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Permanent Residence — financially independent person (section 27(f))

South AfricaLiving from your own income

Explore the five recorded questions, answers and sources for this pathway.

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Is this aimed at retirees, pensioners, financially independent people, passive-income holders or another profile?

This route is for a foreigner who is financially independent, as defined by section 27(f) of the Immigration Act. The source does not explicitly limit it to retirees or pensioners; it applies to any foreigner who can demonstrate the required net worth and pay the prescribed amount.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The official source does not state every requested implementation detail; the omission is preserved rather than treated as a waiver.
  • Section 27(f)
    has proven to the satisfaction of the Director-General that he or she has a prescribed minimum net worth and has paid a prescribed amount to the Director-General

Which types of income/assets are accepted according to the official source?

The official source requires a prescribed minimum net worth but does not specify which types of income or assets are accepted towards it.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The official source does not state every requested implementation detail; the omission is preserved rather than treated as a waiver.
  • Regulation 24(12)
    The net worth contemplated in section 27(f) of the Act shall be an amount determined from time to time by the Minister by notice in the Gazette and the amount to be paid to the Director-General shall be an amount determined by the Minister by notice in the Gazette, which amount has to be paid upon approval of the application.

What income, savings or financial-resources threshold applies and how does family affect it where officially specified?

Government Notice 454 fixes the section 27(f) minimum net worth at R12 million, of which R120,000 must be paid to the Director-General upon approval. The notice states no family-size adjustment.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The cited notice does not state whether a family-size adjustment exists.
  • Government Notice 454 of 2014
    determine the minimum net worth to be R12 Million of which R120 000 shall be paid to the Director-General upon approval of the application

Can the holder work locally, run a business or perform other economic activity? What is the family position?

The holder of a permanent residence permit has all the rights, privileges, duties and obligations of a citizen, save for those which a law or the Constitution explicitly ascribes to citizenship. The official source does not separately state work or business rights for this category or the family position.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The official source does not state every requested implementation detail; the omission is preserved rather than treated as a waiver.
  • Section 25(1)
    The holder of a permanent residence permit has all the rights, privileges, duties and obligations of a citizen, save for those rights, privileges, duties and obligations which a law or the Constitution explicitly ascribes to citizenship.

How long is the status granted, what is required for renewal, what physical-presence obligations matter, and what longer-term residence direction exists?

The route leads to a permanent residence permit, issued on condition that the holder is not a prohibited or undesirable person and subject to section 28 of the Act. Under section 28 the Director-General may withdraw the permit if, among other grounds, the holder has been absent from the Republic for more than three years; on good cause and prior application the Director-General may extend this period in specific cases.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The captured sources state no fixed duration and no renewal procedure for the permanent residence permit itself.
  • Section 28 lists other withdrawal grounds (convictions, failure to comply with permit conditions); only the absence rule is summarised here.

These are the answers currently recorded in the catalogue. A missing or partial answer is not an eligibility decision.

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