The most common types of South African visa are listed below.

Work Visa
This visa is often granted to foreign professionals when there is a skill shortage in the South African market. Information technology, engineering, accountancy and finance are some of the most highly sought-after positions in South Africa.

Spouse and Life Partner Visa
A South African relative or permanent resident must sponsor this visa.

Retirement Visa
South Africa is a popular destination among retirees, owing to the anti-discrimination provisions of its constitution and the climate. A retirement visa grants temporary or permanent residency and is available to anyone who is financially capable of supporting themselves. To qualify, South African visa applicants must have a pension account or annuity amounting to at least R20,000 per month. Unlike a work permit, a retirement visa does not require employer sponsorship, though retirement visa holders enjoy the right to work in South Africa if they wish to.

Business Visa
This type of visa offers temporary residence to businessmen. Its closest foreign counterparts are the UK investor visa and the US EB-5 visa. To qualify for a business visa, applicants must have a minimum investment of R2.5million. Visa applicants must also submit a comprehensive business plan and must be employed in the planned venture. Proof of entrepreneurial skills and business experience are also required.

In the case of the Intra Company Transfer, the company must meet several conditions. First, it should have a recognised presence both in the UK and in South Africa. Third, both must be part of the same international group. If these three conditions have been satisfied, the candidate for Intra Company Transfer may then be considered for transfer from the UK office to the South African subsidiary or division.

As far as Secondment work permits are concerned, the applicant cannot move to South Africa to work. Secondments only allow candidates to visit the company’s South African office or branch and as part of their job description, to provide services, but not transfer there. A typical example of the type of services that could be carried out on a Secondment working permit is the installation of equipment, software or similar. The work being done is strictly observed, in order to ensure that only essential and specialised services are being provided. It is clear that only very skilled and experienced workers will be able to claim a Secondment working permit.

Before these work permits are issued, South African officials will consider further criteria in order to ensure that a candidate is fit to be issued with one. Of course, the individual must be able to carry out the job, but another major criterion is that the candidate should have worked for the company for period of at least six months.

Because South Africa is endowed with massive natural resources, mining and extraction is a good industry to consider when looking for employment. The health of the South African economy relies heavily on mining and extraction, from diamonds to petroleum. One of the largest companies in the industry is BHP Billiton. This is a multi-national that employs approximately 37,000 people worldwide and had a turnover of US$31.8 billion, in 2005. South Africa is one of the world leaders in aluminium extraction, in Richards Bay and coal mining in Mpumalanga. It is also a leading player in the field of heavy metals. There are many job opportunities in BHP Billiton, which offers its employees an extensive range of training and award programmes.

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SAB Miller is heavily involved in the consumer and manufacturing sector of South Africa, being the second largest brewery in the world. The company was formed in 2002, following a merger involving South African breweries and Miller Brewing. Even though the base of operations and headquarters is in London, the South African branch has a major presence in the country. It has seven breweries, including two in Johannesburg and others in Cape Town, Pretoria, Durban, Port Elizabeth and Pietersburg. It had a turnover of US $2,522 million and manufactures a large number of globally recognised lager beers, in addition to a number of soft drinks. Benefits and salaries are generous and the company insists that their employees work on a flexible schedule and have a balanced and healthy lifestyle. The company also provides competitive training, which is designed to help employees achieve their full potential.

A South African work permit must be obtained if a foreign individual is to live and working in the country for just a limited time. This kind of visa is known as an employer-led temporary residence permit. However, in order to be able to apply for permanent residency in the country, a foreign national in possession of a working permit must remain in South Africa for at least five years.

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If an individual has a spouse who is already a permanent resident of South Africa or if he or she is already a citizen of the country, they can migrate to the country through sponsorship on either a temporary or permanent basis.

A South African retirement visa is given to people who wish to retire to the country. This visa allows an individual to live in the country on a seasonal basis and has a validity of four years. It can be renewed any number of times for a similar period.

If a foreign individual wishes to visit family or friends or just tour the country, a South African visitor visa or tourist visa must be obtained. This category of visa has a validity of up to three months and does not allow the holder to work in the country. However, a short course of study is allowed.

The South African government recognises the fact that though the country is quite large, there is a limit to the level of population, including both South African citizens and immigrants that can realistically be accommodated. As a result, they are very keen on accepting only skilled people to work there. As there are many South African citizens who belong to the unskilled and semi-skilled category of workers, the government is only interested in encouraging immigrant workers who possess educational degrees or higher forms of skills and talents. In addition, anyone wishing to apply for a South African visa must be ready to share their knowledge and be willing to provide training and development to the unskilled citizens of South Africa.

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The government of South Africa introduced the Immigration Act of 2002, with the intention of strongly promoting control over the issue of South African visas.

Anyone interested in moving to the country has to pay US$255.00 for the application forms for a South African visa. The fee applies to every individual or family and whether the permit is eventually granted or not, the fee is non-refundable. Usually, the applicant must wait for around 12 to18 months before the government makes a final decision.

If you wish to live in South Africa, you must be prepared to go through the process of acquiring a South African visa, no matter how long the process takes. However, once you have the correct permit, you will be given the opportunity to enjoy the rich culture and amazing wildlife of the country.

There are different types of visa, but all fall under either of the two broad categories, immigrant and non-immigrant. Immigrant visas offer permanent residency, whereas non-immigrant visas only grant a temporary stay. The most common types of visa are as follows:

Work Visas: Issued to foreign nationals whose profession is in great demand. The availability of work visa depends on the shortage of labour supply in the local market. Skilled professionals who are encouraged to move to South Africa are engineers, information technology professionals, accountants and finance specialists.

Retirement Visas: For foreign elderly people who wish to move to South Africa to spend their retirement years. The South African constitution has anti-discrimination provisions in place; even foreign retirees can work in South Africa once they obtain this visa. The financial status of retirees is a major factor in the approval process and applicants must be earning at least R20, 000 per month from their annuity or pensions to qualify for a retirement visa.

Spouse and Life Partner Visa: Applicants must have sponsorship from a South African relative or permanent resident.

Business Visas: Issued to people who move to South Africa to invest. This visa only grants temporary residency and has features similar to the UK Investor Visa and the US EB-5 Visa. Business Visa applicants must have a minimum investment of R2.5 million.

Work permits in South Africa can be acquired in different forms, each with its own respective requirements. There are several ways for you to emigrate to South Africa, on a permanent or temporary basis. Global Visas, a professional immigration consultancy, can aid you to determine which route is suitable for you. The company can assist you in getting a South Africa visa, whether you need a short-term solution, such as a visit visa, a study or long-term work visa, or a permit for permanent residence for you to have permanent residence in South Africa. Application for work permits can be monitored during the process, and the immigration consultants provide an expert lawyer to help you explore the different visas for South Africa.

Visas for South Africa can be obtained in the form of a permit, either for temporary or permanent residence. The permanent residence visa is allocated for immigration to South Africa through family-based and business routes. The temporary residence visa, on the other hand, includes the different kinds of work permits for South Africa, as well as the visit visas and study visas.

Foreign nationals are allowed to work and live in South Africa through working permits for a fixed period, depending on the job offer. Initially, a working permit is awarded for only one year, but this agreed-upon period may be extended if the employment position continues.

If you are a prospective immigrant applying for permanent residence and you are still abroad, you can apply at the nearest South African diplomatic office in your country of residence. If you are already residing in South Africa with a legal temporary residence licence, you can apply for immigration at the nearest Regional Office of the Department of Home Affairs in the province in which you intend to permanently reside or take up employment.

Some of the basic requirements for permanent residence are individually considered on merit through the Immigrants Selection Board, an autonomous statutory board. If you desire to permanently emigrate to South Africa, you must be of good character, be a worthy inhabitant, and not likely to be harmful to the country’s welfare. Furthermore, you must also not follow a profession in which there are already adequate people available to fulfil the needs of the country.

Generally, you must apply for immigration to South Africa whilst you are in your country of residence, and wait for the result of application before you proceed to the country. However, you can also apply for immigration whilst you are in the country if you are in the country with a valid work permit; the child of, or married to, a citizen of South Africa, or a permanent resident of South Africa; exempt from the requirement of holding a temporary residence permit; or being sponsored by a blood family member for immigration purposes.

Due to the need to create job opportunities for South African workers, the country has required prospective immigrants to be seriously devoted to investing their skills and experience for their own benefit and the benefit of South African citizens.

Aspiring workers cannot apply for work permits themselves. Their potential employers should apply on their behalf. This seeming hassle is due to the unemployment issues surrounding South Africa.

There are several types of Work Permit, the most common being the General Work Permit. Applicants for the said permit are required to provide conditional offers of employment from their potential South African employers as well as documentation which confirms that the employers primarily hire local residents. The application must also include a certification that the aspiring workers possess the necessary qualifications set by the South African Qualification Authority (SAQA). When workers have been in possession of a General Work Permit for at least five years, they may apply for permanent residency. There are further steps concerning the permanent residency application.

Another common South Africa Work Permit is the Quota Work Permit. This type of permit applies to aspiring workers whose skills are deemed scarce. Unlike the General Work Permit, the Quota Work Permit does not require its applicants to provide offers of employment.

There are other types of Work Permits in South Africa. The granting of permits primarily depends on the skills of the foreign worker. For permits such as Intra Company Transfers and Corporate Work Permits, granting depends on the status of the company by which the worker is employed.

South African citizenship is granted to foreigners who have obtained a certificate of naturalisation from a qualified minister. First of all, a person must be of legal age to apply for a certificate and must be of good morals. The applicant must have spent at least eight years in South Africa prior to filing for a certificate, and at least four of those eight years must have been spent as a permanent resident of the country. The applicant must also intend to stay in South Africa even after the issuance of a certificate, and must serve the country as a contributing member to society. The minister should also deem him/her as knowledgeable in the native language as well as the basic privileges and responsibilities of a South African citizen.

South African citizenship through naturalisation is regarded as a privilege, not a right, as it is up to the minister’s discretion whether to qualify an applicant or not, even after he/she has fulfilled all the requirements and met all the conditions for naturalisation. Furthermore, a minister may revoke a naturalised citizen’s certificate at any given time for a number of reasons. A naturalised citizen can lose his/her South African citizenship if he/she marries someone who is a citizen of another country or if he/she is found to have active citizenship in any other country.