SASSA Foster Child Grant 2026: How Much, Who Qualifies and How to Apply

Published 02 November 2026

How Much Is the Foster Child Grant in 2026?

The foster child grant pays R1 300 per month per child — raised in two steps in the 2026 budget - in April, and again in October. If you foster more than one child, the grant is paid for each child placed in your care. Grant amounts are increased from time to time by government announcement, so confirm the latest amount on official SASSA channels before relying on this figure.

Do not confuse this grant with the child support grant — the smaller grant paid to the caregiver of a child generally. The foster child grant is a separate, larger grant, and it exists only where a court has placed the child in foster care.

Who Qualifies?

A foster child, in the official definition, is a child who has been placed in your custody by a court as a result of being:

• Orphaned.
• Abandoned.
• At risk.
• Abused.
• Neglected.

As the foster parent applying, you must:

• Be a South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee.
• Live in South Africa.

The child must:

• Be legally placed in your care by a court — and remain in your care.
• Be younger than 18 years.
• Live in South Africa.

One document decides almost every application: the court order that placed the child in your care — see the next section.

The Court Order: The Heart of This Grant

Unlike most SASSA grants, this one does not start at the SASSA office — it starts at the children's court. Foster care is a legal placement: a court must first place the child in your care, and the court order is the proof SASSA works from. Without it, there is no foster child grant, however long the child has been living with you informally.

You can only foster the child for the period indicated in the court order — the order shows the names of the foster parent and the foster child, and the duration of the placement. The placement process itself runs through the Department of Social Development or an accredited child protection organisation: you apply there to foster a child who is in need of care and protection, and once the court order has been issued, you can apply for the foster child grant at your nearest SASSA office.

The court order also drives what happens later. Your grant will be reviewed on expiry of the court order — currently every two years — and the child must remain in your foster care for the grant to continue. If the placement ends, the grant ends with it. Keep your court order safe, and diarise its expiry date: SASSA will advise you three months in advance of the need to review the grant, but the renewal of the foster care placement itself runs through the court and your social worker. A review is not a fresh application from zero, but you must co-operate with it — failing to co-operate when your grant is reviewed is itself one of the listed reasons a grant can be suspended.

Is There a Means Test?

For this grant, the official gov.za page publishes no income limits and no asset limits — there are no earnings thresholds listed for the foster parent at all. That sets the foster child grant apart from grants such as the child support grant and the older persons grant, which are means-tested. Your qualification turns on the court placement, your status and residence, and the child remaining in your care — not on what you earn. If an unofficial website quotes income limits for this grant, it is mixing it up with another grant.

Foster parents, take note: the official SASSA portal confirms that a foster parent whose child has a severe disability may receive both the foster child grant and the care dependency grant for the same child. The care dependency grant has its own rules and its own medical assessment — see our care dependency grant guide.

The Foster Child Grant itself has no means test, so there is nothing to check for this grant. But most other SASSA grants do have one - if you also receive, or plan to apply for, another grant, you can test your income and assets against its limits in our SASSA Means Test Checker.

Documents You Need

Take the following to the SASSA office when you apply:

• Your 13-digit bar-coded identity document (ID) and the birth certificate for the child.
• The court order that placed the child in your care — the single most important document for this grant.
• Proof of your marital status.
• If you are a refugee: your status permit and refugee ID.
• The birth certificate/s of the child/children, or their identity documents from their country of origin.

If you do not have an ID or the child's birth certificate: complete an affidavit on a standard SASSA format in the presence of a Commissioner of Oaths who is not a SASSA official, and bring a sworn statement signed by a reputable person — such as a councillor, traditional leader, social worker, minister of religion or school principal — who knows you and the child. The SASSA official will take your fingerprints and refer you to the Department of Home Affairs to apply for the ID while your application is processed. Bring proof that you have applied for an ID and/or birth certificate at Home Affairs, and a temporary ID if one was issued. A baptismal certificate, the child's road to health clinic card, and — if the child is at school — the child's school certificate can also help. If you do not get an ID, your grant will be suspended.

How to Apply Step by Step

The application is made in person at a SASSA office — the form is not available online. The process works like this:

1. First, the court placement. The child must already have been placed in your foster care by a court. If that has not happened yet, the foster care process runs through a social worker and the children's court — SASSA cannot grant this grant without the court order.
2. Go to the SASSA office nearest to where you live, with all the documents listed above.
3. Complete the application form in the presence of the SASSA officer. Only you as the applicant, or a SASSA official, can complete the form.
4. Keep the receipt you are given — it is your proof that you applied.
5. Wait for the outcome. It may take up to three months to process your application.

If your application is approved, you will be paid from the date the court placed the child in your care — not only from the date you applied — so a slow application does not cost you the earlier months. The service is free. Nobody may charge you a fee to apply — if someone asks for payment, walk away and go directly to a SASSA office.

How and When You Will Be Paid

SASSA pays the grant to you through one of the following methods:

• Cash at a specific pay point on a particular day.
• Electronic deposit into your bank or Postbank account. (Your bank may charge you for the service.)
• An institution acting as administrator of the grant, such as a welfare organisation.

If you are unable to collect the money yourself, you can appoint a procurator at the SASSA office, or give someone power of attorney to collect it for you. Note that if you are paid through the bank, an institution or a procurator, you must fill in a life certificate at the SASSA offices every year.

As for dates: SASSA pays grants in a set order each month — older persons grants first, then disability grants, then children's grants, the group this grant is paid with. Exact dates are announced through official channels ahead of each month — check the announcement or our SASSA payment dates guide rather than relying on last month's dates. There is no need to rush to withdraw on the first day — money in your account stays there.

Reviews, Suspension and When the Grant Lapses

Your grant will be reviewed on expiry of the court order — currently every two years. You will be advised three months in advance of the need to review the grant. Keep the foster care placement itself current through the court, because the grant follows the court order.

Your grant may be suspended if:

• Your circumstances change.
• A review outcome goes against you.
• You fail to co-operate when your grant is reviewed.
• You commit fraud or misrepresent yourself.
• There was a mistake when your grant was approved.

Your grant will lapse:

• In the case of the death of the child or the last living foster parent.
• If the child is admitted to a state institution.
• If the grant is not claimed for three consecutive months.
• When you are absent from the country.
• If the child is no longer in your foster care.
• If you are no longer a refugee (where the grant was approved on refugee status).

The age rule is built into the qualifying criteria: the child must be younger than 18. The official page sets no extension beyond 18 for this grant — do not rely on unofficial claims that it continues while the child is still at school.

Why Applications Are Declined — and How to Appeal

Most unsuccessful applications fail on the basic rules above:

• No court order: the child is living with you, but a court has not legally placed the child in your foster care. This is the most common reason of all for this grant.
• Placement ended: the child is no longer in your care, or the court order has expired without renewal.
• Age: the child is already 18 or older.
• Status or residence: you are not a South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee, or you or the child do not live in South Africa.
• Documents: the court order, ID, birth certificate or proof of marital status is missing.

If your application is not approved, SASSA will inform you in writing why. Read that letter carefully — it tells you which rule you failed, and sometimes the problem is a fixable document issue. Also read our guide on why SASSA grants are declined and how to fix it.

If you disagree, you can appeal to the Minister of Social Development at the national office of the Department of Social Development, explaining why you disagree. The appeal must be lodged within 90 days of being notified that your application was unsuccessful — do not let that deadline pass.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How much is the foster child grant per month in 2026?

R1 300 per month per child, according to the official 2026/27 grant amounts, paid to the foster parent for each child a court has placed in their care.

2. Who can apply for the foster child grant?

The foster parent of a child a court has placed in their care — a South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee living in South Africa. The child must be younger than 18, live in South Africa, and remain in your care.

3. Is there a means test for the foster child grant?

The official gov.za page publishes no income or asset limits for this grant. Qualification turns on the court placement and the other rules above — not on your earnings.

4. The child already lives with me. Can I apply without a court order?

No. The child must be legally placed in your care by a court, and the court order is a required application document. If there is no court order yet, the foster care process starts at the Department of Social Development or an accredited child protection organisation, where a social worker takes the child's case to the children's court. Only once the court order has been issued can you apply for this grant at SASSA.

5. How long does it take, and from when am I paid?

Processing may take up to three months. If approved, you are paid from the date the court placed the child in your care. Applying is free — keep your receipt as proof.

6. What happens when my court order expires, or when the child turns 18?

The grant is reviewed on expiry of the court order — currently every two years — and SASSA advises you three months in advance. The child must be younger than 18 to qualify, and the official page sets no extension beyond 18. Renew the placement through the court in good time so the grant is not interrupted.

7. Can I get the foster child grant and the care dependency grant for the same child?

Yes, if the child qualifies for both. The SASSA portal confirms a foster parent may receive both grants for the same child — the care dependency grant is for a child with a severe disability needing full-time and special care, and it has its own application and state medical assessment.

Conclusion

The foster child grant — R1 300 a month per child — supports the foster parent of a child a court has placed in their care: orphaned, abandoned, at risk, abused or neglected children, younger than 18 and still living with you. Get the court order first, apply in person at your nearest SASSA office with your ID, the child's birth certificate and the court order, keep your receipt, and remember that approval pays you from the date the court placed the child in your care. For how all the grants fit together, see our complete index of SASSA grants and SRD guides.

Disclaimer: Payment dates and amounts change — always confirm on the official site sassa.gov.za.