IMMIGRATION AND VISAS
South Africa Removes Medical Reports From Visa Applications
South Africa has waived medical reports for visa and permanent residence applications from 8 July 2026, including applications already pending.
August 7, 2026 at 9:41:22 PM
August 7, 2026 at 9:41:22 PM
🕒 29 min read
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Garden Route near Cape Town, South Africa
South Africa has removed one of the longstanding documents required in many immigration applications.
Under Ministerial Immigration Directive No. 10 of 2026, applicants for South African visas and permanent-residence permits no longer have to submit the immigration medical report previously required under the Immigration Regulations.
The directive was signed by Home Affairs Minister Dr Leon Schreiber on 8 July 2026 and published in Government Gazette No. 55016 on 17 July 2026.
The most important detail is the effective date:
The waiver took effect on 8 July 2026, the date the minister signed the directive - not the later gazette publication date.
It applies not only to future applications but also to applications that were already pending adjudication when the directive came into force.
For thousands of foreign workers, students, spouses, retirees and permanent-residence applicants, this removes a document that previously required a medical practitioner to complete the prescribed immigration medical certificate.
But applicants should be careful not to misunderstand the change.
The directive removes the medical report requirement. It does not automatically abolish every other health, police, insurance, vaccination or category-specific document that may apply to a visa application.
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