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South Africa: Moving to SA (Cape town) with kids:
Hi
Do you have sole custody of your son? If so, then he will need a study permit that will allow him to attend school here.
At the moment it is still possibel to submit an application while on a tourist visa in South Africa. This will, however, change once the new legislation comes into effect.
After this, you can still enter SA and will receive a tourist visa, however, when applying for a residency permit, the application will need to be submitted at the SA embassy in your home country.
In terms of your situation, you do not need to be married. As your partner is South African, you can apply for a Life Partner Permit.
If you have a job offer, one can add a work endorsement onto that permit. Alternatively, one can add a business endorsement onto the permit, which would allow you to run your own business.
In terms of movign to SA, I would suggest that you (and your partner) come over and have a look for yourself. There is a lot of info on the Internet, but nothing is better than having a look in person.
This will allow you to look at places to live, send your son to attend school, and create a healthy social life.
In terms of schools, the sooner you approach schools, the better. Especially private schools may have waiting lists, so I would suggest obtaining as much info as possible before you make the move.
Hope this helps.
But do let us know if there is anything else.
Regards,
Joachim Schuckmann
South Africa: Expats Waiting for their Permits:
Hi all
Below an extract from the update we sent to our clients last week:
The Department of Home Affairs has opened a dedicated Call Center Helpline for all applicants wishing to follow up on their residence applications.
The Call Center comprises of about 150 staff members and with operating hours from Mondays to Fridays from 7am to 7pm and on Saturdays from 8am to 5pm.
This is a very welcome improvement to the Departments endeavours to increase service delivery to all applicants. A similar system is operated currently by Canada and reports are it works very well.
In an effort to eliminate corruption, currently the call centre will only deal directly with applicants. The call centre agents do not have access to the supplied power of attorney documentation and are therefore not able to verify whether a Immigration Practitioner is authorised by the applicant to follow up on an application or not.
For all expats waiting for their permits, it is essential that as soon as possible, you call the Hotline on 0800 60 11 90 (free from all landlines within SA) and have the following ready:
* Your passport number which was used when submitting your application
* The date of application
* The place of application
For any questions, or details on the remaining update email, please feel free to ask.
South Africa: Visa advice from UK to SA:
Hi
The medical report will need to be completed on an official Home Affairs form. The actual examination can be completed by your local GP.
Regarding the medical insurance, the legal requirement is "South African medical aid". In reality many expats are using their medical aid and ensuring that it covers them when they come to South Africa.
South Africa: Home Affairs - Urgent Update:
NEW IMMIGRATION BILL
As you may have heard, the South African Department of Home Affairs (DHA) is currently reviewing a new Immigration Bill. This new piece of legislation will affect every foreign nationals wanting to emigrate to South Africa.
The minister of Home Affairs has made it very clear of her desire for ALL applications to be submitted in the applicants home country (as opposed to allowing submissions to also happen in South Africa).
The rational behind this is to prevent those coming to South Africa on a visitors visa "falling in love” with the country and then applying for a temporary longer stay permit. It also reduces the work load and consequent backlog of applications the Department of Home Affairs has been facing for years now. Lastly (for the purpose of this announcement) it also serves as a security measure, as the various embassies can directly contact the police authorities in the respective countries and conduct a security check for selected applicants, where the embassy deems it necessary.
Whilst there is no guarantee this will become law, there is every chance it will. There has not been confirmation from Home Affairs when these changes will be implemented, but from experience, announcements from Home Affairs are very often at extremely short notice, hence our pre-emptive announcement.
HOW COULD THIS AFFECT YOU?
For those in South Africa who have yet to submit their permit application for temporary residency
If you are currently in South Africa and have yet to make your permit submission it is absolutely vital the application is concluded and submitted as soon as possible. A failure to do so could result in you having to fly back to your country of origin and submit your application there in person.
For those outside of South Africa yet to make their permit application
If you are based abroad and not yet submitted your application to the DHA we would advice that your application is submitted in your country of origin via the South African embassies and consulates. We have experienced some excellent results in terms of time frames and efficiency in
doing this and are experienced in terms of the processes required.
Summary
Every Department of Home Affairs throughout the world has the right to review its regulations and processes (as evidenced by the UK, Canada, Australia and USA in recent weeks). In this regard South Africa is no different – however many of these countries provide a courtesy period
before actioning them. South African DHA has a track record of not doing so and effecting implementation immediately.
South Africa: Money questions in South Africa:
Hi
I work for an immigration consultancy, and will gladly help.
Erin is correct that in order to open a resident account, you will need a work permit. However without a work permit (or any other kind of residency permit) you can still open a non-resident account into which no South African Rands can be deposited, only money from abroad.
But seeing that you will live in South Africa, it is best to have the work permit (before you arrive in SA) and open a resident bank account.
In terms of applying for your permit, Erin is also correct in saying that it is best to submit the application at the South African embassy. They usually take 5-10 working days. Submitting in South African can take 4-6 months!
Regarding exchange control, there are still some restrictions, but these are becoming increasingly relaxed.
As you will be paid abroad but will complete your work here, there are certain tax implications/obligations. Declaring tax and paying tax are slightly different matters, and here we recommend you speak to an expert (I can refer you to one if you wish).
If you have any other questions, please feel free to let me/us know.
Joachim Schuckmann
South Africa: Change visa in South Africa:
Hi
Yes, you are allowed to apply for a permit once in South Africa. Processing times at the moment can take a few months, so it may be better to apply in your home country.
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