South Africa Immigration Made Easy

Here's information on immigration categories, requirements and application procedures.

Who can immigrate to SA?

Protecting & creating job opportunities
South Africa has a vast reserve of unskilled and semi-skilled workers. Generally, a prospective immigrant to South Africa should not follow an occupation for which there are already sufficient people available to meet the country's needs. Unskilled and semi-skilled workers, in particular, will not usually be accepted as immigrant workers in South Africa.

Conversely, immigrants who are in a position to contribute to the broadening of South Africa's economic base will be welcomed. Applications by skilled workers in occupations for which there is a shortage in the country are encouraged - particularly applications by industrialists and other entrepreneurs who wish to relocate their existing businesses or establish new concerns in South Africa.

Commitment to the country
Because of the need to create job opportunities for South African workers, prospective immigrants should be seriously committed to investing their assets, skills and experience for the benefit of themselves and the people of South Africa.

Basic requirements
All applications for permanent residence are considered individually on merit by the Immigrants Selection Board. If you wish to immigrate permanently to South Africa, you should:

• Be of good character.
• Not be likely to be harmful to the welfare of the country.
• Not follow an occupation in which there are already sufficient people available to meet the country's needs.

When can I apply for immigration?
In general, you should apply for immigration to South Africa while in your country of residence, and await the outcome of your application before proceeding to South Africa. However, you may apply for immigration while in South Africa if:

• You are in the country on a valid work permit; or
• You are married to, or the child of, a South African citizen or permanent resident, and are in South Africa on a valid temporary residence permit; or
• You are being sponsored for immigration purposes by a blood family member who is permanently and lawfully resident in South Africa, and are in South Africa on a valid temporary residence permit; or
• You have been exempted from the requirement to hold a temporary residence permit.

Special arrangements for Chinese citizens:
If you're a citizen of the People's Republic of China, and you wish to come to South Africa for business negotiations, feasibility studies, to establish a business, or to take up employment with a South African company which has been financed with foreign capital from Mainland China, you should first approach the Chinese Ministry of Trade and Economic Co-operation. Only after the approval of the Ministry has been obtained and the relevant applications have been lodged with the South African Embassy in Beijing, will the Immigrants Selection Board be able to consider your admission to South Africa.

Which immigration category am I in?
If you are applying for immigration to South Africa, it is not up to you to place yourself in a specific immigration category. This is an administrative function performed by officials of the Department of Home Affairs, taking into account your background and other relevant information.

The Immigration Act, Act 13 of 2002, its Amendment and the Regulations clearly and succinctly outline an array of permits of a temporary and permanent nature. It may be daunting at first glance and the selection of the appropriate permit may appear to be an impossible exercise in itself. Please visit our page 'Types of Permits' for an overview of the permits.

The Supporting Documents

Temporary Residence Permits are permits, which are granted for a limited period of time only as set out in the Immigration Act and its Amendment. These permits are not of a permanent nature but enable the holder to engage in multiple entries to the Republic and to conduct the approved activity. There are a number of Temporary Residence Permits, which can be applied for and the documents required are dealt with in more detail below.

The mere submission of an application does not entitle the applicant to engage in the activity applied for. This can result in severe penalties and in the worse case scenario, deportation.

Documents which have been submitted to the Department do not have to be resubmitted. When submitting an application to a South African embassy or consulate it is imperative to ensure that there is proof of such submission as the onus is on the applicant to provide the Department with the documents necessary to process and evaluate the application.

The supporting documents which are not in English are to be accompanied by certified translations into English. The translations of official documents have to be effected by a Sworn Translator. These documents have to be provided in the original or in certain cases certified copies are acceptable. The Department will only accept original police clearance certificates, medical -and radiological certificates, notarial agreements and spousal affidavits.

In many countries applicants can request the issuance of international documents like international birth certificates which are already in the English language. This saves time as well as costs.