Burgess agreed terms last week with Premiership club Bath, who have paid a fee believed to be around 500,000 Australian dollars (£270,000). He told his new club's website: "I'm very excited about the challenge."
Bath had been under the impression the Rugby Football Union would be responsible for paying for Burgess's release but the RFU distanced itself from the deal, conscious of the reaction of the other Premiership clubs.
Bath head coach Mike Ford, a former rugby league player and coach, said: "I've known Sam since his rugby league days in England and he is an exceptionally talented athlete.
"I've no doubt Sam will fit in seamlessly here at Bath and we're looking forward to having him join us and start making the transition."
Burgess has stated his ambition to become a dual-code international and said the chance to move to union in the lead-up to a World Cup was impossible to resist.
He told the Rabbitohs' website: "With 2015 being a Rugby World Cup [year], it was an opportunity I had to pursue and I thank the Rabbitohs for allowing me to make this move and start the next chapter in my sporting career."
England head coach Stuart Lancaster met Burgess in Australia in August, and sees him playing at centre in the 15-man game.
Speaking earlier this month, Lancaster said it would be "a challenge" for a rugby league player to make a successful transition into union in time for the 2015 World Cup.
But he added: "There's a bigger picture about developing a team that goes way beyond 2015."
However former England centre Jeremy Guscott told BBC Sport he would be "surprised" if next year's World Cup came too soon for Burgess to be involved.
With his move to Bath still eight months away, Burgess vowed he would continue to "do his best every week" for the Rabbitohs, whose coach Michael Maguire said the Englishman had made a "real impact".
Burgess, originally from Dewsbury in West Yorkshire, made his Super League debut for Bradford in 2006 and went on to make 79 appearances for the club.
In September 2009, the Rabbitohs announced they had signed Burgess on a four-year deal from the 2010 season.
Six months ago, he made rugby league history by playing alongside older brother Luke and younger twins Tom and George as the Rabbitohs, whose majority shareholder is actor Russell Crowe, beat Sydney rivals Wests Tigers in an NRL game.
It was the first time in more than a century four siblings had played together in a top-flight rugby league match in Australia.
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