Relocating to South Africa?

South Africa Country Overview

South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. South Africa has three capital cities: executive Pretoria, judicial Bloemfontein and legislative Cape Town. The largest city is Johannesburg. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometres (1,739 mi) of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini (former Swaziland); and it surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with a diversity of unique biomes and plant and animal life.

South Africa is a multiethnic society encompassing a wide variety of cultures, languages, and religions. Its pluralistic makeup is reflected in the constitution’s recognition of 11 official languages, the fourth-highest number in the world. South Africa also has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa.

Country Facts

Currency - Rand (ZAR)
Climate : Subtropical
Water: Drinkable in most major cities
Time Zone: UTC+2
Official Language/s: 11, including English
Population: 57 million
Capital/s: Cape Town; Pretoria; Bloemfontein

Housing in South Africa

South Africa provides an array of housing types for residents to choose from, including free-standing (detached) homes, townhomes, duplexes, apartments, and, as is popular with expats, homes inside gated estates. Homes do not often come with white goods included, though many apartment complexes have laundry facilities on site. Rental properties are often in high demand in major cities.

Single travelers tend to favor apartments or townhouses within close proximity to the city or their place of business. Assignees traveling with their family preferred properties close or within the school district.

Many of the freestanding properties situated either within or out of a gated community do offer private garden and pool facilities. The gated communities estates are often located near the International Schools and provide monitored security access into the premises. These estate grounds are also regularly patrolled by private security companies.

Security facilities are fairly standard in South Africa properties. Most of the properties in assignee-preferred areas will generally have existing alarm systems installed. Additional features such as high walls, electric fences and garden beams will depend on the specific property chosen.

It is also to be noted that traveling to work by car is the most popular form of transport in South Africa, therefore our public roads are subject to morning and afternoon congestion. Commuting to work can often result in 1 to 2 hours traveling time. Traveling to school is generally only 15 to 30 minutes if the assignee is living in that specific school district. These factors are highlighted to assigness when reviewing potential commuting options to work or school.

Housing Facts

Popular Expat Areas

Century City (CT)
Constantia (CT)
De Waterkant (CT)
Rosebank (JHB)
Sandton (JHB)
Dainfern (JHB)
Morningside (DBN)
Umhlanga (DBN)
Westville (DBN)

Indicative Pricing (Unfurnished)

2-bedroom apartment: USD 850 – 1,700 p.m.
3-bedroom house: USD 1,500 – 4,000 p.m.
4-bedroom house: USD 1,900 – 4,200 p.m.

Indicative Pricing (Furnished)

2-bedroom apartment: USD 1,200 – 3,200 p.m.
3-bedroom apartment: USD 1,500 – 3,800 p.m.
3-bedroom house: USD 1,800 – 4,100 p.m.

Looking to relocate to South Africa?

Cost Request

Schooling in South Africa

South Africa offers good quality schooling, with a wide variety of government, private, and international (foreign language) schools on offer, as well as alternative curricula and special needs education available in most major cities. Foreign countries represented with international schools include the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, and France. South Africa is also home to some of Africa’s top universities, including the University of Cape Town, Wits, and Stellenbosch University.

Boarding houses is a very popular feature for primary, secondary and tertiary institutes. Students can either be enrolled as weekly or termly border depending on individual family location and needs. Most of the boarding house facilities are connected to the single sex school.

Assignees are required to apply for their own children’s school placement. We are able to assist assignee with setting up relevant appointments or researching the school options in the area. We are also able to accompany them on the school visits. As we do have any additional pull in the placement of assignees children, the decision to accept the child will be solely dependent on the school themselves. Each school has their own applicant filtering process.

We do suggest that if the assignee are on a short term contract, that their children follow the same curriculum that they have been exposed to back home. This is particularly important with the older students who will be requested to write tests and/or exams. This will assist the student with their physical, educational and psychological transition at the end of the assignee contract.

We also have schools which accommodate a more practical education. We have specialised schools to assist with children who require additional assistance or specific resources. An evaluation report from their current school will usually need to be sent through to the school as part of the application process.

Education Facts

Curricula

The school year runs from January to December. The schooling system operates from Grade R (reception/kindergarten) to Grade 12. Learners may exit the education system with an NQF level at Grade 9, however they need a Bachelor’s Pass in Grade 12 to enter formal tertiary education.

Some Schools for Consideration

Brescia House
Bishops Diocesan College
Herschel Girls
Vista Nova
Rondebosch Boys
Epworth School
Hilton College
Kingsmead College
Charter House
Curro Private Schools
American International
British International

Indicative Pricing (International Schools)

USD 4,500 – 8,000 p.a.

Need assistance with your immigration?

Immigration to South Africa

Visitors Visa (section 11(2) is applicable to foreign nationals who seeks to conduct short term work related activities in South Africa can do so for a maximum duration of 90 days.

However, if a foreign national needs to visit SA for a short seminar, conference, meetings, etc, they may enter SA as a normal visitor in terms of Section 11(1) of the SA Immigration Act.

Please be advised that there are certain countries, which are exempt from requiring visitors visas. Visa exempt passport holders, one may enter SA with merely a letter of invitation, detailing the purpose and duration of the visit, which may be presented at the port of entry.

Non visa0exempt passport holders must apply for visitors’ visas prior to traveling to SA and they will require proof of accommodation in SA, flight itinerary, proof of sufficient funds, letters of invitation, etc.

General Work Visa Section 19(2) is for an applicant to apply for a general work visa, they must meet some additional requirements.

All tertiary educational qualifications must be evaluated by SAQA (The South African Qualifications Authority). The position must also be advertised in a national SA distributed newspaper as well as through an independent SA recruitment agency. The position must also be advertised on The Dept. of Labour’s website.

The Dept. of labor could take six months or more to process the request.

Once the DOL has completed their process (which may include an inspection of the company premises), they will advise us that their recommendation has been sent to the office where the applicant plans to apply for their work visas.

At that point, the applicant may proceed to apply for a work visa (work visa will take 30 days + to be processed, depending on which country of application).

It should also be noted that DOL does not advise us as third parties whether the recommendation is negative or positive.

Critical Skills Work Visa Section 19(4) is for an applicant to apply for a critical skills work visa, there are some additional requirements which must accompany the application itself.

All tertiary educational qualifications and official transcripts/subject lists evaluated by SAQA which is the (South African Qualifications Authority (processing time will be 30 working days).

The applicant must then register with and obtain a recommendation from the relevant SAQA accredited board/body/council in SA, which cover the foreigners field of expertise (processing time will depend on which board/body/council person has to register with and could take 6 weeks + to be processed).

The applicant must then apply for critical skills work visa in their usual country of residence (processing time will be approximately 30 working days +, depending on country of application).

Intra Company Transfer (ICT) work visa applications are applicable if a foreigner has been employed at a company outside SA for at least 6 months and is being assigned to a branch, subsidiary or affiliated company in SA, for a maximum duration of 4 years.

The applicant must apply for a work visa in their usual country of residence (processing time will be approximately 30 working days +, depending on country of application).

An ICT work visa may be issued for a maximum duration of 4 years (provided that the applicant’s passport is valid for that duration) and may not be extended in SA, unless the full 4-year duration was not granted in the first instance.

One of the crucial requirements for this work visa, is a Skills Transfer Plan, which the employer in SA must provide regarding the transfer of skills to local employees.

If one is in SA on an ICT work visa, one may not change to any other visa category from within SA.

Generally, ICT work visas will not be granted if a company outside SA wants to send an employee to a company in SA with whom they have a contractual obligation or similar (the company in SA must be a branch, subsidiary or an affiliate (affiliate meaning that there must be at least a 10% shareholding in the SA company).

This work visa category does not allow one to apply for permanent residence status.

Concession made where by expats can apply for ICT extension for a further 2 years whose visa expired during lock down period and until 30 June 2021.

Visa Facts

Immigration Services

We are able to assist with a wide variety of visas across Africa, including Family, Study, Spousal, Short-term work, Long-term work, and Temporary Visitor visas.

Outbound

We offer outbound immigration services to Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as Migration Through Investment programs for Grenada, Portugal, Malta, Cyprus, and the United States.

Cost request to relocate to South Africa

Please provide us with some essential details so that we can assess and get back to you.

Welcome to South Africa