The digital nomad visa South Africa is the next one on the list of digital nomad visas. South Africa, and mainly Cape Town, has become a favorite spot for European nomads who want to escape the cold in winter while remaining in the same timezone. South Africa acknowledges the value of digital nomads. Therefore, the country planned the launch of their digital nomad visa South Africa. However, it took quite some time to be live.
Visa Situation before South African DNV
Many people can stay for 90 days in South Africa as a tourist.
In many cases this will even be visa free access due to which you save the hassle of applying for a visa. You can find an updated overview on the website of the Department of Home Affairs of the Republic of South Africa.
However, in this case you are technically entering the country as a tourist. Therefore, it’s always questionable if you are allowed to actually work from the country.
Digital Nomad Visa South Africa
In order to get remote workers out of the grey area of working from South Africa while being there on a tourist visa the South African government announced they will launch the a digital nomad visa.
Furthermore, this will allow foreigners to spend more time in the country,
Apart from the digital nomad visa, also a critical skills visa will become available. With this last visa South Africa wants to attract foreign talent.
With the visa they can work in sectors where there is a shortage in talent. However, this visa focuses on people who are looking to get a job with a South African company.
As this will probably not apply to you, we’ll just focus on the digital nomad visa South Africa here.
Requirements DNV
As most digital nomad visa, the digital nomad visa South Africa also has an income requirement.
Initially, the digital nomad visa South Africa would require you have an minimum annual income of at least one million South African Rand. However, in the final amendments to the law they lowered the threshold to around 650.000 ZAR. At the current exchange rate this equals around €35.000.
I do recommended to double check at the time of applying as in the past the exchange rate of the Rand has fluctuated a bit.
Apart from the income requirement you’ll need proof of remote work, health insurance, clean criminal record and proof of accommodation.
Digital Nomad Visa South Africa: Tax Consequences
A lot was written about the tax consequences of the digital nomad visa. The reason is that the law introducing the DNV contained some provisions which were not in line with the tax code. It took some time but finally it seems like most issues are taken care off.
We need to distinguish between people who are a tax resident in a country which has a double tax treaty with South Africa and those from countries who don’t.
If you come from a country with a double tax treaty, you won’t become liable to taxes in South Africa if you stay less than 183 during any twelve month period in the country. If you spend more time in South Africa, you’ll become a tax resident of South Africa. Consequently, you’ll have to register yourself with the South African Revenue Service.
If you have your tax residency in a country without a double tax treaty, the situation is less interesting. You’ll have to register with the tax authorities immediately and also tax consequences could kick in quicker as you won’t be protected by any double tax treaty.
Conclusion
The South African digital nomad visa is something many nomads have been looking forward to. If you can benefit from the tax exemption for the first six months, it can be a good option. However, if you would become liable to taxes in South Africa, that will be less enjoyable.
Maybe there are other digital nomads visas which suit you better. In order to assist you, I made a list of all digital nomads visa worldwide.