In September I speculated on the kind of impact the global financial crisis would have on emigration from South Africa. The lead story in yesterday’s Sunday Times confirms — without any hard numbers — that things are panning out as I thought they might: South Africans planning to emigrate are having to reassess whether they can still afford to go.
(Oddly enough, in the same paper, there was also a story about pets put down by owners leaving the country, so there are people who are still disappearing over the horizon.)
Some of those South Africans working in Australia who have been retrenched are now in a situation where they either have to return to their homeland or find another job in a hurry. In Australia, people on 457 visas are especially vulnerable as residency is dependent on the willingness of an employer to sponsor you. Lose your job, and in the current economic climate, you’ll be lucky not to be forced to climb on QF63 back to Johannesburg.
(If you’re especially unlucky, you may well find yourself heading back to South Africa as the container full of your furniture travels in the opposite direction.)
As one respondent on this thread on the SA/Australia forums — headlined “Retrenched!!!” — points out, a 457 visa may be the quickest route into Australia, but it is also the quickest route out. In times like this, a PR visa is well worth the angst and expense to get it.
A prince with dignity and determination
Prince Ngarambe’s goals are to become Rwanda’s first transgender model and to uplift the country’s youth
The EFF’s principles are unshakeable
Unlike the ANC, the core values of the freedom fighters do not change with each leader it elects
