The R350 SRD grant provides financial relief to beneficiaries across South Africa who require financial assistance from the state, but you may be wondering if individuals from outside of the country are able to qualify for this grant? Find out more below.
The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) offers many social grants to South Africans who need financial assistance including the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) R350 grant which provides financial support to millions of beneficiaries every month.
South Africa is also home to lots of people who come from outside of the country, who may be wondering if they could also qualify for the SRD grant.
The answer is yes they do, but only permanent residents, refugees, asylum seekers or citizens of Lesotho, Angola and Zimbabwe who hold special permits registered on the Home Affairs database.
These individuals should also meet the other eligibility criteria which is as follows:
- Above the age of 18 and below the age of 60;
- Unemployed;
- Not receiving any social grant in respect of himself or herself;
- Not receiving an unemployment insurance benefit and does not qualify to receive an unemployment insurance benefit;
- Not receiving a stipend from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) and other financial aid;
- Not receiving any other government COVID-19 response support; and
- Not a resident in a government funded or subsidised institution.
If you meet the criteria above then you are encouraged to apply for the R350 SRD grant.
Sassa requires R350 grant applications to be submitted online using the platforms listed below:
- SASSA website – https://srd.sassa.gov.za
- Email – srd@sassa.gov.za
- WhatsApp: 082 046 8553 (send a Whatsapp message to this number. Make sure to include your name, surname and ID number in the Whatsapp message. You will then receive a message which will detail the next steps you need to follow.)
- USSD line: Dial *134*7737# and follow the prompts
- GovChat: https://govchat.app/login\
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/govchat.org.
Sassa introduced the Special Covid-19 R350 SRD grants in 2020 to provide financial assistance to individuals who were unemployed and could not take care of the needs of themselves and their families, due to the challenges brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Now the grant is available to provide temporary support to people who are in desperate financial need, making them unable to meet their families’ most basic necessities.
