Actuarial Science abroad
Every step from first year to working abroad. See all nine countries for Actuarial Science.
Actuary to London About 8years to moving BSc / BCom Actuarial Science, 4 years; Professional exams while working, 4 years. Then Fellow (FASSA); IFoA Fellowship; London. Smaller route7 a yearUK sponsored work visas granted to South African nationals as actuaries, economists and statisticians (SOC 2433) (2025)23 in 2023 (SOC 2010 code 2425)
Where it leads: Actuarial analyst, then qualified actuary, at an insurer or consultancy. Typical employers: life and general insurers, reinsurers and consultancies such as WTW, Mercer, Aon and the Big Four.
Worth knowing: Many move earlier as part-qualified student actuaries and finish their exams with the IFoA. The big US body (SOA) does not recognise FASSA, nor an IFoA Fellowship gained by transfer from ASSA.
- Study · 4 yrs BSc / BCom Actuarial Science3-4 years, usually with Honours; good marks earn exam exemptions
- Train · 4 yrs Professional exams while working3-6 years as a student actuary
- Register Fellow (FASSA)Actuarial Society of South Africa
- Register IFoA FellowshipNo further exams; current FASSA already includes the work experience the IFoA asks for
- Work LondonSkilled Worker visa
Years are typical minimums from the first year at university. Steps after a bar take no set time. Open a route for where it leads and every step.
How many have done this: 2 official counts, with sources
- 7 a year · Australian permanent skilled visas granted to South African citizens nominated as actuaries, mathematicians or statisticians (ANZSCO 2241) (Australia, 2025)
Trend: 17 in 2023-24
Programme year 2024-25. Small counts; the ANZSCO group also contains data analysts.
Source: Department of Home Affairs, BP0068 Permanent Migration Program (Skilled & Family) Outcomes Snapshot, to 30 June 2025 - 7 a year · UK sponsored work visas granted to South African nationals as actuaries, economists and statisticians (SOC 2433) (United Kingdom, 2025)
Trend: 23 in 2023 (SOC 2010 code 2425)
Small counts. The SOC code bundles actuaries, economists and statisticians together. Entry clearance (applied from outside the UK) only; excludes South Africans already in the UK who switched into the route in-country, which is now the larger flow.
Source: Home Office, Immigration system statistics data tables, table Occ_D02 (Sponsored work visas by occupation and industry, SOC 2020), year ending June 2026
How to read the board
Timelines are typical minimums from the first year at university; visas, exams and job searches often take longer.
“Well-trodden” means at least 1 000 people counted on an official register (or 200 a year); “Established” means at least 200 (or 50 a year). Counts come from regulators and statistics offices and are never estimated.
Register counts are people working there today, by where they trained. Visa counts are people per year, by occupation, because no country publishes visas by degree. UK visa figures count visas issued abroad only and understate every route: in 2025 South Africans received 793 Skilled Worker visas from abroad but 2 256 more by switching from inside the UK.
Illustrative, well-trodden routes assembled from the MatricMap research. Employers named are examples of the kind of organisation that hires on each route, not endorsements or job offers.