The Visitor's Permit - South Africa

Please notice that holders of passports for The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland - including the British Islands Bailiwick of Guernsey and Jersey, Isle of Mann and Virgin Islands - as well as the Republic of Ireland, are totally exempt from South African visa control in the respect of visits to South Africa for tourist, business or transit purposes.

A 3month Visitor’s Permit will be granted to persons from countries where visas are not necessary, for instance Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States of America within the following categories:

Tourists, family members, business people that have a foreign work contract and generate their income overseas, educational opportunities, and medical treatment 

You will be granted the permit when entering the country after proof of a valid return or onward ticket, or a deposit of R 3110. No additional documents are necessary.

Please note, that you do not have the right to work with a Visitors Permit.

Extending the Visitor's Permit
 

For the extension of the Visitors Permit for a further 3months the application must be submitted 30 days before the expiry of the first permit and the following documents are required.

• Application Form BI-1739
• Motivational letter, which states the reason for the extension
• Valid passport, valid until 30 days after the extension of the permit
• Capital statements to prove that you can support yourself in South
  Africa from your own funds. This has to be in the form of:

                               -Bank statements
                               -Pay slip
                               -Security from people living in South Africa
                               -Proof of medical insurance
                               -Proof of cash in the form of credit cards or
                               -traveller’s cheques

• Valid return ticket or deposit of R3110
• Fee of R425 per applicant (Children under 12 are free of this charge)
• Security from people living in South Africa
• Proof of medical insurance
• Proof of cash in the form of credit cards or traveller’s cheques
• Valid return ticket or deposit of R3110
• Fee of R425 per applicant (Children under 12 are free of this charge) 

Applications for extensions that are handed in after the 30day period will be charged with an extra fee of R425. Furthermore, a provisional permit with a validity of 30days will have to be applied for. This is to allow for the 30 days it takes to process the application.

It is not specific how often an extension is permissible. Our experience is that  the extension should be granted twice without any problems.

• Visa
• Phoning from South Africa
• Insurance & Heath
• Banks and Exchange Rate
• Tax Return

• Daily Newspapers

• Emergency Numbers