Part of Investing: guides on bringing capital into South Africa, investing your own money, and the rules that apply.
South Africa visas for investors, entrepreneurs and remote workers are not one product but a handful of separate routes in the Immigration Act 13 of 2002, each with its own money test, time limit and list of things you may and may not do. Pick the wrong one and you can end up with a visa that forbids exactly what you came to do.
This guide is for foreign business owners, investors, remote employees and retirees weighing up a move, and the South African partners advising them. It covers the routes in law today, their verified thresholds, the proposals that are still only policy, and the mistakes that cause refusals and bans.
This guide was last reviewed on 29 September 2026 and is general information, not legal, immigration, tax or investment advice.
How the Immigration Act sorts business people
Every route below comes from the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 and its Regulations. A “visa” means temporary residence; “permanent residence” is a separate permit that lets you stay indefinitely. The key word is “work”, which the Act defines to include “conducting any activity normally associated with the running of a specific business”. The comparison table below shows, route by route, whether you may run a business, be employed, or neither.
The Remote Work Visa: what it is and what it is not
This is the route people call a digital nomad visa. It was created by the Third Amendment of the Immigration Regulations, published in Government Gazette 51366 on 9 October 2024. The regulation covers “work conducted … for a foreign employer on a remote basis” and sets three conditions:
- You must earn “no less than the equivalent of R650 976,00 per annum”. Illustration: that is R54,248 a month (R650,976 divided by 12).
- If you are tax resident in a country that has a double taxation agreement with South Africa, you must register with SARS once you are in South Africa for more than 183 days in aggregate in any 12-month period.
- If your country has no such agreement, you must register with SARS regardless.
The Home Affairs Remote Work Visa checklist describes it as a visitor’s visa for remote work “exceeding 3 months to 3 years”. It asks for three months of bank statements proving the salary, a contract signed by you and your foreign employer, a return ticket or reservation, a passport valid for at least 30 days beyond your intended departure, and the fee.
Three points trip people up. First, the checklist states that the holder “is not entitled to take up employment in South Africa”. You keep working for the foreign employer; you do not join a local payroll. Second, a Remote Work Visa holder may not change status inside South Africa, “unless under exceptional circumstances as prescribed for visitors visas”. If you later want a work or business visa, plan to apply from abroad. Third, the law provides no residence route tied to remote work. Our reading: the section 26(a) route counts five years on a work visa, and this is a visitor’s visa. Home Affairs has published nothing saying otherwise.
One seam: the Home Affairs checklist prints the income figure as “R650 796, 00”; the gazetted regulation, which is the law, says R650,976. Show at least R650,976.
Where to apply: the checklist does not say. Home Affairs says visas are not issued at ports of entry, so confirm with your nearest South African mission or VFS Global before you book flights.
The Business Visa, in brief
The Business Visa is for people who put their own capital into a South African business and run it. Under section 15 you must invest the prescribed capital, register with SARS, and employ the prescribed share of South Africans within 12 months. Home Affairs’ visa requirements page adds an accountant’s certificate, an undertaking that at least 60% of staff will be citizens or permanent residents, and a recommendation letter from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic).
The standard capital figure is R5 million, which must come from outside South Africa. The Director-General may reduce or waive it for businesses in sectors prescribed as being in the national interest. The visa lasts up to three years at a time, and the holder “may not conduct work other than work related to the business”. Our step-by-step business visa and dtic recommendation guide covers the capital rules, the waiver, the documents and the dtic process in full, so we do not repeat them here.
Work visas and the points-based system
Since October 2024, every General Work Visa and Critical Skills Work Visa application is decided on points. The points-based criteria notice, signed on 18 October 2024 to correct a typing error in the 9 October version, says an applicant “must earn 100 points”. A job offer is mandatory.
| Criterion | Points |
|---|---|
| Occupation on the critical skills list | 100 |
| Qualification at NQF levels 9 and 10 (master’s and doctorate) | 50 |
| Qualification at NQF levels 7 and 8 (degree and honours level) | 30 |
| Job offer above R976,194 gross a year | 50 |
| Job offer between R650,976 and R976,194 gross a year | 20 |
| Work experience of 5 to 10 years | 20 |
| Work experience of more than 10 years | 30 |
| Offer from a Trusted Employer | 30 |
| Proficient in at least one official language | 10 |
If you reach 100 through a critical skills occupation, you may get a Critical Skills Work Visa. If you reach 100 through a combination of other points, you may get a General Work Visa. Illustration: an honours graduate (30) with a R1 million offer (50) and 12 years’ experience (30) scores 110. A graduate (30) on R800,000 (20) with 7 years’ experience (20) and language proficiency (10) scores 80 and falls short.
Both work visas can be issued for up to five years. Home Affairs says a critical skills visa “is not a work-seekers visa” and must come with an offer from a verifiable employer. The critical skills list currently linked on the Home Affairs critical skills notice is the one gazetted on 3 October 2023 (Gazette 49402). As at 29 September 2026 we found no newer gazetted list on the Home Affairs notices page.
Retirement, financial independence and permanent residence
The Retired Person Visa needs proof of a pension, irrevocable annuity or retirement account paying a prescribed minimum for life, or a minimum net worth. Home Affairs gives the minimum monthly payment as R37,000. Its page also gives the net worth figure as “R37 000,00”, which reads like a drafting error, so confirm that alternative with Home Affairs. Under section 20 the visa may run for up to four years and be renewed. The holder may work only if the Director-General authorises it.
Financially independent permanent residence (section 27(f)) is direct permanent residence for people with a large net worth. A VFS Global checklist for section 27(f) asks for proof of a minimum net worth of R12 million and an undertaking to pay R120,000 to the Director-General once the application is approved. That checklist is undated and we could not find the gazette notice itself, so treat both figures as the published requirement and check them before you apply.
Permanent residents have all the rights of a citizen except those the law reserves for citizens (section 25), so you are not tied to one employer or business.
Permanent residence routes for business people
The Home Affairs permanent residency page lists these business-relevant categories:
- Section 26(a), worker: five years on a work visa plus an offer of permanent employment.
- Section 27(a), permanent job offer: the position must have been advertised with no suitable citizen or permanent resident available, and the holder must stay in that field for five years.
- Section 27(b), critical or extraordinary skills: includes proof of “post-qualification experience of at least five years” under regulation 24(3).
- Section 27(c), business: the same prescribed investment as the Business Visa, with an accountant’s certificate. The permit lapses if you cannot prove the investment is still in place two years after it is issued and again three years after that.
- Section 27(e), retired, and section 27(f), as above.
The routes compared
Only verified details are shown. “Not published” means the official source is silent. Fees are from Government Gazette 55209 of 17 August 2026 and exclude any VFS service fee. Turnaround times are Home Affairs’ published targets in working days for applications processed at head office in South Africa. They are targets, not promises.
| Route | Who it fits | Key requirement | Validity | Run a business or work locally? | Path to permanent residence | Home Affairs fee and target time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visitor’s visa, s11(1)(a) | Short exploratory trips and meetings | Purpose of visit, return ticket, three months’ bank statements | Up to 3 months, renewable once for up to 3 more | No. May not conduct work unless authorised | None | R425; 60 days (renewals) |
| Remote Work Visa, s11(1)(b)(iv) | Employees of a foreign employer | At least R650,976 a year; contract with foreign employer | More than 3 months, up to 3 years | No local employment; cannot change status in SA | Not published | R425 (visitor’s visa fee; route not listed separately); not published |
| Business Visa, s15 | Investors who run their own SA business | R5 million from abroad (waiver possible); dtic recommendation; 60% local staff | Up to 3 years at a time | Only work related to that business | Section 27(c) business permit | R1,520; 8 weeks |
| Critical Skills Work Visa, s19(4) | Professionals in listed occupations | 100 points; job offer; SAQA evaluation | Up to 5 years | Employment with the offering employer; own business not published | Section 26(a) after 5 years; section 27(b) | R1,520; 4 weeks |
| General Work Visa, s19(2) | Skilled employees not on the list | 100 points through qualifications, salary, experience | Contract term, up to 5 years | Employment with the offering employer | Section 26(a) after 5 years; section 27(a) | R1,520; 4 weeks |
| Corporate Visa, s21 | Employers hiring several foreign workers | Department of Labour certificate; 60% local staff | Up to 3 years | Workers employed by the corporate applicant only | Not published | R1,520; not published |
| Retired Person Visa, s20 | Retirees with a pension or assets | R37,000 a month for life, or prescribed net worth | Up to 4 years, renewable | Only if the Director-General authorises | Section 27(e) | R425; 120 days |
| Financially independent PR, s27(f) | High-net-worth individuals | R12 million net worth; R120,000 payable on approval | Permanent | Yes, with the rights of a permanent resident | It is permanent residence | R1,520; 240 days |
Proposed, not law: the White Paper, start-up visa and other reforms
Cabinet approved the Revised White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection on 3 April 2026, according to a KPMG alert on the approval. Home Affairs hosts the Cabinet-approved final White Paper, dated 26 March 2026. A White Paper is policy. Nothing in it applies to an application until Parliament amends the Act and the Minister makes regulations, and as at 29 September 2026 we found no such amending bill on the Home Affairs notices page. What it proposes:
- Start-up visa: “A start-up visa will be introduced as a standalone visa in the new legislation.” Until then, Home Affairs says the idea is handled inside the Business Visa through the capital waiver.
- Investment visa: the Business Visa “will be converted to an investment visa”, with capital amounts gazetted regularly and a sector-based local hiring quota instead of today’s fixed rule.
- Skilled worker visa: would merge the critical skills and general work visas into one, decided through the points-based system.
- Retirement: the Retired Person Visa would get a minimum age of at least 55.
- Financial independence: the section 27(f) permit would be replaced by an “investment-based financially independent residence visa”, with part of your net worth invested in South Africa for a set period.
- Permanent residence: points-based, with a quota and application windows, instead of relying mainly on years spent in the country.
Already in force: the points-based system and the Remote Work Visa (both October 2024), and the Trusted Employer Scheme. Phase II of that scheme, opened by Gazette 55036 on 20 July 2026, closed on 4 September 2026. It is for large employers (scorecards reward, for example, fixed investment above R100 million and at least 60% South African staff) and needs a minimum score of 80. Outcomes are due within 30 working days of closing: by our count, around 19 October 2026. For individuals, its main effect is that a Trusted Employer job offer adds 30 points. Home Affairs is also rolling out an Electronic Travel Authorisation, “launched to a limited audience” according to a March 2026 directive, and the new fee schedule adds a R500 electronic processing fee for it.
Which route to look at first
- If you want to bring capital and run a local company, look at the Business Visa, and plan the company setup with our guide on how to register a company in South Africa. For moving the money in, see our guide to exchange control for foreign investors.
- If you want to work remotely for a foreign employer, look at the Remote Work Visa, and check the income test against your last three months of bank statements.
- If you have scarce skills and a South African job offer, look at the Critical Skills Work Visa, then work out your points.
- If you want to retire, look at the Retired Person Visa, or section 27(f) if your net worth clears R12 million.
- If you only want a short trip to explore, a visitor’s visa (or visa-free entry, depending on your passport) covers meetings, not running the business.
The mistakes that cause refusals and bans
- Doing business on a visitor’s visa. Section 11(2) says a visitor “may not conduct work”, and the Act’s definition of work covers running a business. Meetings and scouting are one thing; trading, managing staff or signing on as the operating director is another.
- Confusing the dtic portal with the Remote Work Visa. On 10 March 2025 the dtic launched the Business Visa Recommendation System, an online portal that replaced emailed applications for dtic business visa recommendations. It is only one step of the Business Visa process. It is not a digital nomad visa, and remote workers do not use it. The Remote Work Visa is run by Home Affairs alone.
- Overstaying. Under regulation 27(3), as published in Home Affairs’ consolidated regulations, an overstay of up to 30 days can lead to being declared undesirable for 12 months; a second overstay within 24 months, for two years; and an overstay of more than 30 days, for five years.
- Renewing too late. Applications for renewal or change of status must be made in person no less than 60 days before your visa expires. If you applied through VFS and are still waiting, Immigration Directive 7 of 2026 extends your current status until 30 June 2027. It does not cover permanent residence applicants.
For SARS registration and returns, see our beginner’s guide to tax filing, or browse our Investing hub.
Frequently asked questions
Does South Africa have a digital nomad visa?
Yes, in effect. It is the Remote Work Visa, a long-stay visitor’s visa created on 9 October 2024 for people employed by a foreign employer. You must earn at least R650,976 a year and may not take up employment in South Africa.
How much do I need to invest for a South African business visa?
The standard amount is R5 million, which must come from outside South Africa. It can be reduced or waived for businesses in prescribed national-interest sectors. You also need a dtic recommendation and must employ at least 60% South African staff within 12 months.
Can a Remote Work Visa lead to permanent residence?
Home Affairs has not published any residence route tied to it. It is a visitor’s visa, while the five-year worker route to permanent residence counts time on a work visa. Holders also cannot change status inside South Africa except in prescribed exceptional circumstances.
Can I start a business in South Africa on a visitor’s visa?
You can hold meetings and explore, but you may not conduct work, and the Act defines work to include running a business. To run it you need a Business Visa or another route that permits it.
Is the start-up visa available yet?
No. The Revised White Paper approved by Cabinet in April 2026 proposes a standalone start-up visa, but it needs new legislation first. For now, Home Affairs handles start-ups through the Business Visa capital waiver.
How much money do I need for a South African retirement visa?
Home Affairs sets the minimum at R37,000 a month from a pension, annuity or retirement account, or a prescribed minimum net worth. There is currently no minimum age, although the White Paper proposes one of at least 55.
