After You Arrive

Your First Week in South Africa

A simple plan for your first day, first three days and first week as a student in South Africa.

South Africa Arrival Timeline

Check your entry stamp: It should say 'study'.
Buy a SIM card: At the airport or a supermarket. Register it with your passport.
Save key numbers: Your medical aid (South African health insurance) details and the emergency numbers.
Get some South African rand: Swap money for South African rand (ZAR) at the airport or a bank.

Priority
First 24 Hours

Land, check your papers and get connected.

Check your entry stamp: It must say 'study'. If it says 'visitor', tell the officer before you leave the airport.
Get a South African SIM: South African law (RICA) says every SIM card must be registered to a person. Foreign students use their passport.
Save your medical aid details: Put them in your phone so you always have them.
Swap some money for rand: At the airport or a local bank.

Emergency contacts to save

First Day Advice

Tell your bank at home you are travelling, so your card is not blocked.
Bring enough of any prescription medicine you take, in its original box.
If you study in Cape Town, winter (May to August) is wet, so pack a rain jacket.

Go to orientation and sort out your fees.

Attend orientation: At UCT, orientation for the first half of the year (first semester) ran from 9 to 13 February 2026. Ask your university for its dates.
Make your first payment: At UCT, you pay the first part of tuition, and of rent if UCT houses you, before you can register.
Pay by card or online: UCT takes fee payments from abroad by credit card, or through Flywire (an online payment service).

Use registered transport: Use a taxi with a meter, a ride booked on an app, or a city bus. Do not go with people who call out to you for rides.
Buy a plug adaptor: South Africa mainly uses type M plugs, with three round pins. Buy an adaptor at the airport or in a shop.

Register at your university: Within 60 days of you registering, your university sends the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), the government office for visas, proof that you registered.
Show your medical aid: At UCT you cannot register without South African medical aid.
Get your student card: At UCT it opens the libraries, wifi, sports centre and free shuttle bus.

South Africa has three emergency numbers, so save these.

Service	Number
Police	10111
Ambulance	10177
Emergency from a mobile phone	112
Crime Stop (report a crime)	0860 010 111

Use only recognised, registered transport companies.
Big cities can be unsafe. Ask your university which areas to avoid, and go to the safety talk at orientation.