South African visas for Brits: retire, work or remote

Ninety days visa-free is lovely for a holiday. To actually live in Cape Town, you need the right visa, and you usually need to apply for it from the UK.

The short version

British citizens can visit South Africa visa-free for up to 90 days for tourism or business [1]. That's not permission to live or work there.
The retired person's visa needs proof of an income of at least R37,000 a month (about £1,670) from pensions or similar sources [2].
The critical skills work visa needs a job offer in an occupation on the Critical Skills List and is issued for up to five years at a time [2]. Since October 2024 work visas are scored on a points system [3][4].
The remote work visa is for people employed by a foreign company, with an income test of roughly R650,000 a year (about £29,300) [4][5].
From the UK, you apply in person through VFS Global in London, Manchester or Edinburgh. Allow at least 60 working days [6].

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

First, the 90-day rule

When we checked the FCDO's South Africa entry requirements on 7 November 2026, they said British citizens can visit for up to 90 days without a visa for business or tourism, that your passport must be valid for at least 30 days after you leave, and that it must have at least two blank pages [1]. Don't overstay: it can lead to administrative fines and make it harder to come back.

Dual British–South African nationals aged 18 or over must enter and leave on their South African passport [1]. If that's you, you don't need any of the visas below.

Home Affairs is strict that you apply for the right visa for what you're actually doing [2], and arriving as a tourist hoping to sort out a long-stay visa from a flat in Camps Bay rarely works.

The three main routes compared

	Retired person's visa	Critical skills work visa	Remote work visa
Who it's for	People living on pensions, annuities, rent or investments	Skilled people with a South African job offer	People employed by a company outside South Africa
Money test	At least R37,000 a month (about £1,670)	Points for salary, among other things	Roughly R650,000 a year gross (about £29,300)
Can you work locally?	Not as of right	Yes, in the job you were approved for	No, not for a South African employer
How long	Usually issued for up to four years, renewable	Up to five years at a time	Up to three years, according to advisers
Route to permanent residence?	Yes, in the retired person category	Yes, in the critical skills category	Not directly

Sources: Home Affairs [2], EY [4], and immigration advisers [5][7]. Check the rules with Home Affairs or VFS before you apply.

The retired person's visa

This is the visa most British retirees in Cape Town use. Despite the name, Home Affairs doesn't set a minimum age for it at the moment; what matters is the money.

The income test

Home Affairs says the minimum monthly payment to the applicant "is currently set at R37 000,00" [2]. That's about £1,670 a month, or about £20,000 a year. It must be income you can prove, such as:

a UK workplace or private pension
the UK State Pension
an annuity
rental income from UK property
dividends or interest from investments

The spouse and dependent children of a visa holder can be issued with an appropriate visa to accompany them [2]. Advisers say there is also an alternative based on net worth, but the way Home Affairs words it on its own page is unclear, so check with VFS before relying on it.

For comparison, the full new UK State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27, about £1,045 a month [8]. On its own, that's well short of the R37,000 test. Most people combine it with a workplace or private pension. And remember that your State Pension will be frozen once you live in South Africa: see our guide to the frozen UK State Pension in South Africa.

Documents

Home Affairs lists, among other things [2]:

a completed application form (BI-1738) and a passport with a free page, valid for 30 days after your intended stay
proof of the income above
proof of medical cover
medical and radiology reports
a police clearance certificate from every country where you lived for 12 months or more since the age of 18 (for the UK, that's an ACRO police certificate)
passport photos and the fee

Working on a retired person's visa

You can't take a job as of right. Advisers say you can apply for work authorisation on an ad hoc basis [7]. If you want to work properly, you need a work visa instead.

Changes on the way

In April 2026, the government approved an updated White Paper on citizenship and immigration that proposes a minimum age and a higher income test for the retired person's visa, tied to the cost of living [9]. Officials said the visa had been granted to people as young as 25. No new figures or dates had been set when we checked, and the changes need legislation first. Until then, the R37,000 test applies.

The critical skills work visa

This is the route for skilled professionals. Home Affairs issues it for up to five years at a time [2]. You need:

a job offer or contract from a South African employer that's in good standing with the Department of Employment and Labour
an occupation on the Critical Skills List, which Home Affairs updates from time to time
your qualifications evaluated by SAQA (the South African Qualifications Authority)
membership of, or confirmation from, the relevant South African professional body, where one exists
a medical report and police clearance certificates [2]

It's not a work-seeker's visa: Home Affairs says every application must come with a job offer [2].

The points system

Since 9 October 2024, critical skills and general work visas have been assessed on points [3][4]. You need at least 100. EY's summary of the gazetted system gives these scores [4]:

Factor	Points
Occupation on the Critical Skills List	100
Degree at NQF level 9 or 10 (a master's or doctorate)	50
Degree at NQF level 7 or 8 (a bachelor's or honours)	30
More than 10 years' experience	30
Five to 10 years' experience	20
Salary above R976,194 a year (about £44,000)	50
Salary of R650,796 to R976,194 a year (about £29,300 to £44,000)	20
Job offer from a Trusted Employer	20
Proficiency in an official South African language	10

English is an official language, and a listed occupation scores 100 on its own. If it isn't, you're looking at the general work visa, where Home Affairs says applications outside its Trusted Employer Scheme need a salary of at least R650,796 a year [3].

The remote work visa

South Africa's answer to the digital nomad visa was gazetted alongside the points system in October 2024 [3]. It's aimed at people who are employed by a company abroad and want to do that job from South Africa.

Income: gross income of roughly R650,000 a year. EY gives R650,976 and other advisers give R650,796, so check the exact figure when you apply [4][5]. That's about £29,300. The test was cut from R1 million when the final rules were published [4].
Employer: you must work for a foreign employer. You can't take a job with a South African company on this visa [5].
Tax: if you're tax resident in a country that has a tax treaty with South Africa (the UK does), you must register with SARS once you've spent more than 183 days in South Africa in any 12-month period [4]. Our guide to South African taxes for Brits explains when you become tax resident.
Length: advisers say up to three years [5].

When we checked, the remote work visa wasn't listed among the visa types on VFS Global's UK page for South Africa [6], so ask the South African High Commission in London how to apply before you book anything.

Working for a UK employer from Cape Town? Read our guide to working abroad for a UK employer too.

Applying from the UK through VFS

VFS Global is the official partner of the South African High Commission in the UK, with application centres in London, Manchester and Edinburgh [6]. When we checked:

You must apply in person, and only people with UK residential status can apply through the UK centres [6].
For a retired person's or critical skills visa, the processing time is a minimum of 60 working days at all three centres, and can be longer [6].
The retired person's visa fee was £35, paid at the centre, plus a £40 VFS service charge paid online when you book. Courier return is compulsory in Manchester and Edinburgh. Fees change each April [6].
Documents in another language need a sworn translation into English [6].

A practical order of play:

Start with the police certificates. ACRO certificates and those from other countries take time, and Home Affairs wants them no older than six months [2].
Book medical and radiology reports for the same window.
Get documents apostilled where needed. Marriage and birth certificates usually do.
Arrange South African medical cover if your visa needs it (the retired person's visa does). Our guide to healthcare in Cape Town covers medical schemes.
Book the VFS appointment and pay the service charge online.
Don't book a one-way flight until the visa is in your passport.

Our community group for Brits in South Africa is a good place to compare notes with people who've recently been through VFS.

Renewals and backlogs

Renewals are made from inside South Africa, through VFS centres, and Home Affairs wants them lodged at least 60 days before your visa expires [2]. Home Affairs has struggled with backlogs: it has issued a series of directives protecting people whose applications were stuck, the latest extending relief to 30 June 2027 [10]. Apply early and keep every receipt.

South African visas for Brits: the retired person's visa, critical skills and remote work