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Chartered Accountancy abroad

Every step from first year to working abroad. See all nine countries for Chartered Accountancy.

3 routes

Chartered Accountant to London 7years to moving Established72 a yearUK sponsored work visas granted to South African nationals as chartered and certified accountants (SOC 2421) (2025)499 in 2023 and 537 in 2022, so down about 85% after the 2024 salary-threshold rise

Where it leads: Audit assistant manager or manager at a large firm in London. Typical employers: the Big Four (Deloitte, EY, KPMG, PwC), mid-tier audit firms, banks and asset managers.

Worth knowing: Membership is not UK audit sign-off: the UK Audit Qualification needs extra exams and supervised experience.

  1. Study · 3 yrs BCom Accounting / BAcc3 years at a SAICA-accredited university
  2. Study · 1 yr PGDA / CTA (Honours)1 year; the hardest academic hurdle
  3. Train · 3 yrs SAICA training contract3 years of articles, with the IAC (formerly ITC) and APC board exams
  4. Register CA(SA)Register with SAICA
  5. Register ICAEW or ICAS membershipReciprocal agreement: no further exams, about 4-6 weeks
  6. Work LondonSkilled Worker visa with a sponsoring firm

Full Chartered Accountancy pathway for United Kingdom

Chartered Accountant to Australia or New Zealand 7years to moving Established75 a yearAustralian permanent skilled visas granted to South African citizens nominated as accountants or auditors (ANZSCO 2211, 2212) (2025)77 in 2023-24

Where it leads: Senior accountant, auditor or finance manager in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth or Auckland. Typical employers: the Big Four and mid-tier firms, mining and resources companies, banks.

Worth knowing: External auditors are rated in shortage in Australia's 2025 Occupation Shortage List (internal auditors are not), and external and internal auditors are Tier 1 on New Zealand's Green List when paid NZD 45.50 an hour or more. Accountant (General) is rated no shortage in Australia.

  1. Study · 3 yrs BCom Accounting / BAcc3 years
  2. Study · 1 yr PGDA / CTA1 year
  3. Train · 3 yrs SAICA training contract3 years of articles
  4. Register CA(SA)Register with SAICA
  5. Register CA ANZ membershipReciprocal agreement: no further exams
  6. Move Skills assessment + visaEmployer-sponsored or points-tested skilled visa
  7. Work Australia / NZ

Full Chartered Accountancy pathway for Australia

Chartered Accountant to Dubai 7years to moving Well-trodden11 686CA(SA) members SAICA records as 'International' (registered address outside South Africa), all countries (2026)10 550 in Dec 2022, 12 000 in Dec 2024, 11 686 in Aug 2026 - grew to 2024, flat/slightly down since

Where it leads: Audit, advisory or finance role at a firm or company in Dubai. Typical employers: the Middle East offices of large audit firms, banks and multinational regional headquarters.

Worth knowing: Your residence depends on your employer and the visa does not lead to permanent residence or citizenship. A 5-year self-sponsored Green Visa needs a bachelor’s, a MOHRE level 1-3 job and at least AED 15,000 a month.

  1. Study · 3 yrs BCom Accounting / BAcc3 years at a SAICA-accredited university
  2. Study · 1 yr PGDA / CTA (Honours)1 year; the hardest academic hurdle
  3. Train · 3 yrs SAICA training contract3 years of articles, with the IAC (formerly ITC) and APC board exams
  4. Register CA(SA)Register with SAICA
  5. Register Degree attestationAttested by SA’s foreign ministry, then a UAE embassy; some jobs also need UAE Ministry of Education attestation
  6. Move Job offer + work visaThe employer applies for a 2-year, renewable employment visa
  7. Work Dubai

Full Chartered Accountancy pathway for United Arab Emirates

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: 6 official counts, with sources
  • 11 923 · All SAICA members and associates (CA(SA), AGA(SA), AT(SA)) recorded as 'International' (all countries, 2026)
    11 923 of SAICA's 64 844 members and associates, i.e. 18%, are registered outside South Africa
    Sum of the International column for CA (11 686), AGA (229) and AT (8) in SAICA's August 2026 table. SAICA does not publish a breakdown by destination country.
    Source: SAICA, Membership statistics 2026 (monthly, August 2026 page)
  • 10 550 · CA(SA) members SAICA recorded as 'International' (registered address outside South Africa), December 2022 (all countries, 2022)
    10 550 of 50 731 CA(SA)s on the register at Dec 2022, i.e. 21%
    Earliest clean comparable figure found in SAICA's published monthly statistics. Same 'International vs Local' definition.
    Source: SAICA, Membership statistics 2022 (December 2022 gender/residency table)
  • 12 000 · CA(SA) members SAICA recorded as 'International' (registered address outside South Africa), December 2024 (all countries, 2024)
    12 000 of 53 980 CA(SA)s on the register at Dec 2024, i.e. 22%
    Trend: Up from 10 550 at Dec 2022
    Earlier data point recorded to show the trend. Same definition as the 2026 figure.
    Source: SAICA, Membership statistics 2024 (monthly, Dec-24 page)
  • 11 686 · CA(SA) members SAICA records as 'International' (registered address outside South Africa) (all countries, 2026)
    About 1 in 5 of all 58 269 CA(SA)s on SAICA's register lives outside South Africa
    Trend: 10 550 in Dec 2022, 12 000 in Dec 2024, 11 686 in Aug 2026 - grew to 2024, flat/slightly down since
    'International' is SAICA's own split of members by recorded address. It is not a count of emigrants or of SA citizens, and members who resign are no longer counted.
    Source: SAICA, Membership statistics 2026 (monthly, August 2026 page)
  • 75 a year · Australian permanent skilled visas granted to South African citizens nominated as accountants or auditors (ANZSCO 2211, 2212) (Australia, 2025)
    34 general accountants, 26 external auditors, plus management, tax and internal audit roles
    Trend: 77 in 2023-24
    Programme year 2024-25. A further 57 South Africans were granted 482 temporary skilled visas in these occupations in 2025-26.
    Source: Department of Home Affairs, BP0068 Permanent Migration Program (Skilled & Family) Outcomes Snapshot, to 30 June 2025
  • 72 a year · UK sponsored work visas granted to South African nationals as chartered and certified accountants (SOC 2421) (United Kingdom, 2025)
    The single largest professional occupation for South Africans on UK work visas
    Trend: 499 in 2023 and 537 in 2022, so down about 85% after the 2024 salary-threshold rise
    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.