South Africa

Retired person visa. Show stable, non-salary income of ZAR 37,000 a month and live in South Africa on a renewable retirement visa, no age minimum in the current rules.

Free, with the law behind every answer

Retired person visa

A temporary residence visa valid up to 4 years, renewable as long as the income continues; holders may not take local employment but may run a business.

Who qualifies

The applicant must show a minimum of ZAR 37,000 a month (about $2,000) in passive income: a pension, annuity, rental, dividend or interest income, or a combination — but not salary.
Immigration Act 13 of 2002, Retired Person Visa (Form DHA-1738)
A pending regulatory change would add a minimum age (expected around 55) and raise the income bar; as of September 2026 no age minimum applies yet.
Department of Home Affairs, retired person visa requirements

You keep your U.S. citizenship.

Does it fit your family?

2 questions, from the program’s own rules.

Steady monthly income, from any source?

Not legal advice.

What it takes.

Income: At least $2,000 a month, steady and documented.
Time: 8–12 weeks for the visa once the financial documents are assembled.
Cost: About $500–1,200 in visa fees, medical and police-clearance certificates, and VFS service fees.
The hard part: Documenting the income as genuinely passive and ongoing (bank and pension statements), since salary income does not qualify however large.

Dollar figures are converted from the local currency at the rate the program’s research used; the official figure is in the local currency.

This visa doesn’t lead to a passport.

2027
First residence permit
4 years, renewable for 4 years at a time.

Language: Able to communicate in any one of South Africa’s official languages (English counts); proof is asked for since 2023.
Time away: Five years ordinarily resident in South Africa as a permanent resident, continuous and immediately before applying, with no more than 90 days away in any one of those years. Time on temporary visas does not count.
Two passports: It depends on the rules at the time and on your home country.

Time on this program does not count toward permanent residence or citizenship; the family would need to switch to one that does.
A temporary visa of up to four years, renewable; temporary years do not count toward citizenship and there is no five-years-to-permanence rule for it. On the same pension or net-worth test a family can instead apply for retired permanent residence (s. 27(e)) from the start, and the five-year citizenship clock then runs from that grant.

The law behind these dates

Immigration Act 13 of 2002, consolidated to May 2014 (ss. 20, 26, 27), Department of Home Affairs

Living there.

Time you must spend there: No statutory minimum days, but the visa is a residence status meant to be used, not banked.
Tax: Spending more than 183 days a year in South Africa can trigger tax residence on worldwide income, subject to double-tax treaty relief.

We never file a tax return. We tell you what applies and brief the professional who does.

Start today.

Start with the Department of Home Affairs immigration services page.Open dha.gov.za ↗
Gather these documents.
- Proof of steady income: at least $2,000 a month
- Request your FBI Identity History Summary
- Health cover for the move

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