UK Spouse Visa from South Africa: Complete Guide
Two things differ for an applicant living in South Africa: the tuberculosis test, and the fact that South Africa is not on the majority English-speaking list. Everything else is the ordinary partner route.
- Section
- Spouse & Partner Visa
- Reading time
- 10 min
- Last checked
- 22 March 2026
- Source
- The published Immigration Rules and GOV.UK guidance, linked throughout this guide.
- Rowan does not
- Look at your own case, tell you which route to choose, or say what the Home Office will decide. This guide shows the published rules and where to read them.
In short
- South Africa is not on the majority English-speaking list. English being an official language there does not put it on the list.
- A first application needs A1 speaking and listening, unless you have a degree taught in English or another exemption applies.
- South Africa is on the tuberculosis testing list. The certificate is valid for 6 months from the date of the x-ray.
- The clinic has to be Home Office approved. GOV.UK publishes the list for South Africa.
- The service standard is 12 weeks, the same as everywhere else. GOV.UK publishes no South Africa figure.
South Africa is on the tuberculosis testing list, so a partner application from there usually needs a certificate from a Home Office approved clinic, valid for 6 months from the date of the x-ray. South Africa is not on the list of majority English-speaking countries, despite English being an official language there, so the English requirement applies. Everything else is the standard partner route: £29,000 or savings, £2,064, and a 12-week service standard.
Application Process from South Africa
The process follows the standard overseas application:
- Get your tuberculosis test at a Home Office approved clinic
- Pass an A1 English test, or gather the evidence for whichever exemption applies to you
- Provide a police certificate only if your application asks for one; GOV.UK does not list it among the standard family visa documents
- Complete the online application on GOV.UK
- Pay the £2,064 fee and the immigration health surcharge, which GOV.UK gives as £3,105 for the 2 years 9 months of a first grant
- Provide your documents and confirm your identity, either at a visa application centre or through the UK Immigration: ID Check app, whichever you are told to use
English Language
English is one of South Africa's official languages. That is not the test. The exemption is by nationality against a fixed list in paragraph GEN.1.6 of Appendix FM, and South Africa is not on it. The list is: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British overseas territories, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the USA.
So the requirement applies, and there are three published ways to meet it. Pass an approved secure English language test at level A1 or above for a first application. Or show a degree-level qualification taught in English and awarded by a UK institution, where the certificate alone is enough. Or show a degree taught in English from an institution outside the UK, which needs an assessment from Ecctis confirming it is equivalent to a UK bachelor's degree or higher and was taught in English.
Two further points worth knowing before you book. If you pass at level B1 or higher now, GOV.UK says you can use the same result again at settlement after 5 years, provided the test is still on the approved list and the certificate has not been withdrawn. If you pass only A1, you will need A2 in speaking and listening at the extension after 2 years and 6 months. GOV.UK also lists people who do not have to prove English at all: applicants under 18, adults coming to be cared for by a relative, people over 65, people with a physical or mental condition that prevents them meeting the requirement, and those extending as a partner or parent after 5 years on a family visa. See the English language guide.
Tuberculosis Test
South Africa is on the GOV.UK list of countries where a test is needed. The requirement is not automatic, though: all three of these must be true. You are coming to the UK for 6 months or more. You have lived in a listed country for 6 months or more. And you were living there, or in another listed country, within the last 6 months. A partner visa is granted for 2 years 9 months, so the first condition is met. A fiance, fiancee or proposed civil partner visa is only 6 months, but GOV.UK names it separately as one that needs a test anyway.
The test is a chest x-ray. If the result is not clear you may be asked for a sputum sample. GOV.UK says no other test is needed for the visa. A clear result gives you a certificate valid for 6 months from the date of the x-ray, which you include with the application.
The clinic must be approved by the Home Office. GOV.UK publishes the approved clinics for South Africa on its own page, and it changes: check that page rather than a list in a guide. Not every approved clinic is run by the International Organization for Migration.
Children are handled differently. Every child sees a clinician who decides whether an x-ray is needed, and children under 11 are not normally x-rayed. A pregnant applicant can choose a shielded x-ray in the second or third trimester, a sputum test, which may cost more and take up to 8 weeks for results, or to wait until after the birth. GOV.UK also lists people who need no test at all: diplomats accredited to the UK, returning UK residents who have been away no more than 2 years, and people coming on the Ukraine schemes.
Police Clearance
GOV.UK does not list a police certificate among the information and evidence for a family visa. What it asks for is details of any criminal convictions. Police certificates are a requirement on certain other routes, and are sometimes requested in an individual case.
Rowan will not tell you to obtain one, or how long the South African Police Service takes to issue it, because neither is published by GOV.UK. Read what your own online application asks for, and answer that.
Documents
- Marriage or civil partnership certificate: the rules require a valid marriage or civil partnership, as specified. The caseworker guidance treats the certificate as strong evidence that the relationship is genuine.
- Passport: your current passport or other valid travel ID, plus copies of the photo page and any visa or entry stamps in previous passports.
- Financial evidence: Based on the UK sponsor's income. See income requirement.
GOV.UK requires a certified translation of any document that is not in English or Welsh. A South African document already in English needs none; one in Afrikaans, isiZulu or another of the official languages does.
Processing Times
GOV.UK publishes one figure for a partner or spouse applying from outside the UK: 12 weeks. There is no separate South African standard. The time starts when you attend the appointment to give your fingerprints and photograph, or when you finish uploading documents through the identity app, and ends when you get the letter or email telling you a decision has been made.
The priority service costs £500 and, on a family application from outside the UK, usually takes up to 30 working days rather than the 5 that applies on other routes. Super priority costs £1,000. See processing times.
Next Steps
The tuberculosis test and the English test both have to be done before you apply, and the tuberculosis certificate lasts 6 months from the x-ray, so those two set your earliest and latest start dates. Check the Home Office approved clinic list for South Africa on GOV.UK before booking anything.
Related guides:
Questions and answers
Do South African nationals need an English test for the UK spouse visa?
Yes, unless you meet the requirement another way. South Africa is not on the list of majority English-speaking countries in the Immigration Rules, and English being one of South Africa's official languages does not put it there. The list, at paragraph GEN.1.6 of Appendix FM, is: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British overseas territories, Canada, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Malta, New Zealand, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and the USA. So a South African national needs A1 speaking and listening for a first application, or a degree taught in English, or one of the other exemptions.
Do I need a TB test from South Africa?
South Africa is on the list, but the test is triggered by circumstances, not nationality alone. GOV.UK requires one where all three of these are true: you are coming to the UK for 6 months or more; you have lived in a listed country for 6 months or more; and you were living there, or in another listed country, within the last 6 months. There is a separate rule for shorter stays: a family visa as a fiance, fiancee or proposed civil partner needs a test even though that visa is only 6 months. The clinic must be Home Office approved, and GOV.UK publishes the approved clinics for South Africa.
How long does processing take from South Africa?
The published service standard is 12 weeks for a partner or spouse from outside the UK, and it is the same everywhere; GOV.UK does not publish a separate South African figure. The clock starts at the identity check, not at submission. The priority service costs £500 and gives up to 30 working days on a family application.
Do I need a police clearance from South Africa?
GOV.UK does not list a police certificate among the documents for a family visa. It asks instead for details of any criminal convictions. Police certificates are required on some other routes. Rather than obtaining one on the strength of a guide, check what your own online application asks for, and provide what it asks for.
This guide is general information about published immigration rules. It is not advice about an individual application under s.82 Immigration and Asylum Act 1999, and Rowan is not regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority. Immigration rules change several times a year. For advice on a particular situation, contact an adviser authorised by the Immigration Advice Authority or an immigration solicitor. Always check GOV.UK for the authoritative current rules.