Spousal Permits

A Spousal Visa in South Africa allows foreign nationals who are married to or in a committed relationship with a South African citizen or permanent resident to live in the country.

Under South African law, spousal immigration primarily falls into two legal categories under the Immigration Act: a standard Relative’s Visa (Section 18) for residing only, or a Visitor’s Visa under Section 11(6), which allows the foreign spouse to reside and work, study, or conduct business.

1. Two recent passport size photographs.
2. Valid passport.
3. Full birth certificate.
4. Change of name or gender document (ie. Statutory Declaration, Deep Poll or legal Adoption
Certificate)
5. Medical and radiological report.
6. Police clearance certificate for all applicants 18 years of age and older in respect of all countries of
residence for one year or longer. (Only originals issued by the relevant security authority will be
accepted). Certificates may not be older than six months at the time of submission of the
application.
7. Marriage certificate, or extract from marriage record / proof of registration of customary marriage
in terms of Recognition of Customary Marriages Act, 1998 (Act No 120 of 1998), where
applicable / Spousal affidavit.
Documentary proof of cohabitation and extent to which the related financial responsibilities are
shared by the parties.
8. Divorce decree or proof of legal separation and all relevant court orders regarding custody and
maintenance of children and previous spouses. (All applicants who are divorced or legally
separated).
9. Written consent of both parents in the case of minor children where only one of the parents is
immigrating.
10. Death certificate of late spouse, where applicable. All widowed persons.
11. Proof that the applicant has been spouse of citizen or permanent resident for five years.
12. Declaration of support for the application by the spouse who is a citizen or permanent resident.
13. Identity document of the spouse who is a citizen or permanent resident.
If the spouse is a permanent resident, a copy of his or her permanent residence permit must be
submitted.
14. Payment of prescribed fee US$133.00 non refundable

Applications are assessed individually and time frames may vary, therefore you are kindly requested to wait until a decision on your application is taken and is ready for collection, as VFS Global cannot control or influence the processing times in any way.

Visa fees