Temporary Residency

Work Permit

A South African work visa is required for a foreign national who wishes to work here — typically from three months up to five years. You cannot work on a visa that is not endorsed for work.

Types of work visas include:

• Short-term work visa — up to three months, with the possibility of extension, where a South African employer needs a short-term skill it cannot source locally.
• General work visa — the employer must show, with Department of Labour approval, that a citizen or permanent resident with the required skills could not be found for that post.
• Critical skills work visa — the applicant must hold the academic and professional qualifications, and usually a fixed-term offer, in a field on the current critical skills list.
• Intra-company transfer visa — an employee is seconded from a foreign employer to a South African branch or affiliate to work and transfer skills.

We prepare the visa file to the category that fits the facts, including the labour-market and skills evidence the Department requires.

Business Visa

A foreign national who wishes to establish a business in South Africa, or invest in an existing one, applies for a business visa. The application is made on Form BI-1738 and must include a certificate from a chartered accountant registered in South Africa.

Typical requirements include:

• A prescribed cash investment into the Republic (R5 000 000 is the minimum ordinarily accepted without a waiver);
• Confirmation that at least 60% of the workforce will be South African citizens or permanent residents;
• Undertakings to register with SARS, the Unemployment Insurance Fund, the Compensation Fund, and CIPC where the business is not yet trading;
• A letter addressing feasibility and contribution to the national interest.

Applications into a pre-existing business also require the preceding year’s financial statements and proof of the registrations above. A waiver of the capital requirement is a separate process and must be approved before the visa is lodged.

Spousal Visa

A foreign spouse or life partner of a South African citizen or permanent resident may apply for a temporary spousal visa, provided the marriage or partnership is genuine. “Spouse” includes heterosexual and same-sex relationships, and both civil marriage and life partnership. The parties must usually have been in the relationship before the application date.

• Temporary spousal visas have no prescribed minimum duration of the relationship.
• Permanent residence on spousal grounds ordinarily requires five years of a genuine marriage or life partnership, with evidence of cohabitation and shared financial responsibility.
• Proof typically includes a marriage certificate or partnership evidence, the South African party’s citizenship or residence, a letter of support, and a completed temporary-residence form.

A VFS filing fee applies to applications lodged inside South Africa. We assemble the relationship evidence and lodge, or recast the file, where the Department questions bona fides.

Study Visa

An international student who intends to study full-time in South Africa must hold a study visa issued for that institution. The visa covers the course at the named school, college, or university; a change of institution requires a fresh application.

An applicant older than 21 must produce an acceptance letter and show that the student or a sponsor can meet tuition and living costs. Medical cover and a valid passport are required. Study visas are typically issued for the duration of the programme and may be renewed from within South Africa where the studies continue.

We match the file to the institution’s letter and the Department’s checklist, including where a minor studies and a parent holds a different visa category.

Relative Visa

A foreign national who is related to a South African citizen or permanent resident may qualify for a relatives’ visa. It is ordinarily a two-year, multiple-entry visa, renewable. Work is not generally permitted on this category.

A person in the first line of kinship (parent or child) may also have a path to permanent residence on relative grounds. The applicant must prove the relationship (usually a birth certificate) and that the South African family can support the applicant financially.

We take the kinship documents and the financial evidence together so the category is not confused with a spousal or visitor file.

Retired Person Visa

The retired-person visa is for applicants who can meet the financial requirements without working. There is no prescribed age limit. A monthly irrevocable income (pension, annuity, or similar) at the prescribed level is required.

The visa may be issued for up to four years and can be extended from within South Africa. A spouse and dependent children may be listed as accompanying persons; school-age children should hold their own study visas.

Permanent residence on retirement grounds uses a similar income test, at the prescribed monthly figure, for the duration of residence. We prepare both the temporary file and, when the facts support it, the later permanent-residence application.

Visitor Visa

Nationals of some countries may enter South Africa without a visitor visa in advance. Others must apply in their country of citizenship or residence. A typical visitor (tourist) visa allows a stay of up to 90 days and, in some cases, a further 90-day extension.

Longer visitor categories can run for up to three years, renewable, where the applicant qualifies, including:

• An accompanying spouse, life partner, or child of a holder of a work, study, business, retirement, relative, treaty, or crew visa;
• An academic sabbatical supported by the home institution;
• Film and advertisement production (cast and crew);
• A journalist employed by a foreign news agency;
• Research at an institution, or a tour leader;
• A child born in South Africa to parents who are both on temporary residence.

Some visitor visas may carry a work endorsement where the Immigration Act permits it. We identify the correct visitor subcategory rather than stretching a tourist admission.