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Moving to South Africa from the UK: The 2026 Guide

By The Expat Club · Updated October 2026

There is no UK-specific visa: British nationals apply under the same categories as everyone else. A British passport lets you visit South Africa for up to 90 days without a visa, but not to live or work there. For that you need a visa such as the Remote Work, Critical Skills, General Work, Retired Person's or Spousal visa. Leaving the UK has its own paperwork too: telling HMRC you have gone, working out your UK tax residence, and claiming your UK pensions from abroad, because they stay in the UK.

South Africa's 2022 census counted 61,282 people born in the UK, more than from any other country outside Africa. This guide covers both ends of the move: the visa, what to settle with HMRC and your pensions before you leave, South African tax once you arrive, the fixed costs, healthcare after the NHS and where people settle. We checked each figure against the official UK or South African source in October 2026, and the sources are listed at the end.

Who moves to South Africa from the UK?

The 2022 census found 61,282 residents born in the United Kingdom, down from 81,720 in 2011. That made the UK the fifth largest country of birth among migrants in South Africa, behind Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Lesotho and Malawi, and the largest outside Africa. The census does not break British-born residents down by city, but Stats SA's provincial profiles show where people born in the UK and the rest of Europe live: in 2022 the Western Cape and Gauteng each had a little over 40,000 such residents, against about 16,000 in KwaZulu-Natal, so treat any claim about where "most Brits" settle with caution. Across all migrants, half live in Gauteng.

Moves from the UK tend to follow one of a few patterns: South Africans coming home after years in Britain, often with a British partner and children; people working remotely for a UK employer; people with a job offer in South Africa; and retirees. Each needs a different visa, and the tax and pension sections below matter more to some than to others.

Worth knowing: if you were South African before you took British citizenship, you may still be a South African citizen. On 6 May 2025 the Constitutional Court struck down the rule that removed South African citizenship automatically from anyone who voluntarily took another nationality without ministerial permission, with effect back to 6 October 1995. Home Affairs now treats the people affected as having kept it, and retention letters are no longer needed. To check where you stand, Home Affairs runs an online Citizenship Reinstatement Portal for citizenship lost on or after 6 October 1995: since February 2026 qualifying cases can be processed in as little as an hour, while cases that cannot be verified straight away go to a specialist, and a confirmed status still leaves you to apply for a passport separately. The ruling does not cover people who formally renounced, and people who lost citizenship before 6 October 1995 have a separate route to apply to have it restored. If you are a citizen, one rule is firm: South African citizens must enter and leave South Africa on a valid South African passport. The South African High Commission in London says this applies to all citizens, including dual nationals, the UK government's travel advice says it is illegal for a citizen aged 18 or over to use another passport, and Home Affairs says proof that you have applied for a passport is not accepted for travel. If your citizenship status is still under review, Home Affairs encourages you to use your foreign passport in the meantime. Our guide to moving back to South Africa covers passports, partners and children born abroad.

Do Brits need a visa to move to South Africa?

Not for a holiday or a scouting trip. A British passport gets you up to 90 days without a visa, as long as it is valid for at least 30 days after the day you leave South Africa and has two blank pages. Children aged 17 and under have extra entry rules, so check the UK government's travel advice before a family trip. Since 1 July 2026 everyone entering or leaving South Africa, children included, has also had to complete an online traveller declaration no more than 24 hours before the flight departs, or before the last leg if there is a stopover, one per person (a parent can submit a child's), and anyone carrying more than R100,000 in rand, foreign currency or bearer negotiable instruments needs prior exchange control approval and must declare it. South Africa launched its Electronic Travel Authorisation on 12 August 2026, and Home Affairs says it will become compulsory step by step for countries whose citizens need a visa. Home Affairs has said visa-exempt travellers such as British passport holders will be able to use it voluntarily, for example to apply to extend a 90-day visit by up to another 90 days, with a R500 fee for those who choose to. When we checked in October 2026, neither Home Affairs nor the UK government's travel advice said British visitors must have one, so check the official ETA portal before you book.

To live or work in South Africa you need a visa, and there is no UK-specific one: you apply under the same categories as any other foreign national. From the UK you lodge a visa or permanent residence application through VFS Global, the visa centre the South African High Commission in London points applicants to. From the UK the visa fee is paid in pounds, and VFS adds a £40 service charge to every application (October 2026): see the costs section. The main routes:

• Remote Work Visa: for people employed by a company outside South Africa and earning no less than R650,976 a year, roughly £29,700 at the Bank of England rate on 20 October 2026. It is valid for up to three years, you cannot take South African employment on it, and if you spend more than 183 days in total in South Africa in any 12-month period, the visa conditions require you to register with SARS. Our remote work visa guide has the checklist.
• Critical Skills Visa: for occupations on South Africa's critical skills list, which includes many engineering and IT roles and some finance roles such as actuaries, auditors and investment analysts. You need your foreign qualifications evaluated by SAQA (or proof that you have applied, which gets a one-year visa) and, where your profession has one, confirmation from the recognised professional body, and Home Affairs' checklist, in force since October 2024, also asks for a signed job offer or employment contract in that occupation. It is valid for up to five years at a time: see our Critical Skills visa guide.
• General Work Visa: tied to a signed job offer from a South African employer. The Department of Employment and Labour certificate was waived from 8 October 2024. Both work visas are now scored under a points-based system that needs 100 points, and an occupation on the critical skills list scores the full 100 by itself. Our work visa guide explains the points.
• Retired Person's Visa: for people with a pension, irrevocable annuity or retirement account paying at least R37,000 a month for life, or a net worth in assets that realise that much each month. The R37,000 figure was set by notice in the Government Gazette in 2014, and the Minister can change it. You also need proof of medical cover. It is valid for up to four years at a time and can be renewed. The retirement section below has more.
• Spousal or Life Partner Visa: for those married to, or in a long-term relationship with, a South African citizen or permanent resident. Life partners need a notarial agreement confirming the relationship has lasted at least two years. See our spousal and life partner visa guide.

Processing times vary a great deal by category, so build in several months of buffer rather than booking a one-way flight against a visa that is still "in process". When we checked in October 2026, VFS in the UK quoted at least 60 working days for work, retired, relative's and long-stay visitor visas, and around 18 months for permanent residence. The rules on flight bookings differ between visa types, so check your own checklist before you buy a ticket. Our guide to visa processing times has the latest picture.

Start the slow paperwork early. For a work visa, Critical Skills included, Home Affairs wants a police certificate from each country you lived in for more than 12 months in the last five years, no older than six months when you submit. The retired person's and relative's visas reach further back: every country where you spent 12 months or more since you turned 18. The VFS UK checklists we read in October 2026 use that longer since-18 test for work visas too, so follow the checklist for your exact visa. In the UK that certificate comes from ACRO (see the costs section). Since 8 July 2026, Home Affairs has waived the medical report for temporary visa and permanent residence applications, including ones already lodged (Ministerial Immigration Directive 10 of 2026, Government Gazette 55016). The VFS UK checklists still listed a medical report in October 2026, and the general work and long-stay visitor checklists still called it mandatory, so confirm with VFS before paying for a medical. The directive does not cover the radiological (chest X-ray) report, which the retired person's and relative's checklists still ask for (pregnant women and children under 12 are exempt) and which must be less than six months old, so go by the current checklist for your visa when you book your appointment. Our guide to documents, apostilles and police clearance covers what to gather and the order that saves the most time.

What do you need to tell HMRC when you leave the UK?

Leaving does not end your UK tax position by itself. You tell HMRC you are going, and your residence is then decided one tax year (6 April to 5 April) at a time under the statutory residence test. Most of what follows also matters for South Africans who have been working in the UK.

P85 or the SA109 residence pages

If you do not file Self Assessment, tell HMRC with form P85, including parts 2 and 3 of your P45 if you have them. You can do it online, or print and post it, which you must do if you have not left yet. If you do file Self Assessment, you tell HMRC on the residence pages instead: form SA109, "Residence and foreign income and gains (FIG) regime etc". HMRC's own online service cannot take it, so it goes by post (the paper return deadline is 31 October after the end of the tax year), through commercial software or through a tax adviser. If you will be working full-time abroad for a UK-based employer for at least a full tax year, you need both: a P85 and a return with the SA109 pages. Keep a UK bank account open until any refund arrives: HMRC sends cheques only to UK addresses and will not pay currency conversion fees or bank charges for sending money abroad.

Are you still UK resident? The statutory residence test

You are automatically non-resident for a tax year if you spend fewer than 16 days in the UK in it (the limit is 46 days if you were non-resident in all of the previous three tax years, which rarely applies in the year you leave). You are also automatically non-resident if you work full-time abroad: an average of 35 hours a week, fewer than 91 days in the UK, fewer than 31 of them spent working more than three hours, and no significant break from the overseas work. Spend 183 days or more in the UK in a tax year and you are resident.

Between those, it usually depends on your UK ties. Two exceptions can make you UK resident whatever your ties. One is keeping your only home in the UK: if you have had it for 91 days or more in a row and you are there on at least 30 days of the tax year. The other is working full-time in the UK over a 365-day period that falls at least partly in the tax year. Otherwise HMRC counts five ties:

• Family: a spouse, civil partner or partner you live with who is UK resident, or a child under 18 who is, unless you see that child in the UK on fewer than 61 days in the tax year.
• Accommodation: a place to live in the UK that is available for 91 days or more in a row, where you spend at least one night (16 nights if it is a close relative's home).
• Work: 40 or more days doing more than three hours' work in the UK.
• 90-day: more than 90 days in the UK in either of the previous two tax years.
• Country: the UK is the country where you spent the most midnights that year (this one counts only for leavers).

The table is for leavers, meaning anyone who was UK resident in at least one of the previous three tax years. A day usually counts if you are in the UK at midnight, with exceptions for some transit days and exceptional circumstances. For leavers with three or more UK ties, days in the UK when you are not there at midnight also count after the first 30 such days in the tax year. HMRC's online residence checker gives an indication, not a ruling.

The year you leave: split year treatment

In the tax year you go, you may be able to split the year, so that you are taxed as a UK resident only up to the day you leave. The case that fits most people setting up home in South Africa (Case 3, ceasing to have a home in the UK) asks for four things. You were UK resident in the previous tax year. From the day you leave you have no home in the UK and spend fewer than 16 days there for the rest of that tax year. Within six months, you become tax resident in South Africa, or are there at the end of every day for six months, or have your only home or homes there. And you are non-resident for the whole of the following tax year. People leaving for full-time work abroad use a different case.

Coming back within five years

If you were solely UK resident in four of the seven tax years before you left and you come back within five years, some income and gains from your time away are taxed in the year you return. That covers gains on assets you owned before you left, certain distributions from closely controlled companies, chargeable event gains, offshore income gains and some pension payments. To fall outside the rule you need to be away for more than five years.

Personal Allowance, ISAs and UK interest

British citizens keep the UK Personal Allowance while living abroad: £12,570 for 2026 to 2027, shrinking once income goes above £100,000. Claim it on form R43, online or by post, for the current tax year and up to four years back; if you are in Self Assessment, you claim it on your return instead.

You can keep your ISAs and their UK tax relief, but you cannot pay new money in while you are non-resident (Crown employees aside), and you must tell your ISA provider as soon as you stop being UK resident. We could find nothing from SARS that treats an ISA as tax free. The South African interest exemption (R23,800 a year under 65, R34,500 from 65) covers only South African interest, and under the double tax treaty, UK interest paid to someone resident in South Africa for tax is taxable only in South Africa. So interest, dividends and gains inside an ISA may well be taxable in South Africa once you are resident there. Check this with a cross-border tax specialist before you count on an ISA staying tax free.

Renting out your UK home

If you let UK property while you live abroad for six months or more a year, you come under the non-resident landlord scheme. Your letting agent, or your tenant if the rent is over £100 a week and there is no agent, takes basic rate tax off the rent after allowable expenses and pays it to HMRC. You can apply on form NRL1, online or by post, to have the rent paid with no tax taken off. Approval normally applies from the start of the quarter in which HMRC received your application, and HMRC can refuse it if your UK tax affairs are behind. Receiving rent gross does not make it tax free: you still need a Self Assessment return, with the SA109 and the property pages (SA105), unless HMRC tells you otherwise. The treaty leaves the UK free to tax UK rent.

A change is coming. The Finance Act 2026 sets separate tax rates for property income of 22%, 42% and 47% from April 2027 (Scotland and Wales set their own), and the landlord scheme's deduction is due to move to the new 22% property basic rate at the same time.

Selling UK property

Report every sale or other disposal of UK property or land within 60 days of completion, using HMRC's online Capital Gains Tax on UK property service (there is a paper form if you cannot use it). You have to report even if there is no tax to pay or you made a loss. Any tax due must be paid within the same 60 days, and if you also file a Self Assessment return, the disposal goes on that as well. Capital Gains Tax is 18% or 24%, after an annual exempt amount of £3,000 for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. The treaty leaves the UK free to tax non-residents on gains from UK property, and South Africa may tax the gain too, though its own rules generally give a credit for UK tax paid on the same gain, up to the South African tax on it. When you become South African resident, the assets you already own are generally treated for South African capital gains tax as if you acquired them at market value that day, so keep a record of their value around the date you arrive.

Inheritance Tax after April 2025

Since 6 April 2025, UK Inheritance Tax on your worldwide estate depends on long-term residence, not domicile. You are a long-term UK resident if you were UK resident in at least 10 of the previous 20 tax years. That status follows you for a time after you leave: three years if you were resident for 10 to 13 of the last 20 years, rising by one year for each extra year of residence, up to 10. The split year counts as a full year of residence, and UK assets stay within UK Inheritance Tax whatever your residence. Transitional rules may apply instead to people who were non-resident for the whole of the 2025 to 2026 tax year, depending on their domicile status on 30 October 2024, and can shorten or remove that period. The UK and South Africa have had an estate tax treaty since 1979, and South African estate duty covers the property of South African residents and the South African property of non-residents, so estate planning needs looking at from both sides.

Child Benefit, student loans and National Insurance

Tell the Child Benefit Office if you are going abroad for more than eight weeks (12 weeks if it is because of a family death or medical treatment). Child Benefit carries on abroad only in limited cases, such as the EU, EEA and Switzerland under certain conditions, a few countries with agreements and Crown servants, and South Africa is not one of them. If you do not tell them, you may be overpaid and have to pay the money back.

Tell the Student Loans Company if you are going abroad for more than three months, and update your employment details each year. If you do not send details of your income, you are expected to make a fixed monthly repayment, and anything unpaid counts as arrears. Repayment thresholds are set country by country: for a Plan 2 loan in South Africa the 2026 to 2027 threshold is £11,755 a year, against £29,385 in the UK, and the fixed monthly repayment is £163.60. Plans 1, 4 and 5 and postgraduate loans have their own tables, so check yours.

There is no social security agreement between the UK and South Africa. From 6 April 2026, voluntary contributions for time abroad are Class 3 only, and you can pay them only if you lived in the UK for 10 years in a row or paid 10 years of contributions, not counting National Insurance credits or voluntary contributions paid for other periods abroad. Class 3 is £18.40 a week for 2026 to 2027 (the previous two tax years are charged at their original rates), and gaps can usually be filled up to six years back. If you applied for 2024 to 2025 or 2025 to 2026 by 5 April 2026, transitional rules may still let you pay Class 3 under the old rules, which needed three years rather than 10, as long as you pay the contributions you applied for and apply for 2026 to 2027 by 5 April 2027. They stop applying if you return to live or work in the UK. If you have reached State Pension age or are within six months of it, gov.uk says to contact the International Pension Centre. Voluntary contributions do not give you healthcare cover abroad.

How the double tax treaty works

The double tax treaty between the UK and South Africa, signed in 2002 and amended by a 2010 protocol, decides which country taxes what. If both countries treat you as resident, it settles the question in order: where you have a permanent home, then where your personal and economic ties are closer, then where you usually live, then nationality, and failing all of those the two tax authorities agree it between them. The UK keeps the right to tax rent from UK property and gains on it, and South Africa then credits the UK tax against its own, subject to South African law. HMRC's guidance puts the result plainly: where the two countries' rates differ, you end up paying the higher one.

How does South African tax work once you arrive?

South Africa taxes its residents on their worldwide income, and non-residents only on income from South African sources. You become resident in one of two ways:

• Ordinary residence: South Africa is your real home, the place you return to. SARS weighs the whole picture, including your intentions, your family and belongings, and whether you have applied for a visa or permanent residence. Residence starts on the date you become ordinarily resident, not at the start of the tax year.
• Physical presence: you are in South Africa for more than 91 days in the current tax year, more than 91 days in each of the previous five, and more than 915 days in total over those five. You are then resident from 1 March of the sixth year. Part days count, and days in transit without passing through immigration do not. Spending 330 full days in a row outside South Africa ends it.

If the treaty's tie-breaker makes you resident only in the UK, you are not treated as a South African tax resident.

The tax year runs from 1 March to the last day of February, so 1 March 2026 to 28 February 2027 is the 2027 year. For that year, rates run from 18% to 45% on taxable income above R1,878,600, and under 65 you pay no tax until your income passes R99,000. The figures can change with each Budget, so check the current table on the SARS site. Our guide to expat tax in South Africa goes further.

You must register with SARS within 21 business days of becoming liable for tax. Automatic registration on eFiling needs a South African ID number, so newcomers on a British passport can register through a South African employer or at a SARS branch by appointment, taking their passport or permit (the original and a copy) and proof of address, such as a current lease or a utility bill less than three months old. You may need to register even with no South African salary, for example if you receive UK rent, and you must be registered before SARS will issue a certificate of residence, which you need for the UK pension relief described below. If you have income with no tax taken off, such as UK rent, you may also have to pay provisional tax. You submit form IRP6 on eFiling (existing eFilers add provisional tax to their profile) and pay the first amount by the end of August and the second by the last business day of February.

What happens to your UK pensions?

Your UK pensions stay in the UK, and you draw them while living in South Africa. The questions are how they are paid and which country taxes them.

The UK State Pension

You can claim the UK State Pension from South Africa. You can claim once you are within four months of your State Pension age, either by contacting the International Pension Centre or by sending the international claim form (IPCBR1NSP if you reach State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016) with the payment form for South Africa. The forms do not work on a phone or tablet: use a computer with a PDF reader, or print them and fill them in by hand.

It can be paid into a South African or a UK bank account, every 4 or 13 weeks, to one country for the whole year. Payments into a South African account are usually converted at the exchange rate at the time, after a conversion charge (0.39% in October 2026).

The State Pension does not rise each year while you live in South Africa. The UK pays the yearly increase only to pensioners living in the countries on this gov.uk list, and South Africa is not on it. If you come back to live in the UK, it goes up to the current rate.

The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week (from April 2026). You usually need 10 qualifying years of National Insurance to get any and 35 for the full amount, and years worked in South Africa cannot count. Get a forecast online, or call the Future Pension Centre on +44 (0)191 218 3600. State Pension age is rising from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028. If you were born between 6 April 1960 and 5 March 1961 it falls between your 66th and 67th birthdays, and it is 67 for anyone born between 6 March 1961 and 5 April 1977. The law already sets a later rise to 68 for people born after 5 April 1978, the government reviews State Pension age regularly, and the gov.uk checker gives yours.

While you live abroad, the International Pension Centre (+44 (0)191 218 7777, Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm) looks after your State Pension. Report changes by phone or in writing, not by email. You may be sent a life certificate to fill in; it needs to be signed by a witness, who does not have to live in the UK, and if you do not send it back your payments may be suspended.

Workplace and personal pensions

Workplace and personal pensions also stay in the UK and are drawn from South Africa. Whether a scheme will pay into a South African bank account is the scheme's decision, so ask each of yours, and give them your new address as well as telling HMRC. The earliest you can usually take benefits is 55, rising to 57 from 6 April 2028 (uniformed services schemes stay at 55), and some schemes can pay earlier on grounds of ill health. Be wary of any offer to release pension money early or lend against it: HMRC treats most of these as unauthorised payments and can tax them at up to 55%.

Where UK pensions are taxed

Under the treaty, pensions from past private sector work and most annuities are generally taxable only in the country where you live, so once you are South African resident they can usually be paid without UK tax. Not every kind of pension income fits neatly into these categories, so check how yours is treated. UK schemes normally take off UK tax through PAYE until HMRC tells them otherwise. You can claim relief on HMRC's South Africa-Individual form, with a copy of your latest P60: SARS certifies that you are resident and either sends the form on to HMRC or returns it to you to send. HMRC may then tell the scheme to pay without taking tax off, or repay tax already deducted. SARS's certificate of residence (requested on form RC01) needs you to be registered for South African income tax, resident for the period concerned and up to date with your tax returns, and SARS aims to deal with a complete request within 21 business days.

Pensions paid for work for the UK government, a local authority or a publicly funded educational institution are different: they stay taxable only in the UK, unless you are both a South African national and resident there.

The treaty does not exempt the State Pension from UK tax, but gov.uk says people who are not UK resident do not usually pay UK tax on it, and it is paid with no tax taken off. On the South African side, the Income Tax Act exempts amounts a resident receives under another country's social security system. SARS does not name the UK State Pension, so check how this applies to you, for example with a registered tax practitioner. A pension earned through work outside South Africa can also be exempt, in proportion to the years of service outside the country, although SARS's guidance does not plainly cover personal pensions with no link to employment. A 2025 proposal to remove that exemption was withdrawn in November 2025 and was not part of the tax amendments passed in 2026, so it still applies as at October 2026, although Treasury plans further consultation and the position could change in a future Budget. Lump sums are assessed under South Africa's own rules, not the UK tax-free lump sum rule. SARS's guidance says any part of a foreign pension lump sum that is not exempt is taxed at your normal income tax rates. When it is paid, and where you are tax resident at that point, can both affect the result.

Retiring to South Africa from the UK

Most retirees from the UK come on the Retired Person's Visa, which needs a pension, irrevocable annuity or retirement account paying at least R37,000 a month for life, or a net worth in assets that realise that much each month, plus proof of medical cover. At the 20 October 2026 Bank of England rate, R37,000 is about £1,690 a month. The full new State Pension comes to about £1,046 a month, roughly R22,900 at that rate, so on its own it falls short. The exchange rate will move over time, while the State Pension itself stays at the same amount in pounds for as long as you live in South Africa.

A short checklist for retirees, drawn from the sections above:

• Check your State Pension age and forecast before you go, and whether filling gaps with Class 3 contributions is open to you.
• Plan for the State Pension staying at the same amount while you live in South Africa.
• Ask each UK scheme whether it pays into a South African account.
• Arrange medical cover before you apply: the visa asks for proof of it, and medical schemes can add a late-joiner penalty if you join at 35 or older.
• Once you are South African resident, the treaty form, certified by SARS, is how you can ask HMRC for private sector workplace pensions to be paid without UK tax.

Retirees often look at Cape Town, the Garden Route, and Hermanus and the Overberg, all covered in the section on where Brits settle, below. Our guide to retiring in South Africa covers the visa, budgets and where to live in more depth.

What does it cost to move from the UK?

Some costs are fixed and published. These are the published fees a British mover applying from the UK is most likely to meet, checked in October 2026.

On 20 October 2026 the Bank of England's spot rate was R21.92 to the pound, and it had moved between roughly R21.57 and R22.05 since the start of September. That is a wholesale mid-market figure: the rate you get from a bank or currency service is usually lower.

If you apply inside South Africa, visa fees are charged in rand under the Home Affairs schedule. Since 17 August 2026 (Government Gazette 55209) it has been R425 for a visitor's visa, the category the remote work and spousal visas fall under, and R425 for a retired person's visa. A work visa, Critical Skills included, costs R1,520, and so do most permanent residence applications, although the gazette leaves certain categories, including some spouses and children of citizens and permanent residents, out of that fee line. At the Bank of England rate on 20 October 2026 that is roughly £19 and £69. From the UK you pay in pounds instead: in October 2026 VFS listed £125 for a work visa or a permanent residence application and £35 for a retired person's, relative's or long-stay visitor's visa (the remote work visa is lodged as a long-stay visitor's visa), plus a £40 service charge, VAT included, on every application. Spouses and children applying to accompany a main applicant may pay no visa fee, although the £40 charge still applies. VFS says its fees can change each April, so check the figure when you book. A Critical Skills or General Work visa also needs your qualifications evaluated by SAQA, South Africa's qualifications authority, which charged R2,361 (about £108) for the first qualification from April 2026.

When we checked, ACRO's police certificate cost £70 including standard post and took up to 20 working days, plus postage time, and ACRO says not to make travel, job or accommodation plans until it arrives. None of the VFS UK checklists we read in October 2026 asked for an apostille on the police certificate, but the general work, relative's, accompanying spouse or child, and long-stay visitor (including remote work) checklists ask for one on birth and marriage certificates. For those, the FCDO charges £45 per document for its standard paper service, plus return delivery (£6 per 1.5kg by UK courier, or your own prepaid envelope), and the paper service usually takes up to 25 working days. Its £35 e-Apostille needs a PDF e-signed by a UK notary or solicitor and is not available for ACRO certificates or General Register Office certificates.

For a dog or cat you need an export health certificate (6256 for dogs, 6257 for cats), applied for online and signed by an official vet. No government fee is listed, but the vet may charge, and in Northern Ireland the certificates come through DAERA. South Africa's veterinary import permit costs R250, about £11, and must be issued before you travel; use your passport number as the payment reference.

Your own household furniture and effects can usually come in without customs duty under SARS rebate item 407.06, as long as they belong to you and your family, are brought in for your own use on a bona fide change of residence, and are not sold or otherwise disposed of within six months. Cars, alcohol and tobacco are excluded, and the customs entry needs forms DA 304 and P1.160. The rebate covers customs duty, and SARS's guidance says household goods brought in this way can come in free of VAT too.

A car is harder. ITAC considers an import permit only once you have permanent residence; before that, the route is SARS temporary clearance. You also need an NRCS Letter of Authority, and a left-hand-drive car not registered in South Africa before 23 July 2004 cannot be registered. Rebate item 407.04 allows one car per family, with the full rebate after 12 months of ownership and use and a pro rata one for less. It can be used once per family in three years, and ITAC bars you from selling the car for 24 months. ITAC published a schedule of processing fees for import permits in 2026, so check its current notices before you apply. Our guide to importing a car to South Africa sets out who can and what it costs.

Flights and removals are the costs that swing most, with the season, the volume you ship and how far ahead you book. Our cost calculator gives indicative 2026 ranges in rand, which are planning ranges, not quotes. For removals, get written quotes for the same volume from more than one firm, and check whether packing, port charges and delivery at the South African end are included.

How far does a British income go?

For anyone earning or holding savings in pounds, South Africa is affordable. With the rand at around R22 to the pound in October 2026, a British income goes a long way: rent, groceries, eating out and domestic help cost much less than in the UK, though imported goods, electronics and some insurance products cost more than you might expect. Private healthcare and good schooling are not free, so put medical aid and school fees in your budget from day one. Our guides to the cost of living in Cape Town and in Johannesburg put numbers on it.

If you work for a UK employer, the time difference is small. South Africa stays on UTC+2 all year with no daylight saving, so it is two hours ahead of the UK in winter and one hour ahead in summer.

Housing

Renting first is a common choice: it lets you test a neighbourhood through a full season before committing. The main areas are covered in the section on where Brits settle, below.

Healthcare after the NHS

The NHS is based on residence, so once you move abroad permanently you are no longer automatically entitled to free NHS care. There is no reciprocal healthcare agreement between the UK and South Africa, and the UK Global Health Insurance Card does not work there. Tell your GP you are leaving so you come off the register. On visits back to England, hospital treatment is usually charged at 150% of the NHS rate, although A&E care until you are admitted, NHS 111 and the diagnosis and treatment of listed infectious diseases stay free, as long as you did not travel in order to get that care. A GP practice can choose to see you as a temporary patient free of charge, but NHS prescriptions are charged as usual. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own rules. If you later return to live in the UK as a British citizen, you will most likely count as ordinarily resident from the day you arrive.

In South Africa, private healthcare is paid for mainly through medical schemes, known as medical aid. Open schemes must accept anyone who applies, and on the same plan contributions can vary only by income and the number of dependants, not by your age or health, apart from the late-joiner penalty described below. A scheme can apply a general waiting period of up to three months and a waiting period of up to 12 months for a condition for which advice, diagnosis, care or treatment was recommended or received in the 12 months before you applied. If you had no South African medical scheme cover in the 90 days before joining, as will be the case for most people arriving from the UK, even the prescribed minimum benefits are not protected during those waiting periods. If you join at 35 or older, a late-joiner penalty of up to 5%, 25%, 50% or 75% can be added to your share of the contribution. The penalty years are your age when you join, less 35, less the years you have spent on a South African medical scheme or certain state schemes. Only that South African cover counts, so years on the NHS do not reduce it. These are maximums, and a scheme may charge less or nothing at all.

The prescribed minimum benefits every scheme must cover include emergencies, about 271 diagnosis and treatment pairs and 26 chronic conditions, subject to the scheme's rules on which providers you use. Gap cover is a separate insurance product for shortfalls between what specialists charge and what a scheme pays. National Health Insurance is law but none of it is in force, and the Constitutional Court had not ruled on the challenges to it when we checked in October 2026. Most UK prescriptions need a South African prescription before a pharmacy will dispense, so plan to see a local doctor early. In an emergency, call 112 from a mobile or 10177 for an ambulance. Our guide to healthcare and medical aid explains how schemes compare.

Where do Brits settle in South Africa?

With no official count of where British-born residents live by city or suburb, this is a guide to the main choices, not a ranking.

• Cape Town: the lifestyle choice, with direct flights to London when we checked in October 2026, the mountain and the sea, and usually the highest prices of the big cities. Our guide to the best areas to live in Cape Town compares suburbs and rents.
• Johannesburg and Pretoria: suit people with a job lined up there. Johannesburg usually asks less in rent than Cape Town, but security estates, levies and needing a car close much of the gap. See Cape Town vs Johannesburg and our guides to Johannesburg suburbs and Pretoria suburbs.
• Durban and the KwaZulu-Natal coast: warm all year, with Umhlanga and Ballito the best known areas, but in October 2026 there was no direct flight between Durban and the UK. See our guides to Durban suburbs and Ballito and the North Coast.
• The Garden Route and the Overberg: quieter towns that draw retirees, such as Knysna, Plettenberg Bay and George, and Hermanus, about an hour and a half from Cape Town. Our Garden Route guide covers them.

The practical move: shipping, pets and paperwork

Shipping by sea takes weeks, not days. A shared container waits to fill before it sails, so it usually takes longer than a full one, and customs clearance or port delays can add time to either. Ask each removal firm for its own estimate, and see our shipping guide for the detail. It often pays to ship only what you really want to keep, since furniture and appliances are easy to buy locally and shipping is not cheap.

Pets can travel too, but the paperwork takes time, so start well before you fly: our pets guide sets out the steps and a realistic timeline.

Once you land, a handful of admin tasks tend to define the first month:

• registering with SARS if you will be tax resident or have South African income (see the tax section)
• opening a bank account
• getting a RICA-registered SIM card (South African law requires SIM registration: bring your passport and, usually, a proof of address)
• joining a medical scheme, if you have not already
• checking where you stand on driving (see the driving section below)

Our guide to your first 30 and 90 days in South Africa puts these in a sensible order, along with converting your licence, medical aid waiting periods and school applications.

Power is less of a worry than it was. Eskom reported on 16 October 2026 that there had been no load-shedding, the rotating national power cuts, since 16 May 2025. It still applies targeted "load reduction" in some high-risk parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, affecting under 3% of its customers, and aims to end this by March 2027, so ask what backup power a property has before you sign.

Money and exchange control

South Africa operates exchange controls administered by the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), which mainly affects how you move money in and out of the country long-term. It's worth keeping a clear paper trail of funds you bring in from the UK (the amount, the date and the source) since this record can matter if you ever want to repatriate the money later. Rates and fees on larger amounts vary between banks and currency specialists, so compare more than one quote before you send. Our guide to moving money to South Africa explains how it works.

Driving, schools and settling in

A valid UK photocard licence is accepted in South Africa, and you do not need an International Driving Permit with it: it is in English and carries your photograph and signature, which is what the road traffic regulations ask of a foreign licence. The UK government's travel advice gives a limit of 12 months, while the regulations tie it to the licence's own validity, so if your stay on a temporary visa will be longer, confirm the position with a South African licensing office. If you still have an old paper licence, get the 1968 International Driving Permit before you travel or switch to a photocard.

Once you have permanent residence, you need to exchange your licence for a South African one while it is still valid. The UK government and gov.za both say within a year of getting residence, while the road traffic regulations allow five years, so convert early: our licence conversion guide has the detail. Traffic drives on the left, as in the UK.

Schooling is a major draw for UK families: South Africa has a strong network of private and international schools, particularly in Cape Town, and fees are usually well below UK independent school levels. Waiting lists at the most popular schools can still run a year or more, so it pays to start enquiries before you have booked flights. Our guide to international school fees has current figures.

Common early mistake: underestimating how much local knowledge matters for the first six months: which suburb suits your commute, which schools have space, which bank branch will process a non-resident account without three trips back. A short scouting visit before the move saves most people far more time than it costs.

Coming home: South Africans returning from the UK

If you are a South African citizen moving back after years in the UK, much of this guide still applies, with a few differences:

• You need no visa, but you must enter and leave on your South African passport.
• A British partner who is not a citizen needs a visa of their own, usually the spousal or life partner route, so start that early. Children born in the UK to a South African parent are citizens by descent once their birth is registered with Home Affairs, and are then expected to travel on a South African passport; a child whose birth has never been registered can travel on a British passport under the usual visa rules.
• If you took British citizenship without permission and thought you had lost South African citizenship, read the box near the top of this guide: you may never have lost it.
• The UK side is the same as for anyone leaving: tell HMRC, work through the residence test, and plan for your UK pensions, ISAs and any UK property.
• If you formally ceased to be South African tax resident while away, you tell SARS you are resident again through form RAV01 on eFiling once you are back.

Our guide to moving back to South Africa covers passports and family, and the step-by-step returnee checklist puts the tasks in order.

Is it the right move?

Moving to South Africa from the UK suits people who want more space, more sun and a lower cost of living, and who can live with patchier infrastructure and more paperwork than they are used to. It is not a decision to make on the strength of a two-week holiday: visas, choosing a neighbourhood with safety in mind and planning for healthcare all deserve proper research before you commit.

Further reading: The British expat's money checklist for South Africa on Rory Phillips Wealth (the founder’s own planning practice) explains the financial admin to sort before and after the move, in plain English and without advice.

Plan your move: Brits planning this move can use these pages to turn the idea into a timeline. Start with our complete guide to moving to South Africa, check which route fits using the visa checker, and put numbers on it with the cost-to-move calculator. For the day-to-day picture, read living in South Africa, and use where to live in South Africa if you haven't picked a city yet.

Frequently asked questions

Sources, checked 22 October 2026

These are the official UK and South African pages behind the facts above, checked on 22 October 2026.

• Census 2022 Statistical Release P0301.4 (Stats SA): the 61,282 UK-born residents, the ranking by country of birth and the share of migrants living in Gauteng.
• Census 2022 Provincial Profile: Western Cape (Stats SA): residents born in the UK and the rest of Europe by province, with the matching Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal profiles.
• Democratic Alliance v Minister of Home Affairs and Another (Constitutional Court of South Africa): the May 2025 ruling on automatic loss of citizenship.
• Home Affairs rolls out final phase of citizenship reinstatement portal (South African Government): the online portal and processing in as little as an hour since February 2026.
• Citizenship reinstatement FAQs (Department of Home Affairs): who the ruling does not cover, including people who renounced.
• South Africa travel advice: entry requirements (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office): the 90-day visa exemption, passport validity and the rule for dual nationals.
• South Africa travel advice: safety and security (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office): driving on a UK licence and the International Driving Permit.
• Customs Online Traveller Declaration (SARS): the online declaration for travellers entering or leaving from 1 July 2026.
• FAQs for the required online traveller declarations from 1 July 2026 (SARS): one declaration per traveller, children included, and the R100,000 limit on cash and bearer negotiable instruments without prior approval.
• Minister Leon Schreiber: launch of South Africa's Electronic Travel Authorisation (South African Government): the ETA becoming compulsory in stages and its optional use by visa-exempt travellers.
• Government Gazette 55072 (South African Government): the ETA being optional at first for travellers from visa-exempt countries.
• Government Gazette 55209 (South African Government): the visa, permanent residence and ETA fees in force since 17 August 2026.
• South Africa visa types (VFS Global, UK): the pound visa fees, the £40 service charge, processing times and the UK checklists.
• Foreign qualification evaluation tariffs, 2026 to 2028 (South African Qualifications Authority): the fee for evaluating your first qualification.
• Types of visas (Department of Home Affairs): the visa categories, work visa validity, the retired person's visa requirements, the police clearance rules and the life partner rule.
• Immigration Act 13 of 2002 (Department of Home Affairs): the three-year limit on the visitor's visa used for remote work, and the four-year renewable retired person's visa.
• Third Amendment of the Immigration Regulations, 2014 (Department of Home Affairs): the remote work visa income threshold and the SARS registration rule.
• Government Gazette 51416 (South African Government): the points-based system for the General Work and Critical Skills visas.
• Waiver letter: General Work Visa (Department of Home Affairs): the Department of Employment and Labour certificate waived from 8 October 2024.
• Critical Skills Work Visa requirements (Department of Home Affairs): the signed job offer or employment contract on the checklist.
• Government Notice 451 of 2014, Gazette 37716 (South African Government): the R37,000 monthly figure for the retired person's visa.
• Ministerial Immigration Directive 10 of 2026 (South African Government): the waiver of the medical report from 8 July 2026.
• Immigration services (South African High Commission, London): VFS Global as the channel for visa and permanent residence applications from the UK.
• Home Affairs (South African High Commission, London): the passport rule for all citizens, including dual nationals, the end of retention letters and the separate route for citizenship lost before 6 October 1995.
• Get your Income Tax right if you're leaving the UK (P85) (HMRC): who uses the P85, and the online and postal options.
• Self Assessment: Residence and foreign income and gains (FIG) regime etc (SA109) (HMRC): the residence pages and how they can be filed.
• Tax if you leave the UK to live abroad (HMRC): telling HMRC you have gone, and refunds paid by cheque only to UK addresses.
• RDR3: Statutory Residence Test (SRT) notes (HMRC): the automatic tests, the five ties, the day counts, split year treatment and the income caught by the temporary non-residence rule.
• Temporary non-residents and Capital Gains Tax (HS278) (HMRC): the four-in-seven-years and five-year rules.
• Tax on your UK income if you live abroad: Personal Allowance (HMRC): British citizens keeping the allowance.
• Claim Personal Allowances and tax refunds if you live abroad (HMRC): form R43 and how far back you can claim.
• Individual Savings Accounts: if you move abroad (HMRC): keeping an ISA and not paying in while non-resident.
• Budget 2026 Tax Guide (National Treasury and SARS): the South African interest exemption and its limit to local interest.
• Paying tax on rent on behalf of landlords who are abroad (HMRC): the non-resident landlord scheme, the six-month rule and the £100 a week tenant rule.
• Apply as an individual to receive UK rental income without UK tax deducted (HMRC): form NRL1 and when approval takes effect.
• Changes to tax rates for property, savings and dividend income (HMRC): the property income rates from April 2027 and the landlord scheme change.
• Finance Act 2026, section 7 (legislation.gov.uk): the 22%, 42% and 47% property income rates for 2027 to 2028, set in law.
• Tell HMRC about Capital Gains Tax on UK property or land if you're not a UK resident (HMRC): reporting a sale within 60 days even with no tax to pay, and paying any tax due by the same deadline.
• Capital Gains Tax: rates (HMRC): the 18% and 24% rates and the £3,000 annual exempt amount.
• Inheritance Tax if you're a long-term UK resident (HMRC): the 10-in-20 test and how long the status lasts after you leave.
• Inheritance Tax: double taxation relief (HMRC): the estate tax convention with South Africa.
• Child Benefit if you leave the UK (HMRC): the eight-week rule and where it can continue.
• Overseas earnings thresholds for Plan 2 student loans, 2026 to 2027 (Student Loans Company): the South Africa threshold and fixed monthly repayment.
• How arrears can accrue on your student loan account when you're overseas (Student Loans Company): telling the SLC you are leaving and what counts as arrears.
• Repaying your student loan: how much you repay (Student Loans Company): the UK repayment thresholds.
• Voluntary National Insurance: if you live or work abroad (HMRC): Class 3 only from 6 April 2026, the 10-year condition and the transitional rule.
• Voluntary National Insurance: rates (HMRC): the Class 3 weekly rate.
• 2002 UK and South Africa double taxation convention, as amended by the 2010 protocol (HMRC): the residence tie-breaker and the articles on interest, property and pensions.
• Tax on your UK income if you live abroad: if you're taxed twice (HMRC): how double taxation relief works where the rates differ.
• Interpretation Note 3: resident, ordinarily resident (SARS): the real-home test and when residence starts.
• Interpretation Note 4: resident, physical presence test (SARS): the day counts, part days, transit and the 330-day rule.
• Rates of tax for individuals (SARS): the 2027 tax year rates and the tax threshold.
• Guide on Valuation of Assets for Capital Gains Tax Purposes (SARS): assets treated as acquired at market value on the day you become resident.
• How do I register for tax? (SARS): the ways to register, including without a South African ID.
• Supporting documents: registration (SARS): the ID document and proof of address to take when you register.
• Provisional tax (SARS): who counts as a provisional taxpayer, filing form IRP6 on eFiling and the payment dates.
• Do I have to be registered for income tax to obtain a certificate of residence? (SARS): registration before a certificate.
• Guide to request a certificate of residence (SARS): form RC01 and the processing time.
• Taxation in South Africa (SARS): the worldwide basis for residents, the 21 business days to register and the exemptions for foreign pensions and social security.
• Draft response document on the 2025 tax bills (National Treasury): the November 2025 withdrawal of the proposal to remove the foreign pension exemption, and the plan for further consultation.
• Taxation Laws Amendment Act 5 of 2026 (SARS): the 2026 changes to section 10, which leave the foreign pension exemption in place.
• Cease to be an SA tax resident and reinstatement of SA tax resident (SARS): reinstating residence with form RAV01.
• State Pension if you retire abroad (Department for Work and Pensions): claiming, payment and the yearly increase.
• Claim State Pension if you live abroad (Department for Work and Pensions): the claim and payment forms, which cannot be completed on a phone or tablet.
• Countries where we pay an annual increase in the State Pension (Department for Work and Pensions): the list South Africa is not on.
• State Pension if you retire abroad: report a change in your circumstances (Department for Work and Pensions): reporting changes and life certificates.
• International Pension Centre (Department for Work and Pensions): the phone number and opening hours.
• The new State Pension: what you'll get (Department for Work and Pensions): the full weekly rate and the qualifying years.
• The new State Pension: living and working overseas (Department for Work and Pensions): why years worked in South Africa do not count towards the qualifying years.
• Future Pension Centre (Department for Work and Pensions): forecasts by phone from abroad.
• Check your State Pension age (Department for Work and Pensions): checking your own State Pension age.
• State Pension age timetable (Department for Work and Pensions): the rise from 66 to 67 by date of birth and the later rise to 68.
• State Pension if you retire abroad: tax on your State Pension (Department for Work and Pensions): how UK tax on the State Pension depends on where you are resident.
• Tax on your UK income if you live abroad (HMRC): non-residents not usually paying UK tax on the State Pension.
• Early retirement, your pension and benefits: personal and workplace pensions (gov.uk): pensions usually taken from 55 under scheme rules, earlier for ill health, and the warning on unauthorised payments.
• Finance Act 2022, section 10 (legislation.gov.uk): the normal minimum pension age rising to 57 from 6 April 2028, with 55 kept for uniformed services schemes.
• Tax when you get a pension: tax on unauthorised pension payments (HMRC): tax of up to 55% on unauthorised payments.
• Double Taxation: United Kingdom and South Africa (Form South Africa-Individual) (HMRC): claiming relief on UK pensions once you are South African resident.
• Police certificates (ACRO Criminal Records Office): the fee, the processing time and the cost of spare copies.
• Get your document legalised (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office): the paper apostille and e-Apostille fees and return delivery.
• Export dogs to South Africa: certificate 6256 (Animal and Plant Health Agency): the export health certificate for dogs.
• Export cats to South Africa: certificate 6257 (Animal and Plant Health Agency): the export health certificate for cats.
• Veterinary import permit tariffs, 2026 to 2027 (Department of Agriculture): the R250 import permit for a pet.
• I want to import my personal effects and household goods: what do I require? (SARS): the duty and VAT position and the forms for household goods.
• Customs and Excise Act, Schedule 4 (SARS): rebate items 407.04 for a car and 407.06 for household goods.
• Frequently Asked Questions: Import Control (International Trade Administration Commission): used goods being subject to import control and how to apply for a permit.
• Import control guidelines pertaining to the importation of used or second-hand vehicles (International Trade Administration Commission): the permanent residence condition, temporary clearance, the Letter of Authority, left-hand-drive cars and the disposal period.
• Administration Fee Guidelines (International Trade Administration Commission): the 2026 schedule of processing fees for import permits.
• Spot exchange rate, rand into sterling (XUDLZRS) (Bank of England): the R21.92 rate on 20 October 2026 and the range since September.
• Planning your healthcare when living abroad (NHS): NHS entitlement ending when you move abroad and telling your GP.
• Visitors from outside the European Economic Area (NHS): the 150% charge and the services that stay free.
• Charging overseas visitors in England: guidance for providers of NHS services (Department of Health and Social Care): ordinary residence, the exemptions and the condition that you did not travel for treatment.
• NHS entitlements: migrant health guide (gov.uk): the services that stay free for visitors, NHS 111 among them, seeing a GP as a temporary patient and prescription charges.
• Returning to the UK (gov.uk): NHS entitlement for British citizens coming back to live.
• UK reciprocal healthcare agreements with non-EU countries (Department of Health and Social Care): the countries with an agreement, which do not include South Africa.
• Apply for a free UK Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) (NHS): where the card works and who can hold it.
• South Africa travel advice: health (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office): UK prescriptions and the emergency numbers.
• Medical Schemes Act 131 of 1998 (South African Government): open enrolment and how contributions may vary.
• Amendment to the General Regulations made in terms of the Medical Schemes Act, 1998 (South African Government): the late-joiner penalty bands and how creditable cover is counted.
• Medical Schemes Amendment Act 55 of 2001 (South African Government): waiting periods for new members and the 90-day rule.
• Prescribed Minimum Benefits (Council for Medical Schemes): what every scheme must cover.
• Medical Aid vs Medical Insurance (Council for Medical Schemes): how a medical scheme differs from health insurance.
• Demarcation regulations, Annexure B (National Treasury): what gap cover is and how it sits alongside a medical scheme.
• President delays proclamation of sections of NHI Act (SAnews): no part of the NHI Act in force until the Constitutional Court rules.
• Convert foreign driving licence (South African Government): exchanging a licence after permanent residence.
• Eskom statement of 16 October 2026 (Eskom): no load-shedding since 16 May 2025, load reduction at 2.7% of customers and the March 2027 target.

Educational information only, not immigration, tax, legal or financial advice: confirm current rules and consult a qualified professional.