Applying for the South Africa Digital Nomad Visa: Everything You Need to Know!
Let’s face facts – South Africa is a new digital nomad hotspot.
And honestly, I don’t blame remote workers for wanting to explore this incredibly beautiful and diverse country.
That said, there has been an influx of digital nomads in Cape Town particularly, and as someone who’s been coming to visit Cape Town since 2021, I’ve seen how things have changed in just a few years.
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about obtaining a South Africa digital nomad visa, as well as give you some insight into how you can visit South Africa in a way that doesn’t hurt locals (or at least has a lesser impact).
About the Digital Nomad Visa in South Africa
The South Africa digital nomad visa is actually referred to as the ‘Remote Work Visa’ and it can be surprisingly hard to find official information.
For anyone who’s spent time dealing with South African Home Affairs, you’ll know their website isn’t really the easiest to navigate and even I struggled to find out what the visa entails.
It wasn’t until I spoke to another Canadian friend of mine who sent me direct links that he used to apply for the visa, that I was able to find the information I was looking for (crazy, I know!).
The South African government created this visa with the hopes of attracting “highly paid individuals who are employed abroad” to spend their higher-valued currency in South Africa.
By implementing a visa, they’re collecting value-added tax and believe that this would bring more money into the country, without foreigners competing with local workers for jobs in South Africa.
How Long is the Visa Valid For?
When you obtain a Remote Work Visa for South Africa, you can live and work remotely in South Africa for 36 months (3 years).
You can apply to extend your visa before it expires.
Timeline for the Visa Application
It typically takes anywhere from 2-4 months for your visa to be approved.
Requirements For the South Africa Digital Nomad Visa
There are a couple of main requirements needed when applying for a South African digital nomad visa.
South Africa uses a points-based system for work visas to see who qualifies for critical or general work visas.
Currently, the threshold for General Work Visa applications is R650 796 (~$34,800 USD/$48,250 CAD) for gross annual income.
You can access a PDF with the listed requirements (as of Oct. 2024) here.
South Africa Digital Nomad Visa Application
You’ll need to gather quite a few documents before you start the visa process.
What You Need
Having everything ready to go ahead of time will make the process much smoother!
- A Valid Passport – Your passport will need to be valid for at least 30 days after the expiry of your intended departure from South Africa and you’ll need additional passport photos to include in your application.
- Remote Work Contracts – You must be able to establish that you work remotely and have contracts to prove so.
- Meet the Income Requirement – As mentioned above, you’ll need to earn at least R650 796 per year to be approved for this visa. You’ll likely also have to include 3 months of current bank statements that reflect proof of sufficient financial means.
- Criminal Record – You’ll have to prove a clean record to be accepted. This usually consists of fingerprints.
- Proof of Accommodation – You’ll need a lease or booking for where you intend to live and stay while you’re in South Africa. If you’re thinking about living in Cape Town, here are the best neighbourhoods to stay in. If you’re planning to live with a friend, partner or family member, you’ll need a personal invitation that’s stamped at a police station with a copy of their ID and utility bill to prove residence.
- A Valid Return Air Flight Ticket – You have to show a flight booking.
- A Yellow Fever Vaccination Certificate – This is only needed if you have or intend on travelling or transiting through a yellow fever endemic area.
Steps to Apply
First, gather all the documents listed above.
Next, you’ll have to make an appointment with VFS or a South African Embassy in your country of residence. Depending on the time of year and how busy they are, you might have to wait months for your appointment.
If you’re Canadian, you can find specific information regarding your application process here.
Once you have an appointment date set, you’ll have to submit your application. Ensure you have everything you need – both originals and copies of documents just to be safe!
*Please note that you must apply from within your home country. This isn’t possible to apply for in South Africa. That said, you can apply for an extension when you’re living in South Africa.
You’ll have to pay the fees associated with the visa (listed below) and then wait for your visa approval.
Approval can take anywhere from weeks to months and once approved you can fly to South Africa.
If your visa is denied, you’ll most likely have a appeal or re-submit an application. There isn’t any specific information available at this time regarding visas being denied.
How Much Will the Visa Cost?
As you can probably imagine, there are many fees associated with a work visa in South Africa. This is a breakdown of the application fees you’ll need to pay:
- Application Fee to the Department of Home Affairs – R425 (~$22 USD)
- VFS Fees – Roughly R1,550 (~$82 USD)
- Medical Certificate – Varies from country to country (anywhere from $50-150 USD)
- Police Clearance Certificate – Varies from country to country (anywhere from $20-100 USD)
All in all, you can expect to pay anywhere from $174 USD to $354 USD for your entire visa application process.
Bear in mind that this doesn’t include the money you’ll be spending on flights and other moving expenses! Also, all of these documents must be in English so if you’re from a non-English speaking country, you’ll also have to pay to have the documents translated.
South Africa Digital Nomad Visa Tax
You might be wondering, how does it work with taxes?
Will you have to pay double the tax? Or can you just pay tax to your home country?
This depends on the country you’re from and whether or not they have a tax treaty with South Africa.
You’ll need to check your government’s website to find this information.
If you’re Canadian, you can find information regarding the tax treaty between Canada and South Africa here.
To break it down for you, if you’re from a country that has a tax treaty with South Africa and you stay in South Africa for more than 183 days in a 12 month period, you need to register with the South African Revenue Service.
There isn’t much information surrounding what tax you’d be charged if you stay more than 183 days in a 12 month period but you can avoid having to deal with that if you only stay in the country or 6 months at a time on the Remote Working Visa.
If you’re from a country that doesn’t have a tax treaty with South Africa, you’ll be required to register with the South African Revenue Services from the start and will essentially be double-taxed.
What About Health Insurance?
The South African government doesn’t specify anything regarding health insurance but I always recommend having one wherever you’re travelling.
I’ve been using SafetyWing for over 3 years now and it’s by far the BEST option for remote workers!
They have the most affordable plans I could find when searching for myself and offer much more extensive coverage if you need it.
Try SafetyWing Travel Medical Insurance Here.
Digital Nomad Visa vs. Tourist Visa
There have been many digital nomads working remotely from South Africa on a tourist visa for years now.
So why get a digital nomad visa? How does it compare to a typical tourist visa?
Tourist Visa in South Africa
Well, to start, a tourist visa for people from the US, Canada, EU, UK, Australia and New Zealand (among some other countries) are free and available for 90 days upon arrival.
If you enter South Africa on a tourist visa and decide you want to stay longer, you can apply to extend your visa for another 90 days.
I tried to do this in 2022, paid my fee to Home Affairs to bring in my application and stupidly marked the date wrong in my calendar and showed up 1 day AFTER my appointment date!
When that happened, I only had about a week left on my visa so I booked last minute flights to Tanzania and decided to spend some time in Zanzibar.
It’s important to note that if you overstay your visa in South Africa, you can face fines or even be blacklisted and banned from the country for many years so make sure you pay attention to the date that your visa ends to avoid any trouble.
Visa Runs
If you aren’t able to extend your visa, you can do this and it’s known as a ‘visa run’. South Africa tries to deter people from doing this so if you travel to a neighbouring country, such as Namibia, and then try to get back into South Africa, they won’t grant you another 90-day visa.
Instead, they’ll most likely give you a few days to fly home or elsewhere.
In my case, since Tanzania is a non-neighbouring country, when I flew back about 2 weeks later, I was granted another 90 days.
Because this isn’t an official way to extend a visa, it’s not guaranteed and you never know how much time the officer will grant you when you fly back. Plus, flights within Africa can be fairly expensive so it’s best to apply for an extension instead!
Digital Nomad Visa
If you intend on spending more than 6 months in South Africa and you meet the requirements, it’s best to apply for a Remote Work Visa.
Coming from personal experience, the visa extension requires a lot of documents (similar to what’s required for the Remote Work Visa) so you might as well just apply for that visa and have the ability to stay in South Africa for much longer!
Benefits of the Digital Nomad Visa
The main benefit of having the South African digital nomad visa is that you’ll have 3+ years to explore and live in South Africa.
While I absolutely love Cape Town (you can find all of my Cape Town guides here), there is much more to South Africa!
You should definitely take the time to explore other areas of the country.
But before you do so, check my detailed South African safety guide so you know what to look out for when you’re travelling through the country or even just living there.
Best Places in South Africa for Digital Nomads
You probably already have Cape Town at the top of your list for places to work remotely from in South Africa but I urge you to consider a few other places as well!
Durban
If you want a coastal city that’s warm throughout the entire year, Durban is your spot! It has a strong surf culture and has seen more and more coworking spaces pop up recently.
It’s rich in Zulu and Indian heritage and has a laidback and tropical feel. The internet here is strong and reliable and you’ll find some incredible food in Durban as well.
Stellenbosch/Franschhoek
Both Stellenbosch and Franschhoek are only about an hour from Cape Town but it has a completely different feel.
You’d be in the Winelands and surrounded by nature, living in a slower pace, while enjoying an excellent infrastructure.
Stellenbosch is actually a university town so you’ll find plenty of great cafes and workspaces and you can end your day with delicious wine!
George/Wilderness
George is a quiet town located along the Garden Route and it’s perfect if you want to be in nature but still want access to modern amenities.
It’s just up the road from Wilderness which is a popular spot on the Garden Route and right on the water.
There’s affordable housing, amazing nature and fewer tourists than you’ll find in Cape Town.
Jeffrey’s Bay
Otherwise known as J-Bay, this area is quickly becoming a popular spot for nomads. It’s known as a world-class surf spot and has a relaxed lifestyle along the beach.
It’s MUCH more affordable than Cape Town and offers a fairly good infrastructure for remote work. There are also many cafes and restaurants with reliable and strong wifi you can use to work from.
Knysna/Plettenberg
Knysna is also on the Garden Route and is perfect if you want access to some of the best nature in the Eastern Cape.
It’s a slower pace with a more conscious community and you’ll find great cafes and reliable wifi to work with.
It’s also only a 30-minute drive from Plettenberg Bay which is an incredible spot with many nature reserves (Robberg Nature Reserve pictured above) to explore on your time off!
Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha)
This spot is often overlooked but it’s a great place if you’re on a budget and want to be close to nature.
You’ll be close to Addor Elephant Park and other amazing places and have access to coworking spaces and can really get to know the locals.
You won’t be surrounded by as many tourists as you would in Cape Town or Durban which will give you an opportunity to know more South Africans.
I have a friend who’s from PE that I met while in Cape Town and I can say they are some of the most friendly South Africans I’ve met!
Nelspruit (Mbombela)
If you want to be close to safaris and nature, this is the spot!
You’ll be around the corner from Kruger National Park and can get to know the local community.
The infrastructure isn’t as great here compared to other parts of South Africa but it has a lower cost of living, warm weather and some good coworking spots!
What’s the Cost of Living in South Africa?
One of the biggest perks of having South Africa as your base while working remotely is the affordable cost of living when compared to many Western countries.
You’ll see the biggest difference in rent, no matter where you end up! Although Cape Town is the most expensive city to rent in, you can still find a place for around $700-1,200 USD/month in the best neighbourhoods.
You can find places in suburbs slightly further out like Observatory, Woodstock or Muizenberg for as low as $400-600 USD/month.
In comparison, coastal towns like George or J-Bay will have furnished apartments for around $300-600/month.
Melas out at restaurants are pretty affordable as well, however, I will say that groceries are surprisingly expensive in South Africa (especially for those earning in ZAR!).
I was spending around $50 USD/week on groceries and while you can certainly do it for less, I was surprised by how much it cost.
Tips for Living Abroad in South Africa: Suppporting Locals
At the start of this post, I briefly mentioned ways you can travel or live in South Africa without hurting the locals or having a lesser impact.
You see, you might not be aware of how locals are being affected by the swarms of digital nomads entering the country (especially in Cape Town).
And while it’s not necessarily the digital nomad’s fault (the government should be doing more to ensure locals are able to find housing, etc), you shouldn’t ignore the fact that locals are upset.
As a visitor, it’s important to respect locals, and their communities and be aware of how your actions can affect others who are from that country.
So here are some ways you live in South Africa more ethically:
- Do Your Research – It’s not cute to be ignorant (sorry!) and you’d be surprised by how many people come to Cape Town and toss around the term ‘cheap’. This is incredibly insulting to locals who earn in ZAR and have a MUCH weaker currency than most foreign currencies entering South Africa. When you understand how little locals earn and how most can barely afford housing and/or food, you’ll enter the country with a lot more compassion and in turn can have a more positive impact.
- Go Beyond Cape Town – Trust me, I know just how easy it is to get stuck in Cape Town because it has everything you could ever want and more! However, it’s sad that most locals don’t get to enjoy their home city because it’s been taken over by foreigners. It’s okay to spend some time in Cape Town and make the most of it but it’s worth going to other parts of the country, especially if you’re looking for a base so that Cape Town can be enjoyed by everyone.
- Donate to Local Organizations – Skip the poverty tourism/township tours and instead donate to local organizations that are vetted and that you trust to help those who need it.
- Connect With Locals – South Africans are VERY friendly people and worth getting to know! It’s great to get to know other remote workers and tourists from around the world but please take some time to make local friends if you’re staying in South Africa for a while. I’ve met some truly amazing people in South Africa and love learning about the different cultures they’re from.
Have Questions About the South Africa Digital Nomad Visa?
That wraps up everything you need to know about the Remote Worker visa in South Africa!
If you have any questions let me know and I’ll do my best to keep this post updated if any new information comes up.
I’ll be back shortly with another blog but in the meantime, you can connect with me on Instagram, TikTok or YouTube!
Cheers,
Amy xx
