# Stay for One Year



## Keith Donald (Feb 12, 2016)

Dear Members,

My wife and I plan to live in Cape Town for at least a year before deciding to live there permanently, albeit, flying back to the UK as and when we wish. After a year we plan to fly home, down size in the UK, rent it out and buy a property in South Africa.

Do we have to apply for a retirement visa from the outset or can we get extensions over the 3 months allowed whilst residing in Cape Town?

What concerns me is the R37,000 per person per month requirement for the retirement visa; have I got that right? Sounds like an awful lot of money to me....I can't find out over what period of time this disposable income should cover?

Any help would be really appreciated.

Many thanks in advance.

Keith


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

Keith Donald said:


> Do we have to apply for a retirement visa from the outset or can we get extensions over the 3 months allowed whilst residing in Cape Town?


Yes, but only if you fly beyond SA's neighbouring countries for a few days at least. "Visa runs" don't work anymore.



Keith Donald said:


> What concerns me is the R37,000 per person per month requirement for the retirement visa; have I got that right? Sounds like an awful lot of money to me....I can't find out over what period of time this disposable income should cover?


It must cover whatever period you plan to stay in SA for. The maximum is 4 years = 48 months. It cannot be held in assets, it must be in cash, either a large amount for the full period or an ongoing income from somewhere for the full period.

More here: https://www.immigrationsouthafrica.org/retired-persons-visa/


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