Veterinary Science abroad
Every step from first year to working abroad. See all nine countries for Veterinary Science.
1 route
Vet to the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand About 7years to moving BVSc (Onderstepoort), 6 years; Community service, 1 year. Then RCVS registration; Skilled Worker visa; United Kingdom. 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 2019
Where it leads: Small-animal or mixed-practice veterinary surgeon. Typical employers: independent practices and the corporate groups such as IVC Evidensia, CVS and Vets4Pets.
Worth knowing: Australia and New Zealand also recognise the degree. The USA and Canada do not: they require further exams.
- Study · 6 yrs BVSc (Onderstepoort)6 years; the only vet school in SA, so entry is extremely competitive
- Train · 1 yr Community service1 year
- Register RCVS registrationDegree recognised outright: no exam, about 4-6 weeks
- Move Skilled Worker visaVets are in demand
- Work United Kingdom
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: 4 official counts, with sources
- 15 a year · Australian permanent skilled visas granted to South African citizens nominated as veterinarians (ANZSCO 2347) (Australia, 2025)
A further 14 came on 482 temporary skilled visas as veterinarians in 2025-26
Trend: 6 in 2023-24 and 10 in 2022-23
Programme year 2024-25.
Source: Department of Home Affairs, BP0068 Permanent Migration Program (Skilled & Family) Outcomes Snapshot, to 30 June 2025 - 45 a year · New registrations of veterinary surgeons with the RCVS whose country of graduation is South Africa (United Kingdom, 2024)
2nd largest non-EU source of new vets after Australia (101); 8th of all countries
Trend: 28 in 2018/19, then 58, 54, 52, 47 and 45: consistently 45-58 a year since 2019
New registrations in the 2023/24 year, not the total number of South Africa-trained vets on the register. RCVS publishes no stock figure by country.
Source: RCVS Facts 2024, Table 4 (new registrations by country of graduation), year 2023/24 - 12 a year · UK sponsored work visas granted to South African nationals as veterinarians (SOC 2240) (United Kingdom, 2025)
Trend: 37 in 2023
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 - 138 · Practising veterinarians in New Zealand whose primary veterinary qualification was obtained in South Africa (New Zealand, 2024)
3rd largest source after the UK (445) and Australia (170); 13.3% of overseas-qualified vets
Trend: 132 in the 2022/23 report, so slowly rising
Of practising vets in New Zealand, 1,038 (33.1%) qualified overseas. South Africa is 138 of those, and 96.5% of all Africa-qualified vets in New Zealand.
Source: Veterinary Council of New Zealand, NZ Veterinary Workforce Report 2024-25, Table 3
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.