South Africans Moving to London
There is a huge expat community of South Africans (or Saffas) living in London, so come join the fun and move to London soon!
You may already have lots of friends or family here that you can call on for help and a place to stay for a week or two when you first arrive, but if you need any further advice, take a look at this quick guide on moving to London from South Africa.
However, before you begin reading, we cannot recommend highly enough the 1st Contact Kickstart Package, which is designed to help working travellers settle into London with everything they need. Take a look at this extremely affordable set-up option.
Where do South Africans live in London?
Finding a job in London
Getting to the UK from South Africa
Types of Visas for South Africans in London
How to transfer money from South Africa
South African Pubs in London
South African Dating in London
South African Rugby Club in London
South African Shop in London
Until recently, there used to a massive expat community of South Africans living in Leytonstone in East London , but this has started to decline rapidly in the past 18 months. Other areas that Saffers settle in are mostly located in South London in areas such as Southfields, Wimbledon and Clapham Junction.
Enfield , just outside of North London is also popular.
To search for accommodation and/or housemates before you even leave South Africa, we’d recommend that you sign up for FREE with Easyroommate, who Moove2London considers to be the best flatmate finding service in London.
To make finding a job in London as easy as possible, make sure you have recently polished up your C.V. Once you’re happy with it, upload it for FREE to Monster’s renowned recruitment database. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Monster, they allow recruiters to trawl through their database of candidates seeking employment (just like you!) and they can then hand-pick potential workers for jobs that they often don’t even bother getting around to officially advertise. Make sure you add your C.V to the pool!
You’ll need to obtain a National Insurance number before you’re legally allowed to start working in the UK. Make sure you get on with this asap, as it can sometimes take some time.
For more information and advice, please visit our Working in London page.
South Africa and London may share a similar time zone, but it’s still a 11-12 hour flight over here, so you’ll want to make sure that you choose your flights carefully. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and South African Airways all offer direct flights from Capetown to London, with Virgin also operating a direct route from Johannesburg.
To make sure you get the best prices and times available to you, consider using Expedia who offer some of the most competitive rates on the market.
For a list of visa types that you may be eligible to apply for in order to live in the UK, please visit our Visas page.
Please note that South Africans are UNABLE to apply for the Youth Mobility Scheme – Tier 5.
Transferring money out of South Africa is not as easy as one would think. The SA reserve bank is not a fan of watching money move out of the country and therefore makes it rather difficult for one to do so.
A company like
1st Contact Forex will be able to make the process a lot easier for you. If you are looking to transfer a rather substantial amount of money to the UK then contact the
1stContact Team for advice.
The Aardvark Pub , which is located at 351 Rotherhithe Street, SE16 5LJ, is one of the more authentic South African pubs in London. It serves South African food, plays South African music and shows South African sport on one of it’s 3 screens.
The Bok Bar in Marylebone has large plasma TV screens all over it, for showing the sport. Weirdly though, it serves Thai food. It is located at 56 Blandford Street, W1U 7JA.
Single South Africans living in London can find like-minded expats (Aussie, Kiwis and Zimbabweans as well as South Africans), living away
from home on online dating site – Antipodate. Sign up for FREE and take a look at who you could be going on your next date with. Here is a full review of Antipodate.
The London South Africa Rugby Football Club was founded in 2005 and is located near Southfields, South London. Training takes place on Monday and Wednesday evenings and prospective players are allowed to try out at training sessions before committing to a membership fee. Visit pitchero.com/clubs/londonsouthafrica for details.
The SAvanna offers a fantastic range of South African products for homesick Saffas living in London. Whether it’s biltong, droewors or boerewors that you’re missing, you’ll find it here. You can either shop online at thesavanna.co.uk or visit one of their 4 physical stores in London Bridge station, in Southfields (281 Wimbledon Park Road, SW19 6NW), Wimbledon (20-22 Worple Road, SW19 4DH) and Raynes Park Station.