Hi everyone!
So, me and my partner are both 21 and live in the UK. I am Scottish, while he South African (his parents moved to the UK when he was young). He takes a trip back to Cape Town every 2 years to visit family, and on his most recent trip, I accompanied him. We have decided that it would be a great experience to live and work there for 2 years, and see how we enjoy it! We don't know how we will find it so we are loosely saying 2 years, though it might be more or less than this.
We shall not be flying out to Cape Town as soon as possible though, as we are both still studying, and my partner still has to get his South African passport and I.D. We are rather confused about when to start applying for my visa/working visa. I have read people talking about getting a Life Partner visa, but would this allow me to work as well? How many months before we hope to leave should I start applying for a visa or should I apply now, and the visa gets held until I arrange to go to Cape Town? Sorry for my ignorance! I have never dealt with visas before.
Thank you very much for any help you can give. Shona
So, me and my partner are both 21 and live in the UK. I am Scottish, while he South African (his parents moved to the UK when he was young). He takes a trip back to Cape Town every 2 years to visit family, and on his most recent trip, I accompanied him. We have decided that it would be a great experience to live and work there for 2 years, and see how we enjoy it! We don't know how we will find it so we are loosely saying 2 years, though it might be more or less than this.
We shall not be flying out to Cape Town as soon as possible though, as we are both still studying, and my partner still has to get his South African passport and I.D. We are rather confused about when to start applying for my visa/working visa. I have read people talking about getting a Life Partner visa, but would this allow me to work as well? How many months before we hope to leave should I start applying for a visa or should I apply now, and the visa gets held until I arrange to go to Cape Town? Sorry for my ignorance! I have never dealt with visas before.
Thank you very much for any help you can give. Shona
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I was in a very similar situation to you a couple of years ago. I moved to Cape Town from London to live with my South African boyfriend and went through the whole Life Partner Visa process.
In my case, I arrived in South Africa on a tourist visa and then applied for my life partner visa. At that time it took 8 months to process, things may have improved with Home Affairs now, but you can never be sure. I have heard that applying for your permit through the South African embassy in London speeds things up as well - so maybe give that a shot.
I would say the earlier you can apply the better. There are a lot of documents that you need to have so collecting those takes a while as well. Obviously you'll have to wait for your boyfriend to have his SA ID and Passport in place beforeyou can get the ball rolling with yours.
You are allowed to work on a life partner visa. However, it is only a work endorsement not a work permit therefore the endorsement only allows you to work at a particular place. If you decide to change your job at a later stage you need to go back to Home Affairs and have them amend the paperwork.
If you decide to apply before arriving Cape Town you can move here on the Life Partner Visa and then have the work endorsement added once you've had the chance to find yourself a job.
Hope this information helps and do let me know if you have anymore questions because I am happy to help.
Good luck.
Shantalie
Thank you so much for your long reply! I learned a lot from it.
It's very interesting to hear that you were in my shoes not too long ago! My partner has applied for his passport and I.D book, but have been told that this may also take quite a long time.
I think I will apply for my Life Partner Visa in the UK. Will there be any chance I won't be granted the visa? If I am granted it, is it as simple as I fly out there, and start looking for a job, and then once I get one - apply for the work endorsment? Will any companies be unsure about hiring someone who technically isn't able to work in the country yet?
I plan on working with children in Cape Town, so does the work endorsement mean that I can only work within child care itself, or that I can only work within one specific company/buisness? So if I work in a Nursery, I can only work in that one Nursery and if I wanted to change Nurseries I'd need to go through more paper work to notify them on the change of work place or would I have to be granted a work endorsment all over again? Basically meaning I can't change jobs? Sorry if these questions seem a bit confusing.
If you don't mind me asking - what has your experience of Cape Town been so far? Have your views of Cape Town changed now that you live there, and not seeing it through "rose tinted glasses" anymore?
Shona
First, with regards to the visa - yes you can fly striaght over and look for a job or you can start looking online from the UK - the BizCommunity portal and the News24 job site are pretty good. I tried applying for jobs and lined up a few interviews before I got here, but employers do often want to interview you asap.
If you have all the correct documentation then you shouldn't have any problem or have your application rejected by Home Affairs.
The endorsement on your visa does limit you to a single employer and doesn't allow you to move jobs. If you find a different job then you have to go to Home Affairs and ask them to change the endorsement (however, many employers do let you start working as long as the endorsement has been applied for.) I have changed jobs a number of times and yest it can be a lot of hassle, but it is possible and worth it to find a job you are happy with.
My views on Cape Town have certainly changed since I moved here. When I spent time here as a tourist I only the positive side of life. I still love Cape Town and the lifestyle here - there is so much natural beauty and its great to be outdoors exploring this great country. There are also lots of festivals and events taking place which are good for keeping you entertained.
However, there are downsides to life in Cape Town as well. Transport is a bit of an issue. I came from London where I was used to getting about everywhere by bus and tube. In Cape Town you really need to drive to get about easily, Depending on where you choose to live there is a new MiCity bus being set up which should help. I also had to get used to how things here take much longer than in the UK - for instance setting up my bank account was quite a tough experience as there was a lot of bureacracy to go through. Then I would say that wages are low in comparison to the UK and certain goods like electronics and clothing are way more expensive, which means you have lower disposable income. However, I found by making a few lifestyle adjustments such as doing more outdoor activities instead of spending my time shopping and in bars and clubs, I have been able to settle in just fine.
If you want an overview of expat life in Cape Town take a look at the Expat Arrivals Cape Town City Guide. It should help you get a feel for the place. You might also find it useful to take a look at some Expat Experiences of South Africa and learn from the experiences of other foreigners her.
Again, do let me know if you have any more questions regarding life in Cape Town.
Cheers,
Shantalie
Yes if you are coming into South Africa on a tourist visa you need a return ticket or another flight out of the country within 90 days of your arrival.
I booked a ticket with Emirates and for a fee of GBP 75 I was able to change the flight to a later date - once I had started the visa process in SA.
Good luck,
Shantalie
So you need to apply for your Life Partner (or any visa for that matter) 30 days before the tourist visa runs. As Home Affairs says that any visa should be processed within 30 days, technically this means there shouldn't really be a gap where you a left with no valid visa at all.
However, in reality this is not the case. There was about a 7 month gap where I didn't have a valid visa. This makes things really difficult in some respect because you can't work, open a bank account or do much. Also, you may experience problems when leaving the country or trying to re-enter. Home Affairs doesn't communicate well with immigration at the airport - so the immigration officers at the airport will just think you have overstayed.
The solution to this problem is to visit your nearest Home Affairs office, they can issue you with a Form 20, which indicates that you have sumbitted a visa application which is pending. They will however warn you that there is only a 50/50 chance that this will be accepted by the immigration officer so you might be issued with a fine when trying to leave the country (you can apply for a refund later - but that is probably also going to be a long drawn out process)
So other than that I am afraid you have to sit tight and wait.
Hope this helps and do let me know if you have anymore questions..
Shantalie
Its really hard to give time frames on how long visas and endorsements take to process. I applied for my endorsement with my initial application, so I did in one go and it took 8 months first time around. When I changed jobs, they took 3 weeks to process the endorsement.
But I here varying stories, so it really is a waiting game. Some employers are willing to employ a person as long as they have proof that they have made the application and are simply waiting for it to be processed, so it is definatley worth speaking to your employer.
Good luck,
Shantalie
The requirement for the work endorsement on a life partner permit for South Africa are not the same as for the regular work permit.
You do not need to submit a list of candidates, newspaper advert, etc. Basically, the way Home Affairs see it is that you are in South Africa to be with your boyfriend not primarily to work. You simply need an offer letter from the employer.
Remember that is you choose to change jobs you will need to reaplly for the endorsement.
Technically, there was a ruling to say that if Home Affairs hadn't given you an outcome on your application within 30 days then you would be able to start work. However, you need to have your employer recognise this and most companies will not. The company I was working for when I first got here were very strict and wouldn't allow me to start work till the visa came through. I've heard of others that do though.
Also, you can't open a bank account without the paperwork (but you probably already have a SA bank account, so this should not be too much of an issue.)
You are able to stay in the country once you have submitted the papers. You will be given a receipt to prove that you have a visa application in process. Just be sure to submit everything 30 days before the old permit is due to expire.
Good luck and let me know if you have any more questions.
Shantalie
The type of visa you go for will depend on your primary reason for being in South Africa. A Life Partner Visa will let you reside in South Africa with your partner who must be a South African citizen and on top of that it allows you to get an endorsement to work in the country or start a business (NB it is not a work permit as such, each time you change your job you need to return to Home Affairs to change the endorsement.)
A study permit on the other hand is solely based on you being enrolled in a course at a South African educational establishment. Remember this visa will only allow you to work for up to 20 hours a week.
One thing to note is that Home Affairs will not allow you to submit a application if you already have one in process. So if your Life Partner visa is already pending you must wait for the outcome before applying for a study permit to replace it.
For more information I suggest reading the Expat Arrivals page on Visas for South Africa.
Hope this helps.
Shantalie
Unfortunately, I can't give you an exact time frame when it comes to visa processing for South Africa. However, I am told it is much faster applying from your home country than from within South Africa.
Usually the authorities quote 4-6 weeks but it could take longer depending on the application its self.
Kind Regards,
Shantalie
I am not 100% sure how the system works in London. Things have changed a bit since I applied for my permit back in 2010.
However, if you get the job offer after applying for your visa then I am afraid you do need to return to Home Affairs to get your work endorsement. The fact that you already have your Life Partner visa should help speed things up, but as always with Home Affairs its hard to give you an exact time frame.
If you visit Home Affairs, they should give you a list of what documents you will need for the work endorsement. As this list changes on a regular basis its best to check with them directly.
Good luck,
Shantalie
From my experience, if you've submitted your application and Home Affairs have accepted it, it is pretty much a waiting game from then on. There is nothing that an immigration consultant can do to push it through or track it faster than you can. You would need to check with the company themselves for their rates but I shopped around and found that most immigration companies will charge you at least R8,000 for their services. It won't be worth your while, as you've done most of the work yourself.
Technically, you should be able to track the progress online but it never worked for me. For months, I checked that site everyday and it always told me the visa application was 'PENDING'.
I went into Home Affairs myself and asked them to track it. They told me that my application had been sitting in Cape Town for 8 weeks even before it reached Pretoria, so that accounted for some of the delay. So maybe see if you can get some assistance from Home Affairs, yourself.
Hope this helps. Fingers crossed you get your permit soon.
Shantalie
As Anonymous said above expats do have different experiences at different Home Affairs offices.
For both my initial application and my renewal I went through the central Cape Town office in the CBD. The first time round I went through an immigration consultant and the application took 8 months to be processed. 2nd time round, I saved myself some money submitted the papers myself and I had approval in 3 weeks. I am not sure wether things have improved though, as I know there are expats who are still waiting months for renewals, etc.
When I was waiting for my initial Life Partner visa to be approved in 2010 the immigration consultant I was using produced a document that highlighted a court ruling that stated that if Home Affairs hadn't given someone a verdict on their application within 30 days as promised, then the applicant was allowed to start work after those 30 days had passed (so, they basically the court ruled it was a violation of a persons human rights to have them waiting for an indefinate period of time without an answer and not allowing them to start working). You will obviously need to do some research to see what the situation is now, 3 years on.
However, it is totally up to the company whether they choose to uphold this ruling. The company I was hired by at the time said that they needed an official letter from Home Affairs (not the immigration consultant) specifically saying that this ruling was applicable in my case. Obviously, when I went back to Home Affairs and asked for this there was noone who could help.
I was phoning up Home Affairs every other day as well and experienced the same level of service.
I have admit that using a immigration consultant does offer some peace of mind in that you know you've paid someone to take care of your application. However, in my experience unless the consultant has a contact within Home Affairs that can speed up your application, they really can't do much more than you can.
Having sat at the Home Affairs on many occasions and having had lots of chat to the consultants while waiting in the queue, the only thing I've seen is that because they deal with multiple applications, they can jump the queue a bit. In my opinion, it wasn't worth paying R8,000 for . At the end of the day though its a personal decision.
Best of luck.
Shantalie
R650 is not a bad price to pay. Plus, it can't do any harm having another person also working on your application.
Fingers crossed everything works out soon.
Shantalie
You need to go to Home Affairs and ask them to give you a Form 20, which states that you have applied for your visa in good time but have not received an outcome.
You will then need to show this to an immigration official at the airport.
While some people have used this form successfully, there have also been instances where the form was not accepted at the airport and people were made to pay a fine. If this happens in your case, you can apply for a refund once your permit does come through.
Good luck,
Shantalie
I hadn't lived with my boyfriend formerly, before moving to SA in 2010. They won't ask you to prove that you have. Although you will be asked for 3 letters from friends and family, verifying that the relationship is genuine.
You will however need to prove that you are moving to South Africa to live with him. So you will need to either provide a joint rental contract or a letter from him saying that you will be residing at his property.
Hope that clears things up. Let me know if you have any more questions.
When I changed jobs all I needed was a letter from the new employer offering me a position. There is no need for them to prove they could not employ an SA citizen, when you are on LPP. I also just needed to sign a form to say my other documents were handed in with my initial application.
However, the whole system had an overhaul on the 1st of the April and it is unclear how the requirements have changed. So I don't know for certain if the requirements will be the same as when I applied for the change of endorsement.
Sorry I can't give you anymore concrete information.
Good luck
Shantalie
I really can't give you a realistic estimate on how long your permit will take to come through. Some take just 3 weeks other times people can be waiting 2 years with no information.
The visa process in South Africa has undergone some significant changes since April 2014 - and now VFS are in charge of processing visas. We are yet to see whether this will speed up or slow down the process.
All you can do now is continue waiting and following up as you are doing.
Shantalie