The visa routes to South Africa: from pension to points

South Africa has no free right of settlement: every route is a visa with its own requirements, and the department that issues them is notoriously slow. Whoever knows the routes and their clocks doesn't lose a year to it. This article sets them out.

The retired person visa: passive income, per applicant

The classic route for pensioners — although there is no age limit. The requirement: demonstrable R 37,000 a month per applicant from pension, irrevocable annuity or income from assets such as rent and dividends. Salary does not count, and a couple shows the amount twice — per applicant is the rule that breaks most files. At some posts a capital sum can partly replace the income. The visa is usually issued for four years and is renewable, with a parallel track to permanent residence on the same grounds.

The net-worth route: R 12 million, directly permanent

Section 27(f) gives direct permanent residence to whoever demonstrates a net worth of R 12 million — held anywhere in the world, certified by a chartered accountant — plus a fee of R 120,000 after approval. Spouse and children under 21 come along. The price is the waiting time: count on around two years. Many households therefore combine: first the quicker retired person visa, and let the PR application run alongside.

The remote work visa: your Dutch work comes along

Since 2024 there has been a route for whoever works remotely for foreign employers or clients: an employment contract or client base outside South Africa and a gross income of R 650,796 a year. The validity runs up to three years. The fiscal footnote: whoever stays in South Africa for more than 183 days a year registers with SARS — the treaty prevents double taxation, but the registration duty remains.

Working and running a business: the points system

Since October 2024 the critical skills and general work visa work with a single points system: 100 points, built up from education, salary, experience and language. Whoever is on the Critical Skills List — with a striking number of technical trades: electricians, mechanics, welders — clears the threshold automatically. The business visa requires an investment of R 5 million. And whoever has a South African partner knows the spousal route, where working requires a separate endorsement on the visa.

The two rules every route shares

Home Affairs is slow. Work visas take two to five months in practice, permanent residence one to two years, and the government extended pending applications collectively because the backlogs became too large. Plan nothing irrevocable around it, keep every receipt, and submit renewals while the visa is still valid for sixty days.

One day of overstay makes you "undesirable". Up to thirty days' overstay means an entry ban of twelve months, beyond that five years — and that end of your emigration is pronounced at passport control at the airport, not in a letter beforehand. The end date of your visa is the most important date in your diary.

One thing fewer than before

Since 8 July 2026 the medical and radiological report for residence applications has been scrapped. Checklists — including those of embassies — sometimes lag behind on this; check the current list just before submitting, and don't supply what is no longer asked for: it only makes the file thicker.