JasmineJones85

Hi all,

I'm 28 and have never been to SA but I have a trip planned for December. I am your typical love story, met a fantastic man who is from Randburg and we want to start a life in SA together. I don't want to marry for any reason other than love so looking to get a specialist work permit from my IT role a functional consultant/business analyst specialising in CRM systems.

So advice needed desperately if you can relate or have been through this before!

Jobs and Permits
I am getting nowhere as still awaiting the new specialist skills list (I think due out sometime in November?!?!?). Has anyone been through this process before? I feel so lost on everything... Should I look for a role while out there... Recruiters seem to want you to have a permit before they look while to get a permit you need a job....????

General life in SA
What should I know about life out there? The good the bad the ugly please!?! I do know about some of the problems but hope I can make a even a small difference by giving back to the community. I regularly volunteer in London and would love to continue volunteering and supporting the community in my new area -anyone know of any charities to get involved with?

The actual move
Is it best to ship or fly- generally I will only be taking over clothes and shoes! any ideas?

As you can probably tell I'm just after any advice at this stage so please reply to this post if you have done the same or have any advice for me in any form!

Thanks!!!

JJ

MartynK

Hi JJ

Most of SA shuts down and grinds to a halt during December because it's "leave" season and the schools are on their long summer break. Things only start getting back to normal around the second or third week of January, so it's not a good time to explore work opportunities. Joburg (Randburg is part of Joburg) is comparatively quiet, and you won't get any sense of the horrendous traffic and commuting problems either.

Frankly, I think you're jumping the gun thinking about emigrating to a country you've never visited, particularly if you have a decent job in the UK. South African employers have to overcome a series of obstacles - including state inertia and general incompetence - to motivate employing an expat, so getting a work permit may not be simple or straightfoward.

If I was in your position, I'd just come for a visit and see what you think. Contact some employment agencies and companies while you're here, but don't expect a lot of progress in December. Try to get down to the coast for a few days if you can. Just remember that coming on holiday - particularly if you're with someone you love - isn't quite the same as living here!

I'll try to help with any specific questions you have, but you'll be in a better position to ask them once you've been here.

ededed

Hi Jasmine, welcome to BE and the South African forum.

Martyn has covered a lot of what I'd say too, but I would add the following:

1. Getting a job is impossible without a work permit. Companies here won't sponsor a work permit unless you have very rare skills. Your best bet maybe an accompanying spouse visa. Not sure how long you have been together (and you may need to be actually married or in a civil partnership). I am assuming your chap is South African? (I know he is from Randburg - but he could be Malawian or Zimbabwean ). May be a non-starter, but worth a look.
2. You can come as a tourist for 3 months. After that you have to leave unless you get an extension. If you don't, you run the risk of being deported (unlikely) or refused entry when you come back to SA having left (or problems when you try and leave in the first place). It simply isn't worth it. Customs - despite looking and acting like the walking dead - are pretty jacked and would love nothing more than to send a pesky pom away with tears in their eyes.
3. If you do come, live as a local and don't sit by the pool for 3 months. Commute to work, go shopping, do some drunk driving, watch the local news and go for dinner and to movies - it will give you a feel for the vibe of the place. Some love it, some hate it. Some (ie.me) are still undecided.
4. Some general views on SA (but take time to read the threads here - lots of opinions on BE). It's a beautiful country run by the lazy, greedy and incompetent - not as cheap as it used to be, but still a good standard of living if you earn a good salary (R50k per month+). Cars are expensive, food and clothes are averagely priced, eating out is fairly cheap. Housing is still much cheaper than the UK. The weather is amazing, the traffic is awful (even in Randburg - Martyn, do you know some shortcuts?). Crime is a problem if you are unlucky or careless. Unfortunately, it doesn't distinguish between the 2. We've been here 11 years and never had a problem, but many, many others have. Don't underestimate it.
5. Volunteering is no problem - the SPCA and orphanages are always looking for assistance. But you will still need a visa if you are here past 3 months.

Hope this helps a little - feel free to ask any specific questions and we'll do our best to answer. Good luck - hope it works out for you both.

Cheers

Ed

MartynK

Hi Ed

I agree. They're cracking down on expats and their partners working without the necessary permit, and it's difficult to get a prospective employer to support the application unless you have something special to offer that makes it worth their while. Permits for fixed term contracts are usually easier, particularly if you work for an overseas company.

Randburg shortcuts? Depends where you want to go and when but, sure, I know a few. Trouble is too many other people have discovered them, and you still hit bottlenecks unless you're very lucky.

Just to add to your comments on cost of living. Broadband is slow and expensive compared with overseas, consumer electronics are pricey and the choice is usually limited, and cellphone costs are outrageous!

ededed

3 hours to work this morning. Malibongwe is a disaster. Taxis cutting in at the last minute and using the yellow lane, and cops hiding round the corner to catch you without a seatbelt but ignoring your previous near-death experience. Awful. I ride a bike when I can. Mind you, that's not always the best idea.

Yeah - I forgot that. I pay R750 per month for Telkom ADSL which is supposed to be 4g/s but in reality it's more like 2.

The company pays my cellphone bill (R4k a month) but I pay my wife's - not a big user but clocks up R1k every month. And that includes 30% of calls dropping and an inability to get anything but EDGE in my house. When it's fast, it's ok. More often than not, it isn't.

Tegwyn

Oh boy, going into this country cold without any concept of the country and challenges are not the best of ideas. Has your beloved told you anything about life in SA, and is he living there now, or with you in the UK? You really need to go over and spend some time to decide whether this is something that can work for you before you give up everything in the UK for the big move over. This is a life altering experience which can be both exhilarating but extremely challenging. You need to be sure this is the step you want to take with a more conscious awareness of the choices you are about to make.


Off topic, Ed the moderator????: scarper:

Pablo

The immoderate moderator, bless him.

Mitzyboy

It's a frightening thought, isn't it

chedylan

I got a temp residency spousal visa with endorsement once i had a job offer.

we are not married so had to provide lots of evidence we are a couple, as they call it 'life partner'. Although having a child together counted for dick.

It took about 6/7 weeks to be processed in London, but the docs needed to submit took far longer to collect

I had a job offer before i came out, but you can get the endorsement to work added to the visa once you are here. You need a job offer to get that added, and I believe takes around the same time.

I got a perm residency now through my son, which was actually a lot less paperwork, although a considerably longer wait.

perhaps you can get special skills visa with your skills, CRM. Depends how experienced you are. I can tell you there is a shortage of high end specialists in that sector.

I came here twice on holiday over a couple of years (joburg specifically), before I decided I would like to try living here.

Attempting to move 'blind', sounds a bit of a random roll of the dice tbh. It could freak you out, i was at first on my first visit, and to think you might feel 'stuck here' could tip you over the edge and send you packing prematurely!

I feel unless you have already relocated to a new country before, it would be risky.

enjoy the delights of Randburg on a trip first (although maybe not the cbd )

If you feel at home after a few weeks, consider your options...

MartynK

The OP hasn't been back. I wonder how her visit went? Being in love with someone in another country is a complication though..........

Anyway, I was chatting to a friend of mine who runs a salon the other day and she mentioned a few things her expat clients talk about, that most of us just take for granted.

The lifestyle is very different from the UK. Most people live in suburban "fortresses" with high walls and remote controlled gates, or gated communities/cluster developments with security. There's none of the casual visiting and just knocking on someone's door that people overseas are used to.

Most areas don't have public transport so shopping, getting kids to school and social activities mean taking a car. Shopping is in big, US style, malls and suburban centres, not in the "high street". Going to the "pub" is very different too. There's no pub culture as such, there aren't very many, and you can't walk to get there, you have to drive.

Internet shopping is in its infancy, and Amazon don't ship to SA (other than books/music/videos) because of the theft risk.

None of these bother me, but they do seem to take some expats by surprise.

ededed

And some of the good ones close down without any warning, hey Martyn?

Tegwyn

Ja, just typical man. You blerry South Efrikens come along and tip a girl's world upside down and then make a groot gemors! I'm sommer running away before a certain mod gets here...

MartynK

Think I've got a pretty good idea what you're referring to, Ed

ededed

And brakpan misses you too, darling xx

Still, we had a nice evening out in Mozambique, didn't we?

Tegwyn

So glad you miss me.