Your expression of interest of a business visa has reference and we have provided you with an overview of the basic requirements
A Business Visa is issued to foreign nationals wishing to invest in or purchase a business in South Africa.
Investment in own Business, with or without a South African partner.
A business visa may be issued by the Department of Home Affairs to a foreigner intending to establish or invest in a business in South Africa in which he or she may be employed, and to members of such foreigners’ immediate family providing that certain requirements have been met.
Although the Act calls for investment of R5,0 million in a business to get both temporary and permanent business visa, you can get these visas with less capital investment - sometimes for as low asR400,000 ($45,000 USD) investment using our expert team at SA Migration Services.
Many businesses do not require a capital investment as large as R5 million and in certain cases, you are allowed to reduce this amount and commit to a smaller investment if your business falls within the certain industries . The following businesses to be in the national interest, and therefore qualifying for reduction or waiver of the capitalisation requirements as determined to be in the national interest in relation to a Business Visa:
• Agro-processing
• Business Process Outsourcing and IT Enabled Services
• Capital / Transport equipment, metals and electrical machinery and apparatus
• Electro Technical
• Textile, Clothing and Leather
• Pulp, paper and Furniture
• Consumer goods
• Boatbuilding
• Automotives and Components
• Green Economy Industries â€` Power Generation / Renewable Energy
• Advanced Manufacturing
• Tourism infrastructure
• Chemicals, plastic fabrication and pharmaceuticals
• Creative and Design Industry
• Oil and Gas
• Mineral beneficiation
• Infrastructure Development
• ICT - Information and communications technology
The Minister has declared any businesses in the following sector as undesirable and will therefore not be considered under this category of Visa :

a) Businesses that import second hand motor vehicles into the Republic of South Africa
or the purpose of exporting to other markets outside the Republic of South Africa
b) The exotic entertainment industry
c) Security Industry
SA Migration Services will professionally help to arrange your Business Permits for you.
How to Qualify for a Business Visa in South Africa
How to Qualify for a Business Visa in South Africa
If you want to know how to qualify for a business visa in South Africa, read our top 5 hints and tips below. If you prefer to speak to one of our experts you can call us on any of the numbers above or request a call back, or email us.
Our top 5 hints and tips on how to qualify for a business visa in South Africa.
1. The amount you need to invest
A large part of how to qualify for a business visa in South Africa is how much money you have to invest into your new South African business. A minimum investment is required to be made into the business within a 2 year period of time. Further the source of these funds must be from outside of South Africa.
Whilst exemptions to this investment can be applied for they are granted only rarely.
2. How many jobs you will create
South Africa courts foreign investment, from SME’s through to large corporates. A large factor in it doing so is the creation of employment opportunities for local South Africans. As such your application will be scrutinised for the employment positions it creates.
60% of your employees need to be either South African citizens or permanent residency holders.
3. What sector your proposed business is in
Whilst courting foreign investment, regulations also pay attention to attracting the right sort of businesses to South Africa. There are specific sectors such as tourism and manufacturing that are deemed priority industries.
Speak to one of team about the industry sectors currently deemed a priority.
4. A business plan
Many see a business plan as a blueprint to the success of the business. It is a direct reflection on the amount of research, innovation and thought that has gone into planning the operation.
Further, the business plan will also identify the business’s chances of succeeding and the

applicant’s own business ability.
A comprehensive business plan which also highlights the applicant’s ability to meet the business visa requirements is a must.
5. Understanding the ongoing requirements
How to qualify for a business visa in South Africa is one thing; keeping the visa is another, and often little or poor advice is given to this important consideration.
Once the business visa is obtained there are ongoing requirements that must be adhered to. Temporary residency holders are obliged to report back to the Department of Home Affairs every 2 years, whilst permanent residency holders must do similar 2 years after receiving permanent residency and 3 years thereafter.
Know your future obligations and ensure you work with a company that is committed to you over the term of such obligations.
Immigration to South Africa on a business visa
Immigration to South Africa on a business visa
One of the ways of obtaining residency in South Africa is via Immigration to South Africa on a business visa. A business visa does not just mean setting up a business, or buying into one in South Africa, but it also means you wish to work within this business. Should you be wishing to invest, but not wishing to work in the business please see information here on the investors visa.
Below we give you ten need-to-know facts on Immigration to South Africa on a business visa:
1. Who can apply for a business visa?
Immigration to South Africa on a business visa is for foreign nationalities that are not married or in partnerships with either a South African citizen or permanent residency holder.
Those in such a relationship need to apply for either a spousal visa or life partner visa (depending upon their marital status) and obtain an endorsement to this visa rather than a standalone business visa.
2. What residency can you obtain with Immigration to South Africa on a business visa?
You would first apply for temporary residency (a business visa) which, if granted, is normally for a period of not more than 3 years. Once temporary residency has been received you may make an application for permanent residency (a business permit).
3. Can my family also immigrate if I am granted this visa?
As with all visa in South Africa each applicant is granted a visa in their own right. Your spouse or partner and any children of a non school age would need to apply for accompanying visa and children in education would require study visa.
4. What is the basic criteria for a business visa?
The Department of Home Affairs will require, amongst other items:
• A comprehensive business plan;
• An appropriative business structure;
• Undertaking with regards to the employment of South Africans;
• An investment amount of not less than 5 million rand originating from funds abroad;
5. Can I run more than one business?
Immigration to South Africa, on a business visa, is specific to a particular business and does not entitle you to work within any other entity other than the one specified on the application and subsequent visa. You can however freely make investments into other businesses but not work in them.
6. I have seen reports that you can get exemptions from investing the R5 million rand; is this true?
The immigration act does allow for this, you can view more here on business categories that may qualify for a waiver.
7. How many people must I commit to employing?
It is a requirement that 60% of your staff are South African citizens, or Permanent residency holders.
8. In what format must the business plan be?
There is no specified format but business plans are central to Immigration to South Africa on a business visa and as such must be comprehensive. It should also be remembered that the business plan also needs to be written in accordance with specific items that the Department of Home Affairs will look out for in judging your application so it will vary from a normal one.
9. Where should I make an application?
Legislation forbids any visa application that would result in a change of status. As an example, entering South Africa on a tourist visa and then applying whilst on this tourist visa for Immigration to South Africa on a business visa, would not be allowed. Where a change of status does not apply then the application can be made in South Africa. V.5376

Australia’s plan to cap the number of new international students to 270,000 starting in 2025 has sparked widespread concern within the education sector. However, the proposal, which still needs parliamentary approval, is unlikely to have a significant impact on students from African countries planning to study in Australia. The National Planning Level (NPL) for 2025, which includes the limit on the number of international student enrolments, aims to reduce overall migration to pre-pandemic levels. V.5595
Click here for full article

Bethuel Ngobeni, Dumisa Moyo, Nhlanhla Magwaca, Moseki Sechele, Thabo Sechele and Khudzai Mashaya appear in court to face illicit gold mining charges. Image: Thapelo Morebudi An investigation into illicit gold mining has uncovered how one of the accused obtained a fraudulent identity document, 12 years after arriving in SA. V.5594
Click here for full article

• Lesotho has rekindled moves to implement localisation rules for certain types of businesses dominated by foreigners. • Indians, Chinese and South Africans dominate the 47 reserved businesses. • SA firms will be under pressure to use local distributors, and not contract Basotho labour via SA-based agents. V.5587
Click here for full article

Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said that plans were underway for the Department of Home Affairs to switch from working manually to digitally. CAPE TOWN - Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber said that long queues, off-line systems, and paper-based applications at department offices would soon be a thing of the past. Schreiber said that plans were underway for the Department of Home Affairs to switch from working manually to digitally. V.5588
Click here for full article

‘There are various pathways and provisions in the law that recognise that people should not be stateless, and we are failing to ensure that these people have papers,’ says Global Movement Against Statelessness’ Christy Chitengu. Christy Chitengu was born in South Africa and regards herself as a South African, despite her parents being Zimbabwean. V.5589
Click here for full article

Inspection at workplaces set to increase Newly appointed home affairs minister Leon Schreiber will increase inspections at restaurants, spaza shops, farms and mines to heighten the crackdown on undocumented workers in these industries. Schreiber said while SA welcomes those who contribute to the country legally through skills, investments and as tourists, it needed to do more to combat illegal immigration. V.5592
Click here for full article

CAPE TOWN - Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber says since March, his department already reported 109 cases of document fraud to its counter corruption unit. Three officials have been convicted and sentenced during this same period. V.5593
Click here for full article

Key Takeaways • As of August 28, Canada has banned temporary residents on visitor visas from applying for work permits within the country. • The policy`s early termination is part of IRCC`s efforts to manage the influx of temporary residents and combat immigration fraud. • Starting September 26, 2024, Canada will cut the number of temporary foreign workers by about 65,000. Canada has recently launched a new policy that prohibits temporary residents on visitor visas from applying for work permits within the country, a decision that significantly impacts their ability to work and stay in Canada. V.5583
Click here for full article

The United Kingdom has long been a favoured destination for South Africans seeking work or residency, thanks to shared language, time zones, and historical ties. However, according to JP Breytenbach from Breytenbachs Immigration Consultants, the profile of South African migrants is changing. “There is a significant increase in business migration, with companies aiming to expand into the UK as a gateway to Europe or the US,” he shared in an interview with Biznews. Many of these South Africans businesses feel they have reached a ceiling in their local markets or are tech entrepreneurs who believe their products are not yet viable in South Africa. This year, new UK immigration rules are set to take effect as the country seeks to limit net migration. V.5584
Click here for full article

Applicants who prefer hard copies of ZEP waiver letters will still be able to collect them at branches. Leon Schreiber, Minister of Home Affairs, during the swearing-in ceremony of the new national executive members at Cape Town International Convention Centre on 3 July, 2024 in Cape Town. Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber has announced that the first batch of Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) waiver applications has been processed. ZEP holders will no longer need to go to Home Affairs branches to find out the outcome of their applications. The department will be sending them out digitally. V.5585
Click here for full article