If you are a foreigner and interested in seeking medical treatment in South Africa, then you’ll have to apply for a South African medical treatment visa. A medical treatment visa is issued to people who need medical treatment from a foreign country. They often choose medical treatment from another country due to the affordability of that country, to have access to modern healthcare facilities, or for a specific treatment, which might require a specialist. South African medical visa is valid for six months and grants you temporary residence in South Africa. It can also be renewed for another six months, with valid reasons. So how do you go about obtaining a medical treatment visa? How do you apply for it and what are the requirements? Below is a detailed checklist for a medical treatment visa for South Africa.
Checklist for a South African medical treatment visa
Visa application form
This is also known as the DHA-1738 form 8. The form needs to be fully completed, dated and signed.
Valid Passport
You should be in hold of your passport and it should be valid for at least 30 days after your date of return to your home country. And should have two blank pages at the back and not be more than 10 years old.
2x passport-sized photos
Two passport-sized photographs (3.5 cm X 4.5 cm) in colour.
Photocopy of your bio page of your passport
A current copy of your passport main/bio page is also needed.
Application fee
The application fee must be paid in cash at the embassy or made through electronic bank transfer and should be paid five days before applying for the medical treatment visa.
Medical report
You should also have a medical report, the medical report should have your medical history and results of a medical examination conducted at least in the last six months.
A radiological report
Just like the medical report, the radiological report should not be older than six months. Children under 18 years old and pregnant women are not required to have a radiological report.
Yellow fever vaccination certificate
The yellow fever vaccination certificate should be approved by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and should have been administered in the last 10 days before the person leaves for South Africa.
A letter from your registered medical practitioner or medical institution within South Africa confirming the following:
- That there is enough available space at the institution where they’ll be performing your medical treatment.
- An estimate of how much the treatment would cost.
- Whether the illness can be treated or not.
- Treatment schedule.
- How long will the treatment take and expected healing time.
- The estimated cost of the hospital fees.
- That there is enough available space at the institution where they’ll be performing your medical treatment.
Proof of sufficient means
Proof that you’ll be able to pay for your medical treatment or that you have a sponsor funding you financially. This proof can be in a form of bank statements of the last three months and not older than seven days. The bank statement should be accompanied by a verification letter from the bank or be stamped.
Police clearance certificate
You also need a police clearance certificate from every country you have lived in for at least 12 months or longer since you turned 18. The police clearance attests to your character and is to ensure that you have no criminal record. The police clearance shouldn’t be older than six months.
Proof of round-trip flight tickets
This is a security measure to ensure that you’ll be returning back to your country of origin after your treatment. The tickets should only be purchased once you get your South African medical treatment visa.
Information about the person accompanying the applicant
If the person applying for a medical treatment visa is accompanied by someone else, the person must also have all the above necessary documents.
Duration, Validity and Cost of a medical treatment visa
It takes about 30 to 40 days to get your medical treatment visa. It is suggested that you schedule your appointment five weeks before your travel date to South Africa, to ensure visa validity. The medical treatment visa is valid for six months and can be extended if you need further treatment, but your doctor needs to sign off on this. The cost of the South African medical treatment visa is R425 (which is about $24), you can either make the payment at the embassy or through electronic bank transfer. Payment should be five days before you send in your application.
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