Life partner visa: how an unmarried partner stays in South Africa, legally

The short answer

South Africa lets the foreign partner of a citizen or permanent resident live here on the strength of the relationship, and you do not have to be married for it. The law recognises a genuine, permanent life partnership. What it asks in return is evidence, because a visa officer who has never met you has to be satisfied your relationship is real and established. The single most important piece of that evidence is a notarial cohabitation agreement, which is where this connects to the rest of what we cover.

Married vs unmarried: the fork

The consultancy pages tend to blur this, so here it is plainly:

• If you are married, you prove the relationship with a marriage certificate. Done.
• If you are not married, you prove a permanent life partnership instead, with a notarial agreement and a stack of evidence that you have built a life together for at least two years.

Same visa, different proof. The rest of this guide is about the unmarried path.

What counts as a life partnership

South Africa does not just take your word that you are a couple. The relationship generally has to have existed for at least two years and to look like a real, committed partnership: you are exclusive, you live together, and you support each other financially and emotionally. That last part matters. A visa officer is looking for two lives that are genuinely intertwined, not two people who share an address.

The proof checklist

Most consultancy sites keep this behind a contact form. There is no need. Build your evidence in three buckets, and the more you have in each, the stronger your application.

The notarial cohabitation agreement

This is the document everything turns on. A notarial cohabitation agreement is a cohabitation agreement signed in front of a notary public, who registers it. For a visa, it is the formal proof that the two of you have declared yourselves permanent life partners. Plenty of notaries advertise it from around R1,700 (third-party pricing, it varies, so shop around). Funnily enough, that price is the one number the consultancy pages never seem to mention.

The money question

There is a financial-means requirement, and this is the one number you should not take from a blog, including this one. The figures genuinely conflict:

• Many immigration consultancies state R8,500 per month per person for this visa (the same figure used for the Relative’s Visa).
• Some South African mission pages have shown a lower figure, around R3,000 per month, backed by three months of bank statements.

Because the sources do not agree and the amount changes, do not plan around a number you read here. Confirm the current financial requirement, and any exemption, directly with DHA or VFS Global (or a registered immigration practitioner) before you apply.

The process and the form

You complete the application (the relevant form is the DHA-1738), attach your three buckets of proof plus the standard requirements (passport, police clearance, medical), and submit through VFS Global. One detail people miss: after the visa is granted, the holder must report to the Director-General after two years to confirm the relationship still exists. Put that on your calendar now.

This is a visa, not residence

One thing to get straight, because it trips people up. The life partner visa is a temporary visa. It lets your partner live here, but it is not permanent residence. Residence for a partner is a separate application down the line, with its own requirements. Do not assume the visa is the finish line.

Questions people ask us

Do we have to get married for my partner to stay?

No. A permanent life partnership of two years or more, properly proved, is recognised for a visa. Marriage is one route, not the only one.

What is the single most important document?

The notarial cohabitation agreement. It is the formal declaration that you are permanent life partners, and it anchors the rest of your evidence.

How long do we need to have been together?

Generally at least two years, backed by evidence of a shared, committed life. Confirm the current requirement before applying.

Is R8,500 a month the requirement?

No. That is the Relative’s Visa figure, which is a different visa. A spouse or life partner applies under a separate route with its own, lower financial requirement, so the R8,500 does not apply to you. Confirm the current figure on the official site.