New immigration regulations a threat to tourism and investment
30 May 2014
The Department of Home Affairs' recently gazetted immigration regulations are nothing short of xenophobic and will surely curb tourism, investment and kill jobs (see article on effect on film industry here).
A speculative analysis of these regulations would suggest that Home Affairs is trying to remedy - or rather, cover-up - its rampant permit backlogs by imposing potentially detrimental legislation instead of addressing the mismanagement issues within the department.
A main concern with these regulations is that all mention of fees, fines, investment, financial means or income criteria, as well as critical skills list, and lists of industries that are in the "national interest" are excluded. They have also not been subject to public comment and scrutiny.
Furthermore, the regulations' various omissions and shortcomings raise some Constitutional issues that we will explore in due course.