Immigration experts all agree that there has been a marked increase in the number of emigration queries they received in 2019.
Some immigration lawyers say that there has been a 70 per cent increase in South Africans, from all backgrounds, requesting information about their emigration options and that many of these queries are motivated by a need to guarantee an improved future for them and their children.
Evidence also points to the fact that more South Africans are serious about emigrating than ever before. In 2019 nearly 50% more emigration applications were processed than in previous years.
About half of all visa applications serve as an insurance policy giving the holder the opportunity leave the country immediately in the event of things becoming too unstable in South Africa. The other half have packed their containers and are ready to leave.
Motivated by South Africa’s current political climate, threats to landownership, the national health care plan, an increasingly dysfunctional Eskom, the poor Rand and concerns over the quality of education are all tabled as contributing factors with crime, the economy and job opportunities playing an ever increasing role in encouraging the move.
South African’s offer many reasons for their emigration plans but “improved safety and security” and a “better future for their children” are the reasons cited most frequently.
Typically people start thinking about moving when:
- Their personal safety is threatened
- They need better opportunities
- They are serious about improving their quality of lives
- Their local economy becomes too weak to sustain a good living standard
- Their government’s policies threaten their way of life
- They lose confidence in the future of your country of origin
A common misconception is that mostly white people are leaving the country while the total opposite is actually true. “Black emigrants exceed the tally of white South Africans leaving the country,” Trevor Thomas, a Director at Induku Consulting Group, told Traveller24 in August last year.
What is even more worrisome is that fact that most migrants are skilled and educated and are taking their experience and knowledge with them leaving South Africa poorer of skills and knowledge every day. “For every one professional immigrating to South Africa, eight are emigrating,” Thomas added.
The countries South Africans emigrate to vary greatly but the most popular destinations are Australia and Canada with the UK and New Zealand still popular but slightly more difficult for South Africans to immigrate to.
Source: New World Immigration, Cape Town etc, City Press, Media24