MatricMap

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Pathways abroad

How South Africans get from a first year at university to working abroad. Pick a career or a country.

21 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 riseChartered 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 2023-24Chartered 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 sinceEngineer to Australia 7years to moving Established109 a yearAustralian permanent skilled visas granted to South African citizens nominated as engineering professionals (ANZSCO 233) (2025)151 in 2023-24Engineer to the Netherlands 6years to moving No count for this career. All careers: 1 218 a year · Dutch first residence permits for all employment reasons issued to South African citizens (2025)Actuary to London 8years to moving 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)Doctor to the United Kingdom 9years to moving Well-trodden2 008Doctors in the UK whose first medical qualification was obtained in South Africa (2025)2,125 in 2015, so broadly flat for a decadeDoctor to Ireland 9years to moving Established686Clinically active doctors in Ireland whose basic medical qualification is from South Africa (2025)605 in 2024 on the same measure, so up about 13% in one yearDoctor to Canada 9years to moving Well-trodden2 536Physicians in Canada whose medical degree was obtained in South Africa (2024)2,537 in 2023, so flat year on year; the OECD series shows it peaked near 2,700 around 2017Doctor to Australia 9years to moving Well-trodden1 835Doctors in Australia whose first medical qualification was obtained in South Africa (2024)1,596 in 2013, so up about 15%, but flat since 2016Doctor to New Zealand 9years to moving Established800Doctors in New Zealand whose primary medical qualification was obtained in South Africa (2025)697 in 2000, peaked at 819 in 2006, dipped to 710 in 2016, back up to 800 in 2025Doctor to Dubai or Abu Dhabi 9years to moving No official count publishedNurse to the United Kingdom 5years to moving Well-trodden2 836Nurses, midwives and nursing associates on the UK NMC register trained in South Africa (2026)2,990 in September 2020, so down about 5% in five and a half yearsNurse to Australia or New Zealand 5years to moving Well-trodden1 458Nurses in Australia whose country of training is South Africa (2024)1,884 in 2015, so down about 23% in nine yearsPhysiotherapist to Australia or New Zealand 5years to moving Smaller route25 a yearAustralian permanent skilled visas granted to South African citizens nominated as physiotherapists (ANZSCO 2525) (2025)35 in 2023-24Vet to the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand 7years to moving Smaller route45 a yearNew registrations of veterinary surgeons with the RCVS whose country of graduation is South Africa (2024)28 in 2018/19, then 58, 54, 52, 47 and 45: consistently 45-58 a year since 2019Teacher to England 4years to moving Established82 a yearTeachers recognised as teachers in South Africa who were awarded English QTS via the Apply for QTS service (2025)157 in 2022/23 and 146 in 2023/24, so roughly halved over two yearsTeacher to New Zealand 6years to moving No count for this career. All careers: 3 194 a year · New Zealand work visa applications approved for South African nationals, all work visa types (2026)Software developer to the Netherlands or Ireland 7years to moving No count for this career. All careers: 1 218 a year · Dutch first residence permits for all employment reasons issued to South African citizens (2025)Lawyer to London 9years to moving Smaller route25 a yearUK sponsored work visas granted to South African nationals in legal professional occupations (SOC minor group 241) (2025)30 in 2023Any degree: the master’s-abroad route 6years to moving No official count published

Years are typical minimums from the first year at university. Steps after a bar take no set time. Hover a bar or marker for the step; open a route for every step.

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.