Asked what sort of visa process would be put in place to attract skilled migrants, he said the department would have to come up with a policy attractive to skilled migrants. "We are competing with the rest of the world. We have to be able to sell our country," he said. He said one possible measure could be the offer of permanent residence to skilled migrants after three years.

Last month, the Adcorp Employment Index estimated that there are as many as 830,000 unfilled positions for high-skilled workers across a wide range of occupations in South Africa.