The context
Eleven official languages, several marriage systems recognised side by side, and a strong tradition of holding a traditional ceremony and a white wedding as two separate events, often months apart, with different guests and different budgets.
Entering the country
Visa-free entry for many nationalities for up to ninety days; others need a visitor visa. Note the strict documentary rules for travelling with children.
Marrying, and having it recognised
Civil marriage, customary marriage and civil union are all recognised. A customary marriage is valid once lobola has been negotiated and the ceremony performed, and it must be registered with Home Affairs to be provable. A foreign partner needs a letter of no impediment. See civil marriage in South Africa.
Getting there
Direct flights from Europe, the Gulf and parts of Africa to Johannesburg and Cape Town. The southern-hemisphere summer, December to February, is the peak season.
Customs and family
Bride price is not a purchase. It acknowledges a bond between two families; leaving it out says the bond does not exist, and treating it as a transaction wounds just as much. Ask in advance, through someone close to the family, what is expected and who hands it over. See wedding customs.
Points to watch
- Processing times at Home Affairs are the principal constraint on any spousal visa plan — build the calendar around them, not around the wedding.
- Register the customary marriage: unregistered, it is hard to prove and impossible to transcribe abroad.
- Check regional travel advice and take the usual urban precautions.
Two absolute prohibitions, wherever you live
Sex tourism and any relationship with a minor are punished here as everywhere, and your own country's law follows you abroad. For sexual offences against a child, almost every state sets aside dual criminality and dispenses with any complaint: you can be prosecuted and tried at home whatever the local law says and whatever the local authorities do. See sexual offences committed abroad.
If you met online
The warning signs are the same everywhere: a very fast escalation, a systematic refusal of video, a request for money for an urgent reason, pressure to leave the platform. The rule holds here as anywhere: you do not send money to someone you have never met face to face. Someone genuine will happily take a video call, meet in a public place and introduce you to their family.
Spotting and reporting a romance scam — South Africa
South Africa: everything on this site
This country appears on 35 other pages of this site, across every section. Here they all are, in one place.
Sexuality
Health
- Assisted reproduction
- Abortion
- Alcohol and tobacco
- Contraception
- HIV and AIDS
- HPV
- Hepatitis B
- Mental health
- Pregnancy
Advice
Marriage
- Same-sex marriage
- Divorce
- Marriage
- Matrimonial property and inheritance
- Partnerships and cohabitation
- Religious ceremony
- Wedding customs and ceremonies
Names
Rights
- Adoption
- Copyright
- Data protection
- Fundamental rights
- Identity theft
- Image rights
- Online shopping
- Privacy
- Sexual offences committed abroad
- Speech and online harassment
Official sources and links
- Your own foreign ministry's travel advice — read it before each departure: it also conditions your travel insurance. Official portals: United Kingdom · United States · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · Ireland
- Your consular post there, or the one covering the country — civil status, marriage, emergencies; note the number before you go. Official directories: United Kingdom · United States · Canada · Australia · New Zealand · Ireland
- World Health Organization — health recommendations by destination
- Hague Conference on Private International Law — celebration and recognition of the validity of marriages