With emigration property sales at a 10-year high of 13.4% according to FNB’s latest report, a large number of these South Africans are moving to the UK says Ryan Rennison, managing director of visa specialists Move Up.

Rennison said that these South Africans typically use the four most accessible visas when making the move.

He outlined these different visa process below.

Birth Rights

If your parent or grandparent hails from England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland and you have access to their birth certificate, you could be eligible for a British passport or an ancestral visa.

A British passport gives you permanent citizenship rights, while an ancestral visa allows you to live in the UK for up to five years, with the option to apply for indefinite leave to remain – and, eventually, a British passport.

“This is by far the most successful route ordinary South Africans can take to move to the UK, but it’s important to note that the British government has very strict requirements and rules if your parents or grandparents were born in a British colony,” said Rennison.

Marriage

If your partner has a British passport or is eligible to apply for an ancestral visa, you can relocate to the UK after obtaining a spousal visa.

Spousal visas take usually three months to process, but it is possible to pay an additional fee to speed things up.

“It’s important to note that you cannot convert a visitor visa to a spousal visa while you’re in the UK: spousal visas must be applied for from your country of permanent residence,” said Rennison.

Move Up advises that spousal visa applicants begin collecting evidence of their monogamous relationship as soon as possible, since the Home Office will eventually investigate the legitimacy of the relationship.

“Shared utility bills, transcripts of emails and WhatsApp messages and evidence that you rely on one another financially all count towards proving the authenticity of your relationship,” he said.

Points-based system

If birth and marriage rights do not apply to you, the next best way to qualify to live and work in the UK is to qualify for their points-based visa system.

The points-based system makes provision for business owners, investors and individuals with specific skills.

Rennison said that the UK government currently wants to attract people with scarce skills that are beneficial to their economy and the National Health Service (NHS):

Tech start-up teams;

Doctors;

Nurses;

Fashion designers;

Film and television professionals.

Highly skilled individuals in the fields of science, humanities, engineering, digital technology and the arts are already on their priority list, he said.

You can find a list of additional jobs here.

Non-points-based visas

For those who don’t qualify for any of the above visas, there is a collection of unique UK visas that cater for exceptional people.

This category applies to highly talented sportsmen and women, as well as academics who hold a PhD in science, engineering, the humanities, medicine, digital technology or the arts; and those who are considered (established or emerging) leaders in their field.

Read: More than 30 jobs that South Africans can soon use to move to the UK