Universities and TVET colleges cautioned on adhering to immigration laws

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1. Morning of Reckoning: Two Committees, Zero Diplomacy

Frost still clung to the windscreens outside the Good Hope Chamber when MPs from Higher Education and Home Affairs pushed their folders onto the same long table. No welcome teas, no group photographs: the plan was to discover how 26 universities and 50 TVET colleges quietly became side-entrances into the Republic for people who were never meant to work here. Chairperson Tebogo Letsie set the mood with a single sentence: “Internationalisation is not a get-out-of-jail card for ignoring the Immigration Act.” After that, every PowerPoint slide from the Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) and the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) was taken apart word for word.

Spreadsheets replaced pleasantries. Members flipped between DHET’s payroll summaries and thick DHA dockets stamped “Section 38 offence,” cross-checking names, visa classes and contract lengths. Vice-chancellors’ glossy “world-class university” slogans were shelved; what mattered was who possessed a valid work permit, who had been rubber-stamped as a “visiting academic,” and who simply appeared on the payroll with no paperwork at all.

The session’s tone was set when an opposition MP waved a labour-market test form that still carried the factory-default Microsoft Word title, unchanged. “If we can’t even get the template right,” he barked, “how do we know the job was ever advertised to South Africans?” From that point onward, every statistic had to be footnoted, every loophole named, every excuse translated into legal risk.

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2. Numbers That Didn’t Add Up – and the Law They Breached

Officials opened with the headline figure: 4 012 foreign nationals on university salary slips, roughly seven percent of the academic corps. Yet the same directorate admitted the true count could be “thirty percent north” of that number. TVET colleges looked even shakier: a single Excel file listed 67 names, no passport digits, no contract ends, just a column labelled “Nationality – verified(?).” A parliamentary researcher labelled it “directionally cute, statistically useless,” before warning that spaza shops track cooking-oil tins better than colleges track professors.

Because institutions had never bothered to marry their HR data to the Critical Skills List published by the Department of Employment and Labour, nobody could prove the posts were impossible to fill locally. Section 38 of the Immigration Act states plainly: employ a foreigner without the correct work visa and you risk a fine of R100 000 per head or twelve months in jail for the signatory. Add the 2014 labour regulations and you also need a DEL confirmation letter proving the vacancy was advertised and no citizen could do the job. Dozens of lecturers, accountants and campus managers failed both tests.

DHA disclosed that fourteen institutions already sit on a draft indictment sheet; surprise visits could start before MPs pack their bags for the September constituency period. In short, the state finally has the appetite, the legal armoury and, crucially, the political cover to treat errant universities the way it treats non-compliant restaurants or construction firms.

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3. Tales from the Compliance Crypt – And the Money Universities Saved

Committee packs held three anonymised case files. File A: a Nigerian finance chief at a rural TVET campus who worked for five consecutive 90-day visitor’s permits, none allowing remunerated activity. File B: a Russian theoretical physicist supervising 18 doctoral candidates whose South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) verification never arrived, yet the payroll clocked him every month. File C: a Zimbabwean deputy-campus-principal whose name appeared on salary advice in KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo on the same day. All three dossiers carried the same scribble in red: “No CSL, no market test, no tax number.”

The saving for universities is real. By labelling long-term staff as “visiting scholars,” they slip them onto 70 % of the normal notch and dodge pension-fund contributions. The parliamentary budget office estimates an illicit subsidy of R387 million over four years, money that should have gone to retirement annuities and skills-development levies. In effect, compliant institutions subsidise the cheats, while local graduates compete against a discount labour pool that enjoys none of the protections the law demands.

Meanwhile, not every migrant academic wins. Dr Nomhle, a Zimbabwean sociologist on a critical-skills visa, told MPs she pockets R12 000 a month with no medical aid and is locked out of National Research Foundation grants. She backs stricter screening “if it flushes out bogus VCs but still shields the vulnerable.” Her testimony reminded the room that crack-downs must aim at corner-office gate-keepers, not at precarious scholars fleeing economic collapse north of the Limpopo.

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4. The Reset Button – New Register, New Rules, New Penalties

Before adjourning, the joint committee stitched together an eight-point ultimatum. First, DHET has 90 days to launch a live Foreign Academic Register plugged into DHA’s Movement Control System. Second, every pay-slip recipient who is not a citizen must upload a DEL confirmation letter and SAQA certificate before the next salary run. Third, TVET colleges must file notarised organograms within 30 days, clearly flagging non-citizens.

Enforcement follows: quarterly raids by DHA, DEL and SARS; a whistle-blower line shielded by the Protected Disclosures Act; and the nuclear option - freeze NSFAS or infrastructure grants for any council that stalls. A joint ad-hoc committee will track the forthcoming White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugees to make sure higher-ed loopholes are welded shut. First progress report is due 30 September; miss it and Rule 138 triggers a full parliamentary inquiry.

Australia’s “Genuine Temporary Entrant” test, Britain’s 28-day domestic advertising rule and Canada’s public objection portal will all be mined for language that can be pasted into South Africa’s next Immigration Amendment Bill. One proposed clause will make council chairpersons and vice-chancellors personally criminally liable; another will allow DHA to blacklist any campus where more than five percent of employees are illegal - effectively halting new visa approvals overnight.

The 90-day countdown has already started. Councils will receive couriered data-request letters demanding passport numbers, visa subclasses, SAQA references, DEL confirmations and contract end-dates. A tri-department validation squad will run fuzzy-logic matches; discrepancies earn an on-site audit. Stellenbosch University’s open-search protocol - global adverts, online short-list minutes, nine-month visa-expiry alerts - will be circulated as “Annexure A,” proof that compliance need not cripple recruitment.

Whatever the push-back from lobbyists, the message is unambiguous: foreign expertise remains welcome, but only if it is genuinely scarce, meticulously documented and able to survive sunlight on an open digital dashboard. Internationalisation is no longer a rhetorical flourish; it is a data point, a liability line and, increasingly, a potential criminal charge.

What is the core issue regarding foreign hires in South African universities?

South African universities and TVET colleges have been employing foreign nationals without proper work permits, often misclassifying them as "visiting academics" or using incorrect visas. This practice is illegal, undermines local job seekers, and allows institutions to save money by avoiding proper salaries and benefits.

What are the new rules and penalties Parliament is implementing?

Parliament is cracking down with new rules, including a 90-day deadline for DHET to launch a live Foreign Academic Register, requiring all foreign pay-slip recipients to upload DEL confirmation letters and SAQA certificates, and notarized organograms from TVET colleges. Penalties include quarterly raids, a whistle-blower line, freezing NSFAS or infrastructure grants, and potential personal criminal liability for council chairpersons and vice-chancellors, as well as blacklisting of campuses.

How did universities benefit from these illegal practices?

Universities saved significant amounts of money, estimated at R387 million over four years, by classifying long-term foreign staff as "visiting scholars." This allowed them to pay lower salaries (around 70% of the normal notch) and avoid contributions to pension funds and skills-development levies. This created a discount labor pool, undercutting local graduates.

What specific laws were breached by these institutions?

The primary law breached is Section 38 of the Immigration Act, which prohibits employing a foreigner without the correct work visa, carrying penalties of R100,000 per individual or twelve months in jail. Additionally, the 2014 labour regulations require a Department of Employment and Labour (DEL) confirmation letter proving the vacancy was advertised and that no citizen could fill the role.

What is the "Global Campus" mirage mentioned in the title?

The "Global Campus" mirage refers to the perception or claim by South African universities of being world-class and internationally integrated, while in reality, they were often achieving this through illicit means, such as employing foreign workers without proper documentation. This practice created a false image of internationalization that was not compliant with national laws.

What are the next steps for universities and colleges?

Universities and colleges now face a strict 90-day countdown to comply. They must provide detailed data, including passport numbers, visa subclasses, SAQA references, DEL confirmations, and contract end-dates for all foreign staff. A tri-department validation squad will conduct audits, and non-compliance could lead to severe penalties, including a parliamentary inquiry and potential criminal charges for leadership.