Moving to Cape Town as a Brit: the visa routes that actually work

A British passport gets you 90 days in South Africa; anything longer means picking a visa route and doing the paperwork before you pack.

The short version

• Visiting: British citizens can stay up to 90 days without a visa for tourism or business, with a passport valid for at least 30 days after you leave and two blank pages [1].
• Working for a South African employer: you need a General Work Visa or Critical Skills Work Visa, both scored under a points-based system since October 2024 [3].
• Working remotely for a UK employer: the Remote Work Visa needs a gross salary of at least R650,796 a year (about £29,300) from a foreign employer [4].
• Retiring: the Retired Person Visa needs at least R37,000 a month (about £1,670) from a pension, annuity or assets, and there's currently no minimum age [3].
• Apply through VFS Global or a South African mission abroad, not the British High Commission, which can't help with visas [2].

Pound conversions use the Bank of England spot rate of 5 November 2026 (£1 = ZAR 22.1972), rounded.

Visiting first, then deciding

Plenty of Brits fall for Cape Town on a winter-sun holiday and start wondering about staying. That's fine, but a visitor stay is exactly that. You can't work for a South African company on it, and the 90 days aren't a trial run of residence.

When we checked the FCDO travel advice on 7 November 2026 (updated 5 November 2026), it said British visitors need a passport with an expiry date at least 30 days after they leave and at least two blank pages [1]. It also flagged that from 1 July 2026 all travellers entering or leaving South Africa must submit an online traveller declaration before they travel. Children aged 17 and under have their own document rules, so check those with the Department of Home Affairs before a family recce [1].

South Africa's new Electronic Travel Authorisation, launched in August 2026, is being rolled out by nationality. Visa-exempt travellers such as Brits aren't required to use it [3].

The main routes for Brits

Here's the lie of the land in November 2026. All of these are temporary residence visas; permanent residence is a separate step later.

Working for a South African employer

Since 8 October 2024, General Work and Critical Skills Work Visas have been decided on points, and you need 100 [3]. Points come from qualifications (50 for a master's or doctorate, 30 for a bachelor's degree), salary (50 if your package is above R976,194, about £44,000 a year), work experience, language, and working for a Home Affairs "Trusted Employer" (30 points) [3].

For a Critical Skills visa your occupation also has to be on the Critical Skills List. The list in force dates from February 2022, and a review has been expected for some time, so check your job title against it before you build a plan around it [3]. Your degree will usually need evaluating by SAQA, the South African Qualifications Authority, which can take a while.

Working remotely for a UK company

This is the route many Brits ask about. The Remote Work Visa lets you live in South Africa while working for an employer abroad, for up to 36 months [3]. Home Affairs' published requirements ask for a gross salary of no less than R650,796 a year, shown through three months of bank statements [4]. Some secondary sources quote R650,976; use the figure on the Home Affairs requirements sheet when you apply and check it hasn't changed.

The visa doesn't sort out tax. If you live in Cape Town and work there, South Africa may treat you as tax resident and your UK employer may still be running PAYE. See our guide to South African taxes for Brits and the living-abroad guide to working abroad for a UK employer.

Retiring to the Cape

The Retired Person Visa needs proof of at least R37,000 a month for life from a pension, irrevocable annuity or retirement account, or a net worth that produces that income [3]. The figure hasn't changed since 2014, which makes it reachable for many people with a UK State Pension plus a workplace pension.

There's no minimum age today. The government's Revised White Paper, approved by Cabinet in 2026, proposes a minimum retirement age of 55 and a higher income test, but that's a proposal, not law [3]. If you're in your forties and planning to use this route, keep an eye on it.

Remember that the UK State Pension is frozen in South Africa: it won't rise each April while you live there [5]. Our guide to the frozen UK State Pension in South Africa explains what that costs over a long retirement.

Partners, families and students

If your partner is South African, you'll usually apply for a relative's or spousal visa. On its own it doesn't let you work: spouses currently apply separately for a section 11(6) visitor's visa to work, study or run a business [3]. The White Paper proposes merging the two so relative's visa holders can work, but again that isn't law yet [3].

If you're moving as the partner of someone on a work visa, you'll normally go as a dependant and need your own visa to work.

Permanent residence and the "rich list" route

After five years on a work visa, or through a spouse or other qualifying route, you may be able to apply for permanent residence. The financially independent route asks for a net worth of R12 million (about £540,600) and a R120,000 fee (about £5,400) [3]. Proposals to replace it with an investment-based visa, and to put permanent residence on a quota, aren't in force [3]. Our guide to permanent residence in South Africa goes into the detail.

South Africa allows dual citizenship with the UK, so taking South African citizenship one day doesn't mean giving up your British passport [2].

What to do first

The paperwork is the slow bit, so start early. A typical order of play:

1. Pick your route using the table above, and check it against the current Home Affairs requirements, not a forum post from 2019.
2. Order a police certificate from every country you've lived in. For the UK that's an ACRO police certificate, which takes time.
3. Get your qualifications evaluated by SAQA if you're going down a work route.
4. Book medical and radiological reports, which most temporary residence applications need.
5. Line up proof of money: bank statements, pension statements or an employment contract, translated and certified where needed.
6. Apply through VFS Global in the UK, or in South Africa if your current status allows it [2]. Online applications now carry a R500 (about £22.50) electronic processing fee on top of the visa fee [3].
7. Sort the UK end: tell HMRC you're leaving (usually with form P85), check your State Pension forecast and think about voluntary National Insurance. Our moving abroad checklist for Brits covers it all.

Home Affairs has a backlog, so leave plenty of slack. A 2026 directive lets people with a pending temporary residence application through VFS stay lawfully while they wait, but it doesn't cover permanent residence applicants [3].

Life admin once you land

A few things that catch Brits out in the first weeks:

• Healthcare isn't covered by any UK–South Africa deal. There's no reciprocal health agreement, so you'll need private medical cover [2]. Many visas ask for it anyway.
• Money in and out is regulated. South Africa has exchange controls, and you must declare cash above R25,000 (about £1,130) per person when you enter [1]. See our guide to South African exchange control.
• The consulate can't help with visas. The British Consulate General in Cape Town and the High Commission in Pretoria help British nationals in trouble, but they don't handle South African residence or give personal relocation advice [2].
• You can still vote at home. Register as an overseas voter; votes for life mean there's no 15-year cut-off any more.

Ask in our community group for Brits in South Africa, here, and someone will have been through your exact visa route, usually with a story about the queue at VFS.

Sources

1. GOV.UK (FCDO): South Africa travel advice – entry requirements (updated 5 November 2026)
2. GOV.UK (FCDO): Living in South Africa
3. Visa Immigration SA: New South African visa rules in 2026 – what's law vs proposed (21 August 2026)
4. Department of Home Affairs: Visitor's visa section 11(1)(b)(iv) for remote work – requirements (9 October 2024)
5. GOV.UK (DWP): Countries where we pay an annual increase in the State Pension

Keep reading

• South African visas for Brits: retired person, critical skills and remote work
• Renting in Cape Town
• Cost of living in Cape Town vs London and the UK average
• Retiring abroad: the main retirement visas for Brits