Will we be able to get visas for South Africa?

Expert Info

Posted by FoxSA

on 12 Jan 2017

Hi All

Hope someone can help.

We are a couple (British Citizen)living in the UK with 2 children (age 4 & 5).

After visiting Johannesburg several times and having family over there we would like to and considering a move to Johannesburg.

I am not sure if it’s possible to get any kind of visa status without a job but this would be the plan, my wife would not work and I would most likely be a partner in a families business or start a small business of my own if it’s possible. My rental income from the UK will provide for some of the expenditure in Johannesburg.

Taking the above into consideration, will I be given a visa where I can come and work – I understand I will have to get the children students visas.

Hope you guys can help out.

Mrs.K on 20 Jan 2017 - 11:20

If you are not related to a South African or employed by a South African company then you cant live there. You can visit though. Unless you start your own business and then you can come in on a Business visa. They have tightened their visa procedures recently because of all the Zimbabweans and people from other parts of Africa wanting to live there.

Meagan on 12 Jan 2017 - 13:23

Hi there,

You can have a look at the visa page on the South African Home Affairs website (link), but I'm afraid there's no easy answer. To stay in South Africa permanently, you need to show your motivation for moving to the country (to work, to study, to retire, etc) by the visa you apply for. So, without a clear-cut official purpose for the move, I'm not sure which, if any visas, you'd qualify for, but it's worth perusing the Home Affairs page just to check the options. You could also try consulting an immigration lawyer, or otherwise finding employment in the country.

M

FoxSA on 12 Jan 2017 - 13:59

Are you aware if me and and my wife can accompany my children if they have student visas?

Meagan on 12 Jan 2017 - 14:21

I can't find anything in particular on that, but on this page, a type of visa called a "relative's visa" is mentioned, but it looks like the person in South Africa needs to be a citizen or permanent resident that has financial means to support the relatives in question.

Anonymous (not verified) on 13 Jan 2017 - 04:41

I found it quite easy to get a visa for South Africa, but then I had a Resident as a partner. I would recommend exploring the use of an agent. I used Interface SA and spoke to Matthew. They assisted us each step of the way and while it took a long time, South African government is rather inefficient, it happened without a hitch. This is their website http://www.interfacesa.co.za/

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