South Africa’s big brain drain

THE July riots in KZN, load shedding, loss of employment because of Covid19 and the shift to remote working has resulted in a soaring brain drain as South Africans pack for new horizons.

This is particularly prevalent among young families across all professions and races, according to emigration experts.

In the run-up to this weekend’s Emigration Expo in Sandton, experts have warned the trend could leave a void as professionals leave South Africa.

Head of sales and relocation at Chas Everitt property group Leana Nel said that on the first day of last year’s looting in KwaZulu-Natal, she received more than 100 calls in the first 12 hours.

“It never stopped, I also had hundreds and hundreds of emails from KZN that week from people across all race groups wanting to leave. Some were crying and saying they wanted to leave that day.

But she said emigrating was a long process and could take from six months to a year to wrap up personal affairs.

She said with SA’s latest Critical Skills List being released last week, some expats were returning, especially from distant countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the US. The current surge in emigration has also been ascribed to countries opening their borders and processing visas again after a two-year lockdown, as well as the rise of digital technology which allows people to work remotely.

Migration Network, immigration and relocation specialists for Australia and New Zealand, said they had seen a surge in interest in South Africans looking to emigrate.

“Australia and New Zealand only recently announced that they will be reopening their borders, so we are only starting to see an uptake now,” said director Andrew Kerr.

“Pre-Covid we averaged about 40 families a month, during Covid between 15 and 20 families, but I know that will jump up starting now.”

Kerr said high unemployment rates in the country continued to be one of the biggest reasons South Africans wanted to emigrate.

“In Australia and New Zealand, there is a demand for skilled workers across most job categories, like health care, education, IT, engineering, construction, and other trades.

“I have standing orders for qualified South Africans for both countries across many occupations.”

Immigration specialists Sable International, South Africa, say they too had a big demand in South Africans looking to emigrate.

“It is all those who could not travel during Covid, and then those who are just looking to go now,” said John Dunn, director of citizenship and immigration at Sable International.

Sarah Howarth, organiser of The Emigration Expo at Capital On The Park in Sandton, said the event, which includes international exhibitors, showcases a number of different countries other than the usual destinations offering opportunities for South Africans.

“There is an incredibly diverse range of South Africans looking for opportunities and it’s certainly not one demographic. People don’t realise that they are eligible to go to countries they may not have thought about; it’s about finding opportunities,” said Howarth.

Owen Farmerey, managing director of Biddulphs International, said July’s looting triggered countrywide rather than only KZN emigration, which peaked in October but has since calmed down.

“We expected a big spike in demand specifically from KZN but actually it became more of a countrywide phenomenon,” he said.

Paul Benzie, general manager of removal company Elliotts, said there had been a spike in enquiries, with many people waiting for their visas.

He said 20- to 30-year-olds were generally UK-bound, 40- to 60-yearolds were generally headed for Australia, Canada and the US.

Mauritius-bound emigrants often got residence status through buying property on the island, he said.

Carla-Mari Moore, co-founder of Biggles Removals in Pretoria, noted an exodus from Durban to Johannesburg and Cape Town since the looting, for work reasons.