualifications and appropriate post-qualification experience.
- Where required by law, proof of application for professional registration is required.
- A foreign qualification must have a SAQA evaluation outcome, or proof that the evaluation application has been submitted.
- Meeting the 100-point threshold does not remove the other prescribed requirements such as medical and police-clearance documentation.
Pathway outcome: If the 100-point threshold is reached through an occupation on the Critical Skills List, and all other prescribed requirements are met, the gazetted framework says the applicant may be issued a Critical Skills Work Visa.
2B. General Work Visa pathway
A career does not have to be on the Critical Skills List to have a skilled-work pathway. The October 2024 points system says that where 100 points are reached through a combination of criteria other than Critical Skills occupation status, the applicant may fall within the General Work Visa route if the other prescribed requirements are also met.
- An offer of employment is mandatory in the points table.
- Points can come from qualification level, salary in the employment offer, work experience, a Trusted Employer offer and proficiency in at least one official language.
- The current gazette sets a 100-point threshold.
- Salary is therefore not only a planning number: the salary in an employment offer can contribute points under the current framework.
- Demand Desk salary evidence should be used as labour-market context; it is not itself proof that the salary in a visa application meets a threshold.
Pathway outcome: If 100 points are reached through a combination other than occupation-on-Critical-Skills-List points, and all other prescribed requirements are met, the gazetted framework says the applicant may be issued a General Work Visa.
3. Understand the current points table
The October 2024 Government Gazette ties occupation, qualification, offered salary, work experience, Trusted Employer status and language proficiency into a single skilled-work framework.
- Critical Skills List occupation: 100 points.
- NQF level 9 or 10 qualification: 50 points; NQF level 7 or 8: 30 points.
- Employment offer above R976,194 gross per year: 50 points.
- Employment offer between R650,976 and R976,194 gross per year: 20 points.
- 5–10 years of work experience: 20 points; 10+ years: 30 points.
- Offer from a Trusted Employer: 30 points.
- Proficiency in at least one official language: 10 points.
- The gazette states that an employment offer is mandatory and that 100 points are required.
4. Qualification recognition and professional registration
Foreign qualifications and professional registration are different checks. SAQA evaluates the foreign qualification against the South African NQF; a regulated profession may separately require registration with its professional body.
- Use SAQA's Evaluation of Foreign Qualifications service for foreign qualifications.
- For the Critical Skills route, DHA's checklist asks for the SAQA outcome or proof that the SAQA evaluation application has been submitted.
- If the occupation is legally regulated, check the relevant professional body/council/board separately.
- Do not assume a SAQA evaluation by itself grants a professional licence or registration.
5. Put salary beside the pathway
The migrant view should show two salary concepts separately: Demand Desk labour-market salary evidence and the salary contained in the actual employment offer used in the visa points system.
- Use the Demand Desk career page to understand sourced South African salary evidence for the occupation.
- Use the employment-offer salary, not a market estimate, when considering the points table.
- The current points table awards 20 points for an offer between R650,976 and R976,194 gross per year and 50 points above R976,194.
- A career's typical salary may sit above or below those levels; do not imply a visa outcome from a salary estimate alone.
6. Move from research to the official application process
Demand Desk is the research layer. The application itself must be made using the current official DHA/VFS process and documentation applicable at the time of application.
- Re-open the official DHA checklist immediately before applying.
- Confirm the latest Critical Skills List and amendments if using the Critical Skills pathway.
- Confirm that supporting evidence is current and consistent with the selected occupation.
- Treat policy papers and proposed reforms as context only unless they have become operative law or formal application requirements.
18 October 2024 points system
What currently contributes to the 100-point threshold
CriterionPoints
Occupation on Critical Skills List100
Qualification: NQF 9–1050
Qualification: NQF 7–830
Employment offer above R976,194 gross/year50
Employment offer R650,976–R976,194 gross/year20
Work experience: 5–10 years20
Work experience: 10+ years30
Offer from Trusted Employer30
Proficient in at least one official language10
Important:
The gazetted table marks an employment offer as mandatory and says an applicant must reach 100 points and meet all other prescribed requirements. A Critical Skills occupation itself carries 100 points; otherwise the General Work route can be reached through a combination of the other criteria.
Career → pathway → salary
Career and salary starting points
CareerOFOSalary evidenceNext
Safety, Health, Environment and Quality (SHE&Q) Practitioner
226302
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Medical and Pharmaceutical Products Sales Representative
243302
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Educational Products and Services Sales Representative
243303
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Printing and Publishing Equipment Sales Representative
243304
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) Plant Process Controller
313106
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Integrated Manufacturing Line Process Control Technician
313901
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Clothing, Textile and Footwear Manufacturing Process Control Technician
313903
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Pulp and Paper Manufacturing Process Control Technician
313917
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Intensive Care Ambulance Paramedic / Ambulance Paramedic
325802
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Sales Representative (Photographic Equipment and Supplies)
332206
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Labour Recruitment Consultant: Permanent Employment Agency (PEA)
333302
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Labour Recruitment Consultant: Temporary Employment Services (TES)
333303
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Textile, Leather and Related Materials Handicraft Workers
661801
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Coldset Rotary Offset Lithographic Printing Technician (Coldset)
662211
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Rotary Printing and Re-reeling Flexographic Machine Technician
662212
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Rotary Printing and Re-reeling Gravure Machine Technician
662213
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Textile, Clothing, Footwear and Leather Processing Machine Mechanic
684901
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Glass, Clay and Stone Manufacturing Machine Setter and Minder
711402
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Clothing, Textile and Leather Goods Production Operator
715302
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Juice Extraction and Blending Process Machine Operator
716103
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Cereals, snacks, pasta and condiments machine process operator
716116
No salary record yet
Career evidence →
Wiki-style resource library
Law, lists, guidance and policy context
Critical Skills ListDepartment of Home Affairs / Government Gazette
Current authoritative list source
Open →
2023 Critical Skills List amendmentDepartment of Home Affairs / Government Gazette
Authoritative amendment
Open →
Immigration Act 13 of 2002South African Government
Primary legislation
Open →
Points-Based System for Work VisasDepartment of Home Affairs / Government Gazette
Current work-visa framework
Open →
Critical Skills Work Visa requirementsDepartment of Home Affairs
Application guidance
Open →
Evaluation of Foreign QualificationsSouth African Qualifications Authority (SAQA)
Official qualification-recognition guidance
Open →
Final Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee ProtectionDepartment of Home Affairs
Policy context — not a substitute for current operative law
Open →
General Work Visa requirementsDepartment of Home Affairs
Current application guidance
Open →
Ministerial waiver for General Work Visas under the points-based systemMinister of Home Affairs
Current waiver affecting General Work applications
Open →
Remote Work Visitor Visa requirementsDepartment of Home Affairs
Current alternative pathway guidance
Open →