Retired person visa income checker

South Africa's retired person visa has one hard requirement: a prescribed monthly income, currently R37 000 a month per applicant, from a pension, an irrevocable annuity or assets that realise it. There is no minimum age and no requirement to have retired from anything. This checker works out whether your income meets the figure, how much of it is the kind Home Affairs trusts, and what margin you have against the exchange rate, which is where applications from people who clearly have enough money nonetheless fail.

It is for foreign nationals planning to retire in South Africa, for South Africans helping a parent apply, and for existing holders facing renewal who want to know whether a weaker rand has moved them under the line.

What this calculator works out and who it is for

You enter your monthly pension, your monthly income from an irrevocable retirement annuity, your monthly income realised from assets such as rental or dividends, the value of your realisable assets for context, the number of applicants who must each show the amount, and an exchange rate buffer as a percentage. The checker returns the prescribed minimum per applicant and in total, your guaranteed income from pensions and annuities, your total income, the figure after the buffer, and the margin above or shortfall below the requirement. It warns where the requirement is met only through asset income, where no buffer has been applied to foreign-currency income, and about the options where the income falls short.

How the calculation works

The checker adds pension and annuity income, which it treats as guaranteed because that is how Home Affairs treats it, and adds income realised from assets. It multiplies the prescribed minimum by the number of applicants to get the total required, applies the buffer by reducing the total income by the percentage you choose, and compares. Realisable assets are shown but not converted into income, because the regulation requires assets that realise the amount, not assets that could be sold to produce it; a R5 million property that yields R20 000 in rent shows R20 000, not R5 million divided by anything.

The buffer exists because income in pounds, euros or dollars is converted to rand at the rate on the day the application is assessed, and an applicant who meets R37 000 exactly at today's rate may not meet it in six weeks. Ten to fifteen per cent is the margin practitioners commonly recommend.

The law behind the numbers

Section 20 of the Immigration Act 13 of 2002 allows the Director-General to issue a retired person visa to a foreigner who intends to retire in South Africa, provided the foreigner proves to the satisfaction of the Director-General that they have the right to a pension or an irrevocable retirement annuity or retirement account which will give them a prescribed minimum payment for the rest of their life from the country of origin, or that they have a net worth or a combination of assets realising a minimum prescribed monthly income. Section 20(2) allows the holder to be authorised to work, which distinguishes the visa from a visitor's visa, and section 20(1) allows it to be issued for a period of up to four years at a time, renewable. Regulation 20 sets the prescribed amount at R37 000 a month per applicant, and the Minister adjusts it by notice; the figure in the checker is read from a dated rate table.

The requirement is per applicant. A couple can both apply as retired persons, each showing R37 000, or one can apply as a retired person and the other as a dependant on a relative's visa under section 18, in which case the retired applicant must show the financial assurance for the dependant. The second route is the usual one where only one spouse has the income.

Permanent residence on the retired basis is available under section 27(e) to a foreigner who intends to retire in South Africa and proves the same right to a pension, annuity or asset income at the prescribed amount; it is commonly applied for after a period on the temporary visa and takes years to decide. The guide to the retired person visa covers the application and the renewal, and the guide to permanent residence the longer route.

The evidence is where applications succeed or fail. A pension letter from the fund, annuity policy documents, and bank statements showing the receipts for at least three months are the core. For asset income, leases, dividend statements and interest certificates covering twelve months, and the title deeds or portfolio statements behind them. Everything in a foreign language must be translated by a sworn translator, and everything must be certified. The retired person visa also requires police clearances from every country lived in for more than a year since the age of 18, a medical report and a radiological report, and proof of medical cover is increasingly asked for.

Worked example

Margaret, 68, from the United Kingdom, receives a state pension of £900 a month and an occupational pension of £1 100 a month, R2 000 and R2 400 at a rate of R22 to the pound, which is R44 000 together. She owns her home in England outright and has savings of £150 000.

The checker shows pension income of R44 000 against the requirement of R37 000, a margin of R7 000, and the requirement met. It warns that no buffer has been applied: at R20 to the pound her income would be R40 000, still above; at R18 it would be R36 000, below. She enters a buffer of 15 per cent, which takes the figure to R37 400, just above the line, and the warning becomes a conclusion: she meets the requirement, but only just at a weak rand, and a modest annuity purchased from her savings to add a few thousand rand a month would make the application and every renewal secure.

If Margaret's husband David also wanted a retired person visa in his own right, the checker with two applicants would show a requirement of R74 000 and a shortfall of R30 000 on her income alone; the answer is that David applies as her dependant on a relative's visa, which the checker's warning explains. If Margaret's income were R15 000 of pension and R25 000 of rent from a flat in Manchester, the checker would show the requirement met but warn that it rests on asset income, which the Department will scrutinise and which must be documented with the lease and twelve months of statements.

What the calculator does not include

It does not convert foreign currency. Enter rand figures at today's rate and use the buffer for the risk.

It does not assess whether a particular source of income will be accepted. Pensions and irrevocable annuities are accepted; rental and dividend income generally is, with documentation; income from a business you still run, or from employment, is not retirement income and is treated differently.

It does not deal with the dependant's financial assurance for a spouse on a relative's visa, which is a separate prescribed amount.

It does not calculate tax. A retired person visa holder who spends more than 183 days a year in South Africa becomes tax resident and is taxed on worldwide income, subject to double taxation agreements; that is a question for a tax adviser before the move.

It does not cover the medical, police clearance and other documentary requirements of the application itself.

When to get advice

An applicant with a clear pension income well above the requirement can apply without a practitioner, through the mission or VFS. Get advice if your income is within fifteen per cent of the requirement, if it rests on assets rather than a pension, if you want to structure an annuity to meet the figure, if two of you need to decide who applies as the retired person and who as a dependant, if you intend to work under section 20(2), or if you plan to apply for permanent residence. A South African tax adviser should be consulted about residence before you arrive, because the visa question and the tax question are decided separately and the tax one is often the larger.

Frequently asked questions

How much income do I need for a South African retired person visa? R37 000 a month per applicant, from a pension, an irrevocable retirement annuity or a combination of assets that realise that amount. The figure is set by regulation and adjusted by notice.

Is there a minimum age? No. The visa is for a person who intends to retire in South Africa and has the prescribed income; age is not a requirement.

Can my spouse come with me? Yes, either as a retired person in their own right showing R37 000 themselves, or as a dependant on a relative's visa, for which you show the financial assurance for them.

Does the value of my house or savings count? Only through what they realise. The regulation requires assets realising the monthly amount, so rental income, dividends and interest count with documentation; the capital value on its own does not.

How long is the visa valid? Up to four years at a time, renewable, with the income shown again on each renewal. Permanent residence on the same basis is available under section 27(e).

Can I work on a retired person visa? Only if authorised under section 20(2), which must be applied for.

Why would an application fail if I clearly have enough money? Because the income is converted to rand on the day of assessment and a weak rand can take a marginal applicant under the line, or because the income is from assets and the documents do not show it being realised month by month. A buffer and twelve months of statements address both.