Apply In-Person:

1. To Apply for Retired Person Visa, the applicant has to approach the South African embassies and consulates residing in their respective country link

   Note: The applicant has to click on their Country’s first letter to find the details of the office.

2. First the applicant has to make a call to the office and schedule and appointment.
3. An application form will be provided to the applicant by the concerned officer. Or the applicant can download the application form BI- 1738 from the following link

   Note: The Application form BI -1738 is widely used for all type of Visas.

4. The applicant has to fill in all the necessary details in the application form. (Incomplete applications are not accepted)
5. Make sure that the applicant has to attach all the necessary documents that are mentioned in the “Required Documents” section of this page.
6. The applicant has to attach the photocopies of the required documents along with the application form while submitting.
7. Submit all the documents with the completed form to the concerned officer.
8. The applicant has to pay the prescribed fee as requested by the authority.
9. After receiving the application, the concerned authority will check the submitted application and document set. If all are in place, the application will be accepted.
10. An acknowledgment receipt will be provided. Please save it for future reference.
11. Then the application will be processed further. All the updates on the application status will be sent via SMS to the applicant’s mobile number.
12. Once the process gets completed, the applicant gets the call from the office regarding the Visa.
13. This entire process can be completed within 30 days or as per the timeline advised by the respective department authority.

Requirements for entering South Africa
The applicant will need the following if they wish to visit South Africa:

• A valid and acceptable passport or travel document for your intended stay
• At least one blank page in your passport for endorsements
• A valid visa, if required Sufficient funds to pay for your day-to-day expenses during your stay
• A return or onward ticket.
• Yellow fever certificates if your journey starts or entails passing through the yellow fever belt of Africa or South America.

Requirements for Retired Person Visa

• Completed application form link
• A passport with at least 1 free page for a visa.
• The passport must be valid for 30 days after expiry of the intended visit
• 2 recent passport size colour photographs
• A photocopy of a valid residential permit, if applicable
• Permit fees (cash or bank transfer);
• A vaccination certificate (if you have travelled through or intend travelling to the yellow fever belt)
• Proof of medical cover
• Medical and radiology reports
• The minimum payment to a foreigner shall be per month, the amount determined from time to time by the Minister, this amount is currently set at R37 000,00.
• A minimum prescribed net worth currently set at R37 000,00.
• A police clearance certificate from each country in which you resided for 12 months or longer since the age of 18 years
• The spouse and dependent children accompanying the holder of a retired person visa may be issued with an appropriate visa.

DEPARTMENT OF HOME AFFAIRS– SOUTH AFRICA
DHA Head Quarters
Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa
Phone: 0800 60 11 90
Email: hacc@dha.gov.za
Contact Details link
DHA Offices link
List of South African embassies and consulates link

Note: The applicant has to click on their Country’s first letter to find the details of the office.

• Any person who intends to apply for retired person visa is eligible to make this application.

• The applicant has to pay the prescribed fee of R425 per category.

Use the following link to know more about fee details link

• Retired person Visa are issued for a period not exceeding 4 years and cannot be renewed or extended.

• Application Form link

Please attach sample completed documents that would help other people.

• This entire process can be completed within 30 days or as per the timeline advised by the respective department authority.

Videos explaining the procedure or to fill the applications.
Attach videos using the following tag <&video type='website'>video ID|width|height<&/video&> from external websites.
Please remove the '&' inside the tags during implementation.
Website = allocine, blip, dailymotion, facebook, gametrailers, googlevideo, html5, metacafe, myspace, revver,
sevenload, viddler, vimeo, youku, youtube
width = 560, height = 340, Video ID = Can be obtained from the URL of webpage where the video is displayed.
e.g In the following url 'http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0US7oR_t3M' Video ID is 'Y0US7oR_t3M'.

• Applicants must complete the application form before submitting it. Incomplete applications will not be accepted.
• Applicants must provide genuine information while applying for this procedure.

• Name of the applicant
• Age
• Date of birth
• Gender
• City
• State
• Country
• Residential address
• Telephone number(s)
• Email
• Nationality
• Citizenship
• Passport number
• Date of expiry
• Marital status
• Expected date of arrival in the Republic
• Place of arrival
• Purpose of visit
• Duration of stay

• Retired persons’ permits may be issued to persons who wish to retire in South Africa, provided that such persons comply with the financial requirements provided for in the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act No. 13 of 2002) and its Regulations.

For more Information link
Countries exempt from South African Visas link

Please explain what are other uses of obtaining this document/certificate.
e.g. Birth Certificate can be used as proof of identity.

Link

The retired person visa is suitable for those:

• Seeking to stay in South Africa for up to 4 years
• Who wish to stay in South Africa for some of the year
• As an interim visa while waiting for permanent residency
• Those who do not meet permanent residency criteria under the Retired permit or Financially Independent permit.