The Verdict: Clear Path
You can apply for permanent residence as a retiree now, or start on the four-year retired person's visa. Have a chartered accountant certify your pension or annuity, then choose which to apply for.
Permanent residence is available to a foreigner who proves the right to a pension, irrevocable annuity or retirement account paying the prescribed minimum for life. The figure is set by ministerial notice, not in the regulations, and is reported as around R37,000 a month. There is no minimum age.
The retired person's visa is the lighter start: four years, renewable, with a police clearance and several months of bank statements showing the pension arriving. You can move to permanent residence later without serving the visa out.
Permanent residence can be withdrawn after more than three years away, so it suits people who will actually live there. Working on either status needs a contract and proof that no citizen or permanent resident was available. Citizenship later needs five years' ordinary residence after permanent residence, with no year over 90 days abroad.