Expert Info

Posted by
on 5 Nov 2013
We are planning to move to South Africa for retirement. Should we use an immigration practitioner and if so which ones are good?
Anonymous (not verified) on 5 Nov 2013 - 09:22
Hi Rob and Jackie,

I moved to South Africa 3 years ago and used a immigration consultant to assist with obtaining a visa. The company I used was called intergate.

In hindsight, I realise that if I had done a bit more research I could have gone through the process myself without paying an immigration consultant to do the work. There are lots of people that apply for the visa themselves sucesssfully every year.

However, the advantage of having a immigration practiocioner working with you is that they will save you time and tell you exactly what documents you need. The Department of Home Affairs are notorious for changing the erquirements for visa applications on a whim, which can be frustrating. You'll turn up at home affairs ready to submit, only to be told that you need a document in another format, etc. It can be very frustrating and having a professional deal with your case will remove some of the stress.

Regardless, even by using a immigration consultant, my initial application still took about 8 months to process, so don't expect to have your application fast tracked just because you've paid a fee.

Most immigration companies will charge up from R6,000 per application. But it really depends on the type of visa process.

Many consultants will also be able to help you with other things like opening a bank account, buying property and shipping your goods over as well.

I suggest you take a look at the Visas for South Africa page as part of your research and then approach various immigration companies to see where you can get the best deal.

Shantalie

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