Pharmacy profession in South Africa is so in demand. There
has been a scarcity of pharmacists in South Africa for a while, and govt. is
taking adequate steps required to surmount this lacking. The pharmacy council
is doing its best to spread awareness about the importance of medicines and
hospitals in rural areas as most people in rural still go for the traditional
medications which is solely because of the lack of knowledge and awareness. And
by expanding the universities to these areas, it increases the pass out rate of
pharmacists per annum. South Africa on other hand also allows pharmacists from
foreign countries (who obtained their degrees from countries other than South
Africa) to register with SAPC and work in South Africa.
If you are a qualified pharmacist outside South Africa and
wailing to register as a pharmacist in South Africa, here is the procedure to
follow. Before going into the details, let me introduce you to FWMP or FWM.
The Foreign Workforce Management (FWM) of South Africa
Foreign workforce management of South Africa is a govt. body
that serves all foreigners who are willing to work in South Africa. All applications
by Healthcare Professionals for employment in South Africa must first be sent
to the National Department of Health.
The FWM division is managed by Mr.Hennie Groenewald who is
the Director: Workforce Management. Application to the FWM is a mere presentation
of your candidature for consideration and does not serve as an invitation to
depart to South Africa, should you still be abroad.
Here are the steps to follow to get registered as a
pharmacist in South Africa.
Before
entering the Republic
1.
First obtain the qualification of B.pharmacy/ M.pharmacy, Pharma.D
2. You need to
Clear IELTS with a minimum band
score of 6.0, check this http://www.infosapharmacy.blogspot.com/2012/10/ielts-to-get-work-permit-to-south-africa.html
3. You need to
arrange the following documents.
·
Birth
certificate
·
Passport
·
Grade 12 or
any equivalent certificate’s marks lists
·
Marks lists
of every semester of the B.pharmacy/ M.pharmacy, Pharma.D
·
Provisional
certificate of the course completed
·
Convocation
certificate of the course completed
·
IELTS
report card
·
Filled
application form downloaded from the site of fwmp, LINK: http://www.doh.gov.za/docs/misc/2011/fwmapplication.pdf
·
Certified
copies of each and every document required.
·
A covering
letter stating the subjects covered in your course and your
project(if any) experience(if any)
4. Scan the entire documents and mail them to the fwmp.
6. It takes a
time of 45 days approximately to get
the result from the fwmp.
7. Meanwhile
keep them reminding about your application through mails. And be patient.
8.
Receive the
letter from the fwmp.
9.
With the
letter you can apply for visa.
Visa requirements:
·
Valid passport with at least 3 empty pages.
·
Letter from fwmp
·
Filled application form of South African visit permit
·
Valid Police clearance certificate(pcc)
·
Valid health certificates regarding your mental
conditions and any diseases like tuberculosis, hepatitis etc.,
·
Forms are downloaded from the site
·
Bank statements of the candidate/ If any sponsors are
available to you in South Africa, id/work permit of the person.
·
His/her bank statements 6 months.
·
A letter certified from your sponsor stating that you
are his/her responsibility during your visit in South Africa.
·
A certified letter about the sponsor residence.
·
Confirmed two ways flight ticket to the destination or
a ticket held to certain dates.
Kindly take
note:
Don’t depend on any agents. As there are many who got dumped
in the middle of the process.
It’s always better to go in your own way. Do things by
yourself. Just to motivate: you are a grown up adult, as you are about to enter
next stage of your life, as an adult you should be able to do all these things
by yourself. Going through an agency is risky and not always reliable.
Tips in
embassy:
Convince the officer pleasingly explaining the purpose of
visit and about the letter received by you.
Don’t be afraid of the questions asked, answer them with
confidence.
Confidence plays a key role.
After entering the Republic
·
You need to acquire SAQA certificate (South African
Qualification Authority) first.
·
You need to extend your visa as soon as possible, as
you will be given one extension only, you should use it wisely. As it takes a
bit of time for the extension process, it is advised to do your extension as
soon as you enter the republic.
·
Apply for the council (SAPC) with all the documents
including your SAQA and IELTS.
·
Keep on following up about the status of your
application.
·
You should receive the approval in few days.
·
Now pay the examination fee and fix your examination
venue.
·
Write your exam on the date fixed by SAPC and wait for
your results.
·
Standard of the professional exams is pretty high and
if you know your stuff, it is not difficult to pass. But, let me warn you, very
few people made it on their first time, so please don’t take these exams
easily. Mark my words, if you don’t study well you won’t make it first time.
All the best to one and all, thanks
for visiting my site. Have you any doubts; please feel free to leave a comment,
we are very happy to help.
I would like to thank my dear brother Ram Dilip Nuthalapti for this guest post.
THANK YOU
