Spouse/temporary visa

Old Dec 6th 2007, 6:54 pm
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Default Spouse/temporary visa

Hello kids, not sure if anyone has any first hand experience of applying for visas to come into SA, but I'm guessing it's a long process so best to plan ahead.
I'll be moving there around March 2009, and want to know what would be the best visa to apply for. I would have been with my SA boyf for over a year by then, in which case what sort of evidence would I need to provide? What is the best visa for finding jobs with?
Hope you guys can help!
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Old Dec 6th 2007, 8:42 pm
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Default Re: Spouse/temporary visa

Best go to South Africa house in London (if you live in the UK or contact your local embassy) and enquire about a work permit.

Last edited by TigerOC; Dec 6th 2007 at 8:44 pm.
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Old Dec 7th 2007, 8:13 am
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Default Re: Spouse/temporary visa

I agree with Tiger.

Also check out SA Dept of Home Affairs on the web, as presumably your bf has told you.

You will not be granted a work permit up front, nor will you get Permanent Residence. You would have to go on a tourist visa (3 months), find a job, then persuade the employer to sponsor you for a work permit. This they are reluctant to do unless you have some key, expensive, unobtainable skill. They have to demonstrate that such skills are not available locally, quite apart from the bureaucratic hassle.

Your bf is clearly not yet your spouse. I suppose you could marry him and apply on the grounds that you are his wife. I don't think one year will be considered as indication of "life partnership" by anyone.

Last edited by Pablo; Dec 7th 2007 at 8:23 am.
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Old Dec 7th 2007, 12:07 pm
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Default Re: Spouse/temporary visa

How likely am I to get a job of value when I'm on a tourist visa? Would I be better off to apply for a job whilst I'm out of the country?
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Old Dec 7th 2007, 12:18 pm
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Default Re: Spouse/temporary visa

Originally Posted by amb
How likely am I to get a job of value when I'm on a tourist visa? Would I be better off to apply for a job whilst I'm out of the country?

Does your boyfriend and his family in SA give you no guidance on any of this kind of stuff?

Look, it's kind of chicken and egg. No one is going to offer a job to someone who is not in the country unless (typically) that person is some high-level skilled person (for example a senior electricity grid engineer).

You can go on a tourist visa, which is valid for 3 months, and you can hawk your way round trying to get a job. But employers will run a mile when they discover you don't have a work permit or Permanent Residence. Think about it. Why should they go to the cost and hassle? They have to deal with the bureaucracy (always a nightmare), they have to demonstrate that the skills are not available locally, and then they have to wait. And wait. And wait.

And then you might just up and go, and all their effort is wasted.

Furthermore, a work permit is valid *only* for a specific job. No other. So if someone with a work permit tries to change jobs, they have to apply again.

If it is turned down, you have to leave.

It's all on the web, somewhere on the Home Affairs site, and probably elsewhere too. Do some research.
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Old Dec 7th 2007, 1:10 pm
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Default Re: Spouse/temporary visa

I have done some research thanks but it's all very confusing. Oddly enough, my SA boyf doesn't know about obtaining an SA visa.
Why has everyone got the largest possible stick up their bum about SA?
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Old Dec 7th 2007, 1:18 pm
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Default Re: Spouse/temporary visa

Originally Posted by amb
I have done some research thanks but it's all very confusing.
What has confused you? What have you researched so far?

Oddly enough, my SA boyf doesn't know about obtaining an SA visa.
Is this sarcasm?

Here's some more suggestions. Contact the SA High Commission in London. Or, since phone calls are so cheap nowadays to SA, look up a couple of employment agencies based in SA and phone them and ask them. Or phone the HR dept of a big SA-based company and see if you can get some guidance there.

Or, if you have specific questions, then instead of mouthing off, ask the specific questions and I will try to answer some of them myself.

And since you have said previously that you are going to SA in a few days/weeks' time, you can also do some legwork while you're there.

Why has everyone got the largest possible stick up their bum about SA?
Is this a sexual thing?

Last edited by Pablo; Dec 7th 2007 at 1:22 pm.
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Old Dec 7th 2007, 1:56 pm
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Default Re: Spouse/temporary visa

Originally Posted by amb
I have done some research thanks but it's all very confusing.
South Africa is not like the UK. There is a serious over-supply of ordinary labour. i.e. there is lots more labour than there are jobs. Also there is affirmative action legislation in place meaning that the priority for being given a job is rated on race and sex. The weighted ratings are (highest to lowest); black female, black male, coloured (mixed race) or asian female, coloured or asian male, white female and white male. The RSA Government is going to ensure that citizens are given priority in the labour market.

Basically what we are telling you is that unless you have a degree in something specialised like engineering, medicine or similar you don't have a hope of being issued with a work permit. If you have the aforementioned qualifications they will grant you permanent residence because they need your skills. Happened with me moving to South Africa. Because I was a Pharmacist with a South African degree they immediately issued me with a permanent residence permit. The firm that employed me still had to prove that they couldn't recruit locally.

Also the RSA is old school and do not recognise co-habitation as a spousal qualification. (neither does the UK, in terms of immigration). You will be evaluated as an individual and the fact that you live with your b/f means nothing to them.

Oddly enough, my SA boyf doesn't know about obtaining an SA visa.
Well he wouldn't because he is an RSA national. If he had no entry qualification for the UK the same thing would apply.
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Old Dec 7th 2007, 2:26 pm
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Default Re: Spouse/temporary visa

Originally Posted by amb
I have done some research thanks but it's all very confusing. Oddly enough, my SA boyf doesn't know about obtaining an SA visa.
Why has everyone got the largest possible stick up their bum about SA?
South africa is a beautiful country to visit, but unfortunately quite difficult to immigrate to....there is very high unemployment, and pressure on jobs internally as well as from many migrants from other african countries..this eans that apart from highly skilled workers with companies backing their moves to sough africa, it is difficulat to get a job and workpermit...

I left SA 6 yrs ago, so i can relate to many ex south africans posting on here....Many people who left south africa did so for a reason, and this means you possibly get a skewed result in terms of peoples perceptions of south africa, but the fact remains many people had very bad experiences which prompted them to leave, so u will have to accept their views as relevant, even if it isnt what you want to hear.....

if youre comitted to make this work with your bf, and you are serious about moving to a new country look into a spousal visa, i dont know the details but that should be a start.

the home affairs website should give you some indication of what is needed.

you would be unlikely to fond a job on a tourist visa imo, remember this is a country with an official unemployment rate of 25% (which doesnt count those not looking for work, those in the informal sector, those under-employed, etc) and 50% of the population below the poverty line.

that said, if you do make it work for you, have a great time, but be wary and security concious....

good luck whatever you decide...
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Old Dec 7th 2007, 2:53 pm
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Default Re: Spouse/temporary visa

Originally Posted by amb
I'll be moving there around March 2009
I think the political and economic landscape in SA will have shifted enormously by then. Be very cautious about moving any savings over there, and make sure you have two contingency plans, one for getting out fast, and one for simply not going there at all.
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Old Dec 7th 2007, 3:17 pm
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Default Re: Spouse/temporary visa

A lot of info is covered on the website
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Old Dec 7th 2007, 8:33 pm
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Default Re: Spouse/temporary visa

Thanks very much newkiwi, we are looking into other countries, but he can't stay in the UK so we need to go somewhere while we figure it all out and wait for a more permenant solution. I'm not really keen to bum around on a tourist visa so praps I ought to have a looksee for jobs and see what's out there. I've got a year to get into a more niche market anyway.
Or maybe you'll all get your wedding invites in the post!
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Old Dec 9th 2007, 2:29 pm
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Default Re: Spouse/temporary visa

Hi Amb

I think I replied to one of your posts before and explained the difficulty in getting spousal visas.
In order to apply for permanent residency (which allows you to work without the employer having to prove that local skills are not available), you need to be married and they recently changed the law to say you had to be married for at least 5 years.
We applied just before this rule came into effect (we'd only been married a few months but lived together for years). It still took nearly 2 years for the PR to be granted.
I got a job a few weeks after arriving, found it fairly easy although on less than half my UK salary, I work in a fairly specialised industry (research) and have a Masters degree so I guess I'm fairly qualified.
You can come on a tourist visa and try and get sponsored but I honestly don't think an employer will want to deal with the red tape - home affairs is in an appalling state (been told I have to wait 8 months to a year before I can get a ID book which would allow me to have a bank account or car in my name).
Your best bet is to try and get boyfriend sponsored to stay in the UK much easier, or are you still young enough to get a WHV in Oz or NZ, you'll have a much better chance of getting sponsored over there.
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Old Dec 9th 2007, 4:45 pm
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Default Re: Spouse/temporary visa

Thanks for the advice, it seems for a UK Spousal visa we'd have to have been living together for 2 years, which we can't possibly do, so we were hoping to make up the time in SA with me there on a temporary of some kind.
Oz is our long term plan but I don't think we've got enough work experience so we need somewhere we can both be happy and get our heads down til a few years have passed. He is swinging round to the idea of staying in the UK, and if SA spousal visas are tough to get hold of that only helps my case! Although it doesn't help anything if he can't stay here!
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Old Dec 10th 2007, 4:58 am
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Default Re: Spouse/temporary visa

Originally Posted by amb
Thanks very much newkiwi, we are looking into other countries, but he can't stay in the UK so we need to go somewhere while we figure it all out and wait for a more permenant solution. I'm not really keen to bum around on a tourist visa so praps I ought to have a looksee for jobs and see what's out there. I've got a year to get into a more niche market anyway.
Or maybe you'll all get your wedding invites in the post!

Perhaps you could offer some info instead of us all operating in guess mode. That is, why don’t you share some more info about the skills that you and bf have.

That way we could at least advise you as informed to your situation.

You tend to ask short questions that have endless possibilities of answers and you seem to be short fused when members ask you for further information or suggest you do the homework yourself.

Personally I would suggest that you actually do the research yourself as this would indicate a far more series focus on your behalf. This way if you are ever asked in for a personal interview you will have the answers.

Also if you do go for interviews with companies they will be expecting you to do some research on the company background. So perhaps it will be a good exercise for you to practise.

It may also be an idea if you put up an introduction about yourself here.
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