The life partner visa document checklist, pinned to the regulations

Which visa this checklist serves

There is no visa literally named “life partner visa” in the Immigration Act. The Act defines “spouse” to include a partner in a permanent relationship, and that opens two routes. This checklist serves the one nearly everyone means: the visitor’s visa under section 11(6), issued to the partner of a South African citizen or permanent resident, which can be endorsed so you can work, study or run a business. The alternative, the section 18 relative’s visa, cannot be used to work and carries a financial-assurance requirement, so it suits far fewer couples. Our main life partner visa guide covers the relationship rules; this page is the paperwork.

Part 1: the relationship documents (Regulation 3)

These prove the partnership itself, and they are where applications are won. The items below are required by Regulation 3 of the Immigration Regulations, as amended in 2018, plus one practical item every mission checklist adds:

Part 2: the standard visa documents

These apply to long visitor’s visas generally, and the life partner file needs all of them:

The validity windows that sink files

More applications fail on timing than on substance. The windows to diarise: police clearances and medical reports expire at 6 months, your passport needs 30 days of life beyond your departure date plus two blank pages, and an in-country application must be lodged at least 60 days before your current visa expires. Order police clearances first; foreign ones are routinely the slowest item in the file.

Where to file, including from inside South Africa

From abroad, you apply in person at the South African mission where you ordinarily live, many of which route submissions through VFS. Inside South Africa, the position changed in your favour: the Constitutional Court’s Nandutu judgment (2019) held that the spouse or life partner of a citizen or permanent resident may switch to this visa without leaving the country, and the regulations were amended in May 2024 to say so. That is the single most misunderstood fact about this visa; plenty of couples still fly home unnecessarily. File through a VFS centre on the DHA-1738, within the 60-day window above.

Fees in 2026

Good news that consultancies rarely lead with: the DHA application fee is waived for the spouse or life partner of a South African citizen or permanent resident. What you still pay is the VFS service fee, which rose to about R1,750 including VAT in June 2026 (mission fees abroad vary). Confirm the current figure when you book, as it changes.

What actually gets files rejected

If the worst has already happened, our 10-day appeal guide maps each rejection reason to the regulation it fails and walks the Form 49 process. For everyone else, avoid these:

• No notarial agreement, or one signed days before applying with no supporting history.
• Thin proof of shared finances: two lives that look parallel rather than intertwined.
• Expired supporting documents: a police clearance or medical past its 6-month window.
• Missing dissolution papers for a previous marriage, either partner’s.
• Filing at the wrong office: a mission that is not your country of ordinary residence.
• The SA partner not participating: no support letter, no certified ID, absent at submission.

After the visa is granted

Three duties survive the approval. Two years after the visa is issued you must submit the follow-up affidavit (Form 12 Part B) confirming the relationship still exists. If the relationship ends, you must tell Home Affairs immediately, because the visa is only valid while the good-faith partnership exists. And once the relationship reaches five years, the Act expects a permanent-residence application under section 26(b) within three months of qualifying. Our main guide covers what each of those means in practice.

Questions people ask us

Is the two-year requirement still the law in 2026?

Yes. The notarial-agreement regulation still requires the relationship to have existed for at least two years before the application. No amendment removing it has been published.

Is the notarial agreement really compulsory?

Yes. The regulation says the application must include it. Treat any checklist that omits it as incomplete.

Do we both get interviewed?

You can be. The regulations expressly allow both partners to be interviewed separately, on the same date, to test the relationship. Not every couple is called, but prepare as if you will be.

Do I still need a chest X-ray?

A 2023 DHA directive waived the radiological report for these applications, but some mission checklists still list it. Bring one if the office where you file asks for it; skip the argument at the counter.

Is the visa free?

The DHA fee is waived for spouses and life partners of citizens and permanent residents. The VFS service fee (about R1,750 in 2026) still applies inside SA, and mission fees vary abroad.

What happens if we break up?

The visa is only valid while the good-faith partnership exists, and you are required to inform Home Affairs immediately if it ends. There is a court-recognised exception protecting parents of South African children; get advice before assuming it applies to you.