South Africa

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South Africa is a comparatively LGBTQ+-friendly country located in southern Africa

Why South Africa?

• Legal gender recognition:
  • South Africa is the only African nation to have legalize same sex marriage.
  • Cape Town, considered one of the best cities to live in in the world, has a thriving LGBTQ+ community
  • LGBTQ+ people in South Africa have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ+ people.
  • A South African Act of Parliament in 2003 allows a person to change, under certain conditions, their sex recorded in the population registry:
    • People who have undergone surgical or medical sex reassignment.
    • People whose sexual characteristics have evolved naturally.
    • Intersex people.
• Anti-discrimination laws:
  • LGBT rights are protected by section 9 of the South African Constitution, which forbids discrimination on the basis of sex, gender or sexual orientation, and applies to government and private parties.
  • This was re-enforced in 2000 with the Promotion of Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act (PEPUDA).
  • The Employment Equity Act (1998) forbid discrimination in employment.
  • The Rental Housing Act (1999) specifically and housing.
• Public healthcare:
  • People can begin Hormone replacement therapy when they turn 16 and can get surgeries when they turn 18 (or younger with parental consent). Hormone treatment is available in both public and private sectors in South Africa although expect long waiting lists (years) if you attempt the public sector route.
• Strength of Estates:
  • While the parliamentary and executive branches of government have significant issues, the judiciary is particularly strong and has forced the government to correct actions on a number of occasions including preventing a previous president from holding a seat in parliament due to a criminal conviction.
  • The fourth estate (journalism) is still highly regarded in South Africa due to it's history of reporting on Apartheid and is ranked 31st by the World Press Freedom Index.
• Community:
  • TBD

Why not South Africa?

• Safety:
  • South Africa remains a conservative Christian country (85% of the population identify as Christian). The support and adoption of initial legislation for LGBTQ+ rights was not based on popular support but the strength of the South African Constitution and the Constitutional Court which rules on various legal challenges.
  • Sexual violence is South Africa is amongst the highest in the world and includes "corrective" rape targeting members of the LGBTQ+ communities.
  • South Africa has one of the highest homicide rates in the world, with its rate of 45 per 100 000 people being comparable to an American city such as Baltimore or Detroit.
• Government:
  • South African bureaucracy is slow and frustrating and can be challenging to navigate alone.
  • Government inefficiencies, corruption and lack of infrastructure investment has created fragility in key services like electricity and water supplies and poor maintenance of roads. This has resulted in periods when power outages become a regular occurrence.
  • South Africa has the worlds highest inequality by Gini coefficient.
• Culture
  • Toxic masculinity is very common amongst white South Africans particularly the Afrikaner community (Dutch descendants).
  • There are still echos of the effect of colonial rules and social mores around LGBTQ+ in the older generations.
• Racism:
  • South Africa still suffers from a legacy of colonial racism.

Political Situation for Trans People

• South Africa does suffer from populist political figures who condemn LGBTQ+ groups and promote patriarchy and traditional family roles in an effort to build political support.
• Most heads of mainstream Christian groups like the Anglican Church of Southern Africa, the Uniting Reformed Church and the Dutch Reformed Church have spoken out in support of LGBTQ+ rights.
• Based on the IPSOS LGBT+ PRIDE 2023 report:
  • 70% of South Africans believe that Transgender people are discriminated against significantly.
  • 82% believe Transgender people should be protected against discrimination.
  • 58% believe Transgender people should have access to gender affirming care and "other" gender options on legal documents.

Access to Trans Healthcare

TBD

Immigration Policy

• Student Visa:
  • Anyone studying at a list of accepted schools, colleges or institutes of higher education may apply for a student visa.
  • Candidate must be able to show proof of medical cover for the period of study.
• Family-Route:
  • Anyone who is the immediate family of someone with existing residency or citizenship may apply for a relatives visa.
• Business Visas
  • You may apply for this visa if you plan to open a business or invest in an existing business in South Africa to the amount of R5 million (~$272K). There are additional requirements to ensure 60% of employees are South African and a recommendation from the Department of Trade and Industry regarding the feasibility of the business.
• Work Visa
  • General Work Visas
  • Critical Skills Work Visas
    • A critical skills work visa is not a work-seekers visa. You need to have an offer of employment from a potential employer.
    • The Department of Home Affairs publishes a list of critical skills. Anyone with these skills may apply for a Critical Skills Work Visa
    • Checklist of required documents.
  • Intra-company Transfer Work Visas
• Retirement visa:
  • A persons who wish to retire in South Africa may apply for a retired person visa, provided that he or she receives at least R37,000 per month (~$2k) from a pension fund or an irrevocable retirement annuity or has a net worth or a combination of assets realising a minimum monthly income of R37,000 (~$2k).
• Remote work/nomad visa
  • South Africa does not currently support a remote or nomad visa.

Medical Inadmissibility

TBD

Permanent Residency

After residing in the country for five years on the basis of work permits, you can apply for perment residence on the basis of five years. In addition, there are processes for expedited permanent residence for foreigners in possession of a permanent work offer, business owners, refugees, retirees, financially independent individuals, and relatives of a citizen or permanent resident.

Citizenship Pathway

After 5 years of permanent residency, you can naturalise as a South African citizen. You are not required to give up your previous nationality.

LGBTQ+ Friendly Cities

What are potentially good places to live in?

• Cape Town
  • Cape Town Pride

• Johannesburg
  • Johannesburg Pride
• Durban
• Bloemfontein
• Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)

Community & Support Resources

• What local communities and support structures are there?

National Organizations

• Be True 2 Me is a trans-led non-profit supporting trans, nonbinary, intersex, genderqueer individuals and those connected with them.
• The Triangle Project is an organisation working to eradicate discrimation against people in the LGBTQI+ community

Cost of Living

• Rent depends strongly on the area: Rents in a suburban part of a big city like Cape Town go for around R10 000 per month for a good-sized 1-2 bedroom apartment. Rental rates in formerly-segregated areas are much lower, but then you run into issues with safety and lack of amenities.
• Utilities are around R1000 per month for both water and electricity. It is common for electricity to be prepaid: you can purchase a voucher for your meter online or from most big grocery shops. Budget around R500-R1000 per month for cellphone and internet.
• Public transport is not good. There are a few places where public transport systems exist and operate effectively but most of the transport available to South Africans is in the informal private market via minibus taxis. Most train systems only run freight (where they run at all). In South Africa a car is a mandatory requirement for any form of mobility. Cars are also expensive (even second hand) and will be one of your major expenses. In big cities, e-hailing facilities like Uber and Bolt are available. There has been an increase in food delivery services in the last few years which can negate some of your travel requirements but won't meet all your needs.
• Healthcare is middling. The state-run public health service leaves much to be desired, with long waiting lists and lack of access being the norm. There is, however, a robust private healthcare system. Budget around R3-5000 per person per month for medical aid - which would cover doctor's appointments, some prescriptions, and hospital stays, with the caveat that pre-existing conditions would likely need to be paid out of pocket, and hospital stays would likely only be partially reimbursed.
• Grocery prices are mostly cheaper than what you're used to (with some exceptions due to geological positioning).
• Education is ?

Housing Access & Cost

• The big cities, especially Cape Town, have housing in high demand - especially at the 1-2 bedroom apartment level. Expect a long search. Two months' deposit is the norm, and pet-friendliness is especially hard to find.

Law Enforcement ("How bad are the cops?")

• The cops generally do not do their jobs. If you are the victim of a crime, expect little recourse. You may be required for an insurance claim to give a case number. This entails sitting in a police station, and describing the crime in detail.

Censorship & Digital Privacy

• You are required to give your personal details when buying a SIM card, so you should assume that the government knows who you are on the internet. That being said, censorship is fairly light-touch. It is not common for websites to be blocked. We do also have data protection legislation in the form of POPIA (Protection Of Personal Information Act), which includes evelated protections for information regarding children, religious beliefs, race, ethnic origin, trade union membership, health, sex life, criminal behaviour, and biometric information. However, do expect a gulf between what the law says and what happens in practice.

Ease of Travel to Other Countries

• The South African passport has moderate strength, giving visa-free access to much of Latin America and South-east Asia. Due to its relatively isolated location, direct flights can be costly: the cheapest international flights go through the Gulf nations, which should be avoided.

Animal Policies

• Importing pets into South Africa is hard. Dogs and cats must be flown in by cargo, with a valid veterinary health certificate and import permit.
• Dogs and cats are required to have a rabies vaccination no older than 12 months, with the date of import required to be at least 30 days after the vaccination.
• In addition, blood tests are required for dogs to screen for the following diseases:
  • Babesia gibsoni
  • Brucella canis
  • Dirofilaria immitis
  • Trypanosoma evansi
  • Leishmania
• Dogs need to be treated prophylactically for Dirofilaria from the date of negative test until import, and sufficient treatment for a six-month course needs to be brought along with the dog. Dogs also need to be treated with tick medication and insect repellent during the period between blood tests and import.
• Dogs are required to be quarantined for 14 days unless entering from one of the following exempt countries:
  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Belgium
  • Botswana
  • Bulgaria
  • Canada
  • Comoros
  • Cyprus
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Estonia
  • Eswatini
  • Finland
  • France
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Latvia
  • Lesotho
  • Luxembourg
  • Malawi
  • Mauritius
  • Namibia
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Reunion
  • Romania
  • Seychelles
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Spain
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • United Kingdom (including the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man)
  • United States
  • Zimbabwe