Volunteer VISA information

If you are simply planning a short-term stay in South Africa, without any intention of working or practicing any other activity for which a residence permit is required, you may qualify for a visitor’s visa.
This includes short term studies, e.g. language courses not exceeding 3 months in total.

Depending on your home country and nationality, a visitor’s visa must be obtained through the local consular authorities in your home country prior to leaving for South Africa.

However, citizens of most European countries as well as the UK, USA and Australia are exempt from this and will be issued a visitor’s visa on arrival in South Africa and upon presenting a valid return ticket (within 90 days).

A visitor’s visa is issued for between 30 and 90 days depending on your country of origin.
A once-off extension of the visitor’s visa is possible in South Africa, for another period of maximum three months (90 days).

Permits for short-term work (e.g. volunteering) and/or business activities: This type of visitor’s permit may be issued to foreigners who are unable to apply for a work permit.
It allows the individual to conduct work for a maximum period of six months (180 days).
It is, however, required that permission from the director-general of the Department of Home Affairs is acquired in order to be issued  this permit on arrival in South Africa.

To obtain the correct visa at the airport of entrance in South Africa can be tricky and often volunteers are issued the wrong visa which leads to problems afterward.

To avoid any visa problems, Kickstart cooperates with Starzmann Consulting (www.starzmann-consulting.com) to organize the correct visa for 90 days.
An additional fee of Eur 60 is applicable and is not included in our placement fee.

All relevant visa documents need to be issued to Kickstart or Starzmann Consulting 14 days prior to your arrival!

Visa extensions in South Africa cost R425 if you organize it yourself, or if you prefer a hassle free extension, you can use the services of Starzmann Consulting for R500 (+R425) again.

Visa extensions need to be done within the first 60 days of arriving in South Africa.

If you require assistance or advice concerning any immigration or visa matters, even if not covered above, please contact Starzmann Consulting directly at
kstarzmann@starzmann-consulting.com. They are more than happy to assist you on an individual basis!