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Crew Visa

South AfricaTransit

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

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Explore pathways in South Africa Read the five questions ↓

Which travellers require a transit visa/permission and which officially documented exemptions are important?

A crew visa may be issued to a foreigner who is a member of the crew of a conveyance. Exemption: the officers and crew of a public conveyance of a foreign state are not illegal foreigners while that conveyance is in the port of entry.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The Act does not say which crew members must hold the crew visa (e.g. by nationality or visa-exempt status); the nationality-based port-of-entry visa exemptions are not stated to apply to crew.

Can the traveller remain airside, and under what circumstances must immigration control be crossed?

The checked official sources did not provide enough route-specific evidence to confirm whether the traveller can stay airside and when immigration control must be crossed.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Searched Act s16, reg 15 (2014 and 2018 Regulations) and the DHA exempt-countries page for airside, transit area or immigration-control rules for crew. Act s16(2) (visa may be conditioned on staying within a predetermined area) concerns movement after admission, not airside transit; reg 15(3) is r4 material.

What officially documented baggage collection, terminal, separate-ticket or self-transfer situations affect the immigration requirement?

The checked official sources did not provide enough route-specific evidence to confirm the baggage, terminal-change and self-transfer rules.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • Searched Act s16, reg 15 and the DHA exempt-countries page for baggage, terminal, separate-ticket or self-transfer rules: none found. Reg 15(1) document list is r5 material.

What maximum transit period, overnight, airport-change or multiple-stop rules matter?

A crew visa may be issued for a maximum period of three months at a time, provided the crew member's stay does not exceed the conveyance's departure date; the Regulations state no overnight, airport-change or multiple-stop rule beyond that cap.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The Immigration Regulations, 2014 were captured as published on 22 May 2014; later amendments to them, including the amendment that inserted regulation 18(12) and (13) referred to by the 2024 points-based system notice, were not captured in this run and could have changed this text.

If permission is required, what permission is it, where/how is it obtained, and what core onward-travel evidence is required?

For crew of a public conveyance, the permission is the crew visa itself, requiring a valid passport, the owner's letter of undertaking, and proof of settlement of any outstanding conveyor fine. For crew of a foreign private or chartered conveyance at a port of entry, the same visa instead requires a valid passport, proof of the conveyance owner's sufficient financial means to cover the crew's day-to-day and medical costs, and the same proof of settled fines.

See recorded sources
Limits of the record
  • The Immigration Regulations, 2014 were captured as published on 22 May 2014; later amendments to them, including the amendment that inserted regulation 18(12) and (13) referred to by the 2024 points-based system notice, were not captured in this run and could have changed this text.
  • Immigration Regulations, 2014 (GN R413, Gazette 37679, 22 May 2014)
    (a) a valid passport; (b) a letter of request from the owner of the conveyance, which shall include an undertaking of responsibility for such person's compliance with the Act and all laws of the Republic; and (c) proof of settlement of any outstanding fine incurred by the conveyor under the Act.
  • Immigration Regulations, 2014 (GN R413, Gazette 37679, 22 May 2014)
    (2) An applicant for a crew visa for the crew of a foreign private conveyance or chartered conveyance while such conveyance is at a port of entry, shall submit- (a) a valid passport; (b) proof of sufficient financial means of the owner of that conveyance to cover day-to- day needs and medical expenses of the crew while sojourning in the Republic; and (c) proof of settlement of any outstanding fine incurred by the conveyor under the Act.

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

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