SA Rugby CEO Jurie Roux says the SARU Executive Council had agreed unanimously that the Southern Kings will play in the Super Rugby competition in 2013.
Exactly how it affects the five existing franchises will become clearer at the AGM in March.
EP Rugby Union President Cheeky Watson said he was pleased that the decision had been unanimous.
He said the EP Rugby public now needed to show their support for SARU by filling Port Elizabeth's Nelson Mandela Bay stadium this season.