South African immigration research
Corporate visas: separate the employer's authorisation from each worker's position
A corporate visa under section 21 is issued to a corporate applicant to employ foreign nationals for that applicant. It is not the same arrangement as an individual applying for an ordinary work visa. [B06A01] The regulations distinguish the corporate visa, authorisation certificates and the individual corporate worker certificate. [B06A02]
On this page
- Before you start
- Identify which of three documents you are looking at
- Prepare the employer case before allocating people to it
- Check the relevant business restriction separately
- Build an individual readiness row for every proposed worker
- Track roles and validity together
- A manageable corporate evidence board
- Fictional example: one approved stage, one unresolved worker file
- Questions people ask
- Prepare the corporate-document question
- Official sources for this guide
Before you start
An organisation's name on a corporate document should therefore not be used as the entire answer to whether a particular person can start a particular job. Establish the employer's actual authorisation and the worker's own documents, conditions and dates together.
Identify which of three documents you are looking at
| Document or workstream | What it concerns | What still needs checking |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate visa | The corporate applicant's framework for employing foreign workers | Exact holder, approved scope, conditions and validity |
| Authorisation certificate | Authorisation under that corporate visa to employ corporate workers | Whether the proposed position/worker preparation matches the relevant authorisation |
| Individual corporate worker certificate | The named worker's position under the framework | Actual person, employer, role, conditions and dates |
Regulation 20(8) provides for the corporate visa and authorisation certificates; 20(9)–(10) addresses individual worker applications/certificates. [B06A02] The table is a reading aid, not a declaration that a draft authorisation or HR allocation is a final individual document.
First obtain the exact document title and holder. If a recruitment team says "corporate approved", ask which of these stages it means. Do not resolve an ambiguous tracker label by guessing that every stage is complete.
Prepare the employer case before allocating people to it
The corporate regulation calls for evidence of the need for the requested number of foreign workers, a labour-department certificate addressing recruitment/positions/remuneration, specified registrations and employer undertakings. It also includes a 60% permanent citizen/permanent-resident staffing requirement in the stated terms. [B06A02]
Assign the work to the people who actually control the evidence. Recruitment can explain the need and search; payroll can establish remuneration and staffing records; the responsible corporate team can identify the legal entity and registrations. An immigration reviewer needs an accurate account from those owners rather than an unsupported assurance that the business is compliant.
The application should not be treated as permission to recruit an unspecified number for unspecified roles. Section 21 provides for a determined maximum number, and the employer's represented needs and job descriptions form part of that framework. [B06A01] Match proposed staffing to the actual authorisation instead of treating an organisational visa as an unlimited allocation.
Check the relevant business restriction separately
The corporate-visa exclusion notice identifies exotic entertainment, hospitality, fast-food outlets/franchises, and the cosmetic/beauty industry for this purpose. [B06A03] Do not replace that list with the different business-visa notice or assume that a commercial registration settles the immigration classification.
A borderline operation needs its actual activity examined. This guide does not classify a business, decide an exemption or describe the commercial activity itself as unlawful. It identifies an early route question to resolve before a recruitment programme depends on this arrangement.
Build an individual readiness row for every proposed worker
Create a separate, access-controlled row for each person. Link the appropriate authorisation, actual contract, individual application/outcome and relevant qualifications/skills evidence. Regulation 20(9) supplies the individual evidence framework. [B06A02] Reconcile current instructions and later instruments before requesting documents from a saved checklist.
For each row, identify who confirms the final position and who receives changes. A worker's readiness should not inherit a green status solely because the employer-level file is complete. Equally, the individual should know which information remains with the employer and which task they own.
Use pre-hire preparation for the start-date decision sequence. The employer overview provides the wider responsibility framework; this page owns the corporate-specific relationship between the documents.
Track roles and validity together
Section 21(6) requires the corporate worker to work for the holder of the corporate visa. [B06A01] The regulation further ties employment to the specified position and addresses compliance, departure and notification undertakings. [B06A02] A proposed reassignment within a group still needs review of the actual holder and terms, rather than relying on a shared brand name.
The corporate visa's regulatory maximum is three years, and the authorisation/worker certificates cannot exceed the corporate visa's validity. [B06A02] These are outer limits, not a promise that every grant runs for three years. Enter the dates on the actual documents and plan backwards from the earliest relevant deadline.
Regulation 20(11) also states a restriction on renewing a corporate worker certificate or changing status in South Africa. [B06A02] Have the next arrangement examined early against current law, applicable exceptions and actual instructions. Do not turn a proposed future renewal into a reason to ignore the present document's expiry.
A manageable corporate evidence board
| Record | Owner to identify | Exception to escalate |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate scope and validity | Responsible corporate/immigration coordinator | Proposed role outside recorded scope |
| Allocated authorisation | Authorised coordinator | Allocation not linked to actual document |
| Worker identity and outcome | Worker and designated coordinator | Receipt recorded as final certificate |
| Contract, role and remuneration | HR/payroll | Entity or role differs across records |
| Expiry, change and departure | Named case owner | New plan depends on an unexamined extension |
This board is a proposed planning method, not a certification tool. Avoid circulating passports or employee records broadly. Establish the recipient, purpose and suitable channel before sharing supporting documents.
For ongoing diagnostic work, read employer immigration compliance. No Karoo monitoring service or employer accreditation is offered here.
Fictional example: one approved stage, one unresolved worker file
A coordinator sees the employer's corporate documentation and marks the whole intake ready. One worker's individual certificate has not yet been located, and the proposed start date appears only in the recruitment calendar. The coordinator separates the employer stage from that individual's outstanding evidence and assigns the unresolved question before making a start-date decision.
This fictional example does not determine permission or criticise a real employer. It illustrates why one completed stage cannot silently stand in for a different person's documents.
Questions people ask
Is a corporate visa Trusted Employer Scheme membership?
They are different concepts. Section 21 supplies the corporate framework; the points notice separately recognises an offer from a Trusted Employer within its general/critical-skills framework. [B06A01, B06A04] Neither label should be used as a substitute for checking the individual's permission.
Can a worker move to another group company automatically?
The statutory holder and actual conditions matter. [B06A01, B06A02] Have the proposed change examined; a common group name does not answer the document question.
Does this framework cover an overseas group transfer?
Do not assume that it does. An intra-company transfer is a separate work-route question; compare the actual employment arrangement through work routes.
Does the old checklist's medical-report item still apply?
Reconcile it with the July 2026 waiver of the specified medical reports. [B06A05] That does not remove every supporting item or health condition.
Prepare the corporate-document question
Identify the corporate holder, proposed role, relevant authorisation and individual document stage. Use conversation preparation to ask which dependency remains unresolved before recruitment commitments.
Official sources for this guide
These official pages are research starting points. Read the geographical scope and current notices before relying on them. No individual determination is made by this information.
- B06A01 — official primary source
Research checked 17 October 2026. Read the exact notice, date and receiving-channel scope with later instruments. Confirm individual applicability before relying on this information.
- B06A02 — official primary source
Research checked 17 October 2026. Read the exact notice, date and receiving-channel scope with later instruments. Confirm individual applicability before relying on this information.
- B06A03 — official primary source
Research checked 17 October 2026. Read the exact notice, date and receiving-channel scope with later instruments. Confirm individual applicability before relying on this information.
- B06A04 — official primary source
Research checked 17 October 2026. Read the exact notice, date and receiving-channel scope with later instruments. Confirm individual applicability before relying on this information.
- B06A05 — official primary source
Research checked 17 October 2026. Read the exact notice, date and receiving-channel scope with later instruments. Confirm individual applicability before relying on this information.