South African Immigration • Relatives Visa • Siblings

“My Sister Is South African Permanent Resident, Can I Join Her?”

Your Complete Guide to the Relatives Visa Through Siblings in South Africa

When Gift’s younger sister landed a job in Johannesburg and later became a South African permanent resident, the calls home changed.

They were no longer just about family gossip and football scores.

They became conversations about safety, opportunity, and a simple but painful reality:

If you have a South African citizen or permanent resident brother or sister, and you’ve wondered whether there is a legal way to join them in South Africa for the long term, the answer is:

Yes – through the Relatives Visa route.

And not just for parents, spouses, and children – but for siblings as well, where you can prove the family relationship within the first and second step of kinship and meet the financial support requirements.

This guide breaks down the Relatives Visa via siblings in clear, practical language so that you understand:

• Who qualifies as a “relative”
• How the siblings route works
• Key requirements and financial thresholds
• What the visa allows you to do (and what it doesn’t)
• How to plan a smart immigration strategy around it
• When to get professional help so you don’t waste money or lose time

What Is a South African Relatives Visa (Section 18)?

Under Section 18 of the Immigration Act, a Relatives Visa is a temporary residence visa that allows certain family members of a South African citizen or permanent resident to live in South Africa.

It is designed to keep families together by allowing foreign relatives to reside in South Africa legally, provided that:

• They are part of the immediate family, and
• The South African relative can show sufficient financial means to support them.

Common examples of qualifying relatives include:

• Spouses and life partners
• Parents and children
• Brothers and sisters (siblings)

For siblings, this is where things become interesting – and where many people miss an opportunity simply because they don’t know this path exists.

The Sibling Route: When Brothers and Sisters Can Use the Relatives Visa

Most people assume the Relatives Visa is only for spouses and minor children. But many authoritative guides and practitioners specifically list brothers and sisters as qualifying “immediate family” in the relatives category, depending on how Home Affairs applies the law in practice at the time.

In simple terms, the sibling route usually looks like this:

• Your brother or sister is a South African citizen or permanent resident.
• You are a foreign national (for example, Zimbabwean, Malawian, Nigerian, etc.).
• You can prove that you are biologically or legally related (same parents / adoption papers).
• Your South African sibling is willing and able to sponsor you and show financial support for you.

If all of that is in place, you may be able to apply for a Relatives Visa based on your sibling relationship.

This is particularly attractive for:

• Adults who don’t qualify for skills, work, or business visas yet.
• Family members who want a stable, legal base in South Africa alongside a close relative.
• Siblings who already support each other financially across borders and want to formalize that support in one country.

Who Must Be the “Sponsor” – and What Do They Need to Show?

The sponsor is the South African citizen or permanent resident – in this case, your sibling.

The sponsor typically must:

• Be a South African citizen (ID, passport or birth certificate) or a permanent resident (PR certificate / PR endorsement).
• Be over 18 and residing in South Africa.
• Be able to demonstrate financial means to support you.

Historically, regulations and practice have required a sponsor to show a minimum monthly income (or equivalent support) per person – the more recent guidance is a figure of around R8,500 per month per applicant, with exemption for minor children.

For siblings, this financial requirement does apply, which means your South African brother or sister has to show:

• Bank statements
• Salary slips and/or
• A chartered accountant’s letter or financial certification

…showing they can reasonably sustain your living costs in South Africa for the duration of the visa.

What the Relatives Visa Through Siblings Allows You to Do

Duration and Renewal

A Relatives Visa is usually issued for up to 24 months (2 years) at a time and can be renewed from within South Africa, as long as you continue to meet the requirements and the sibling relationship and financial support are still in place.

Where You Can Apply

• Traditionally, many relatives visas needed to be lodged outside South Africa.
• Over time, practice and directives have allowed renewals to be done inside South Africa in defined circumstances (always check current rules, as they change).

This is where guidance from a practitioner is important – applying from the wrong place, with the wrong status, can result in refusals or forced departures.

Important Limitation: Work, Study and Business on a Sibling Relatives Visa

This is where many people are surprised.

The standard Relatives Visa is primarily designed for residence, not economic activity.

• Official guidance from missions and immigration regulations confirm that a Relatives Visa holder may not conduct work, and cannot automatically run a business or study without additional authorisation or a different visa.

However, in practice:

• Some immigration solutions involve separate work, business or study visas, or

For siblings, there is no automatic Constitutional Court protection granting work rights, unlike the recent special position created for certain foreign parents of South African citizen children. That “parental relatives visa with work rights” is a different scenario and must not be confused with the siblings route.

What does this mean for your strategy?

• If your primary goal is simply to live near your sibling and stabilise your stay, the Relatives Visa can be a strong first step.
• If your primary goal is to work, run a business, or study, you may need a multi-step plan where the relatives visa is one building block among others.

Common Mistakes People Make With Sibling Relatives Visa Applications

Treating it as a “soft” visa

Some people think the relatives visa is an “easy” option. It isn’t.

Home Affairs still expects:

• Correct forms
• Properly legalised documents
• Clear relationship proof
• Strong financial support proof

Weak or messy relationship evidence

If your birth certificates are inconsistent, unreadable, or missing important information, officers may question:

• Are you really siblings?
• Is there something being concealed?

Fixing documents before applying is usually better than trying to explain problems later.

Confusion about work rights

Many applicants assume a relatives visa through a sibling will automatically allow them to work.

Unless clearly provided by the law or endorsed by Home Affairs in a specific case category, this assumption is dangerous and may lead to violations of visa conditions. Always clarify your exact rights before taking up employment.

DIY without understanding the legal framework

Google templates and “my cousin did it this way” stories are rarely tailored to your facts.

Relatives visas involve a mix of:

• Statute (Immigration Act)
• Regulations
• Departmental practice
• Recent court decisions in other family categories

Getting professional eyes on your case can save you money, refusals, and stress.

When a Sibling Relatives Visa Makes Strategic Sense

The sibling route can be particularly powerful if:

• You have no qualifying job offer, no critical skills, and no business case yet.
• You want to stabilise your legal stay with a close family anchor while you build towards other opportunities.
• Your siblings already support you financially from South Africa and want that support to be reflected in a legal immigration status.
• There is a long-term plan for study, work, or business, but you need a family-based foothold first.

In other words, it is often part of a phased immigration strategy, not the final destination.

How Virtual Migration Services Can Help You Navigate the Sibling Route

At Virtual Migration Services (VMS), we specialise in family-based South African immigration, including:

• Relatives visas (siblings, parents, children, spouses, partners)
• Spousal and life partner visas
• Study, retired, and other family-linked options
• Appeals and complex or refused matters

For siblings, we typically help you with:

1. Eligibility mapping
   • Do you genuinely qualify under the relatives category?
   • Is your sibling the right sponsor, or should another family member be used?
   • Are there better routes given your long-term goals (e.g. work, business, remote work)?
2. Document strategy
   • Fixing or upgrading birth certificates and relationship proof
   • Structuring financial support evidence correctly
   • Aligning your story and your documents
3. Application preparation and review
   • Drafting supporting affidavits and cover letters
   • Checking forms and supporting evidence
   • Preparing you for realistic processing times and possible queries
4. Future planning
   • What happens after 2 years?
   • Can you move from a relatives visa to another category later?
   • How does this fit into a bigger 5–10 year life plan?

Is the Sibling Relatives Visa Right for You?

You may be a good candidate if:

• Your brother or sister is a South African citizen or permanent resident;
• They are ready to sponsor you financially;
• You can prove your sibling relationship clearly;
• You are realistic about the work and business limitations of the visa;
• You want to build a legal, stable future in South Africa step by step instead of taking shortcuts.

If that sounds like you, the next step is simple: get your facts assessed properly.

Your Next Step: Turn “My Sister Is There” into “We’re Building a Life Together”

You don’t have to guess your way through South African immigration.

A well-planned Relatives Visa through siblings can be the beginning of a new chapter – one where proximity, stability, and legality replace distance, uncertainty, and risk.