The Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, also known as the R370 is the only financial support offered to unemployed people living in South Africa. There are two ways to apply for the SRD grant to receive a payment from the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa).
To qualify for the R370 grant in South Africa, applicants must meet the R370 certain criteria.
They need to be citizens, permanent residents, or special permit holders, but they shouldn't be receiving other government support in the form of UIF benefits or NSFAS bursaries. Their bank account should have less than R624 to be eligible for the R370 grant.
The Social Relief of Distress Grant (SRD Grant) is meant for South African Citizens, Refugees, Asylum Seekers and Special Permit Holders who are between the ages of 18 and 60 years, who have insufficient means, who do not receive social grants on behalf of herself/ himself or who are not contributing to or eligible for UIF payment and have no financial support from any other source.
How To Submit Your R370 Sassa Grant For May 2024
Online using the Sassa SRD website
- Start by choosing your citizenship status at the bottom of the webpage. You can select either "South African ID Holder" or "Asylum Seeker/Special Permit Holder."
- Locate the yellow bar that says "Click here to apply online" under the relevant section ("How do I apply for this SRD Grant" or "Asylum Seekers and Special Permit Holders").
- Enter your mobile number and click "Send SMS." Then, enter the one-time pin (OTP) sent by Sassa to your phone for verification.
- Once verified, follow the steps on the website to finish your application.
- Save Sassa Number: Add the number 082 046 8553 to your phone contacts to easily access Sassa on WhatsApp.
- Open WhatsApp and send "Hi" to this number to initiate the application process.
- After receiving a response from Sassa, reply with "Help" to get further instructions.
- You'll receive various options. Reply with "4" to access the Sassa platform message. Then, reply with "SRD" in that message to proceed with the SRD Grant application.
- Confirm whether you're applying for yourself or someone else. Then, provide your name, surname, and ID number directly in the WhatsApp chat.
- You'll receive a message with further steps to complete the application process.
After submitting an SRD grant application, Sassa conducts verification checks in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs for identity and citizenship checks and shares bank details with the Department of Treasury for income verification. Income verification is needed to ensure applicants don’t exceed the R370 grant income threshold of R624.
Once Sassa has confirmed that the applicant meets the eligibility criteria, Sassa proceeds with grant payments.
