Pyromaniac

Hi people

Sorry for the long post.

So basically I'd like to move to South Africa to be with my boyfriend, we met online 4 years ago and have spoken since, never really been official because of the distance but he finished school around a year ago and moved to northern Ireland to come meet me, he came to play club rugby as a means of meeting me and has already been here 6 months but will return home in the new year. We are serious and have spoken about me moving over to both sides of the families. He'll be 20 and I'll be 19 by the time I plan to move.

So in around 8 months time I will be finishing my A-levels and after that I'd like to move over and study at Uni, specifically to go into education to become a teacher is the plan.

Financially we are okay with this, he comes from a wealthy family so his parents could help out if we needed it but he has also made a lot of money for himself and is really smart with his money vs the average guy his age thanks to his fathers influence.

So some questions are:
- Once I move over, will I be able to get a south African bank account for normal use and take a loan if needed? Or will I have to keep my Bank of Ireland account? (I know I said his parents could help out but he'd rather be independent of them).

- Will I be able to get a drivers licence once there or will I need to get a British one before coming over? Or can I do either of the two.

- I'll need to get a student visa obviously, but after living with him for two years will I be able to apply for a Life Partner visa within South Africa?

Also any advice is welcome.

Thanks for reading and merry Christmas

sircharles

did you get any responses to your post?
I have an international drivers licence and have been told that is just fine (apply at your local post office before you leave Ireland)
I believe you need to have a work permit and be earning money before you are allowed to have a local bank account, but I might be wrong.
my understanding is that you will need to be with your boyfriend for a lot longer than 2 years to get the life partner visa, but again I might be wrong - there were rule changes last year.

why dont you come over when you come to uni here and just wait to see what will happen? The rules change every few years so no point making too many plans based on that!!

btw where does he want to live when you come over here? that might change your view of whether you really want to come here. it is a bit backward and feminism even in a mild form has not arrived yet either...... & remember just because you have money here that does not mean you are wealthy. You have to pay for everything and international travel for a south african earning rands in EXPENSIve. Whatever you do always make sure you have either a valid return ticket or enough money back home to buy yourself a ticket home if you need one. SA is not for everyone, with or without Love, and it would not be nice to be stuck here unable to get home.

happy new year!

ededed

Morning Pyromaniac, sorry for the delay in writing - I've been relocating myself so missed your post in the chaos. Thanks to sircharles for the reply too. My 2c below:

You don't say this, but I assume he's South African?

I don't know about student visas, but from a quick look at Department of Home Affairs - Applying for a South African Visa it seems the maximum study visa is 3 months. I don't believe you can get naturalized unless you have been married for 2 years, I think it is more like 5 years, I also don't know if common-law wives count. If you were Zulu and wife number 4 you'd be fine.

Getting a bank account is generally impossible without an ID book, and you can't get that without residency. If you aren't earning money you can keep your European bank account and use ATMs and debit cards to pay for stuff. A hassle, but workable.

There are a bunch of threads on the African forum about converting driving licenses. Bottom line is that in your situation, you can't.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/south...an-one-659603/

And

http://britishexpats.com/forum/south...icense-782450/

Sircharles - you can drive on an IDP for one year. Problem is, cops in SA are incompetent, corrupt and lazy - and any licence other than an SA one will be met with the request of a bribe and the assertation that you are illegal and have to be locked up unless you pay one - in the hope you won't call their bluff and are too scared to refuse. You should refuse and they will, every time, shrug and let you go. Every time.

Good luck, please don't hesitate to ask if you need any other information.

Pyromaniac

To sircharles

As with the local bank accounts, FNB, ABSA etc all offer bank accounts for international students. I saw this on their official pages, however the accounts have certain restrictions such as not being able to send money back to the UK, only being able to receive money from the UK and SA bank accounts etc. So I can make that work.

We plan to live in George, in the Garden Route as this is his hometown, I can study my course at the town's local university and it seems to be a lovely part of the country to live in from what I have seen and heard of, he admits there is some pity crime but nothing like what happens in the larger cities. We'll live there until I finish my degree and then we would most likely move to Cape Town or Jo'burg when we get "serious" with our careers.

I do know, before I come into the country, I have to give a deposit equal to that of a return ticket, or have a sponsor saying they will pay for me on behalf if I ever wish to leave.

Happy new year to you as well.

To ededed:

Sorry for leaving that out, yes he is indeed South African.


It is weird you see the 3 months length (webpage won't load for some reason) where I have read that a South African Student visa will last for the duration of the course, which is 3 years.

"Study visas are valid for the duration of the course for which they are issued, alternatively 36 months for school and 24 months for other institutions." This is generally what I seen been said the most.

As said earlier, the bank accounts don't seem to be an issue anymore but your solution is also totally workable, so thank you for that

You make mention that I can drive on my UK drivers for 5 years in your one thread just no cop knows that? Can I solely use that and just outright deny the bribe? But also get an IDP if I ever need to buy a car?
I'm no rush to buy a car however, as my boyfriend will let me use his to go to uni and such and the town has recently introduced a very good public bus system in the last two months.

Thanks very much for the response.

ededed

Hey Pyromaniac,

You've clearly done good research, well done. You'll need all the information you can gather as help from the authorities in SA is in short supply.

Your boyfriend is right in that George is safer than Joburg or CT, but don't be fooled into thinking it is 100% safe. If you are sensible you should be fine. You still need to be unlucky to be a victim in SA, but staying in the right areas and having obvious common sense will help you avoid most of the trouble you may read about. Having a rugby-playing boyfriend should help too (assuming he's a big lad, of course!)

George is beautiful, I've been there a few times. You'll love it there.

I didn't know the banks had student accounts for foreigners, so that's a good thing. They are very tight on opening accounts due to local FICA regulations. You need 2xproof of address, Photo ID and the like. It's well regulated but can be a pain as you scrabble around trying to get stuff. FNB are the best of a very bad bunch, high fees, average service, rubbish interest rates although the website and self service is quite good.

You will struggle to buy a car (with finance) on a UK driving licence and an IDP won't really help you either. Buying one cash will be fine, but insurance is also a problem with a UK licence. If you get stuck I have a broker who can source a policy for you. Insurance isn't mandatory there, but having had cars pinched I would recommend it. Make sure your boyfriend gets you a cellphone, especially if you are traveling by bus. I wouldn't want my daughter using any public transport in SA.

I have tried to copy and paste from the government website, but it is down right now (maybe it's been load-shed?). It's there on page one, but I didn't do a full deep dive into it, so as with most pieces of government advice it could be wrong, misleading or out of date. Whoever you deal with at home affairs will make an arbitrary decision based on their mood anyway.

Denying bribes is your call. Most people pay them because R50 is not worth the hassle of being potentially arrested and released 6 hours later which is the threat if you don't pay up. They hang around near McDonalds and broken traffic lights knowing you'll buy them a Big Mac rather than face arrest for jumping a stop sign. Pitiful really, but if you have the time and energy (and balls) then you can stand up to them. Follow @pigspotter on Twitter for a view on driving in Joburg - he tells you where the traps are, but also shows photos of what driving standards are like, and exposes cops who take bribes. I also wouldn't be in a rush to move out of George - everyone else is trying to move there from CT or Joburg.

Go into this move with a strong will and a sense of humour. South Africans are awesome people, but the ones that work for the government are lazy, feckless and dishonest and will drive you insane with their idiocy and attitude - be prepared.

Pyromaniac

Hi again

It is weird you say that because he is a really large guy so the fact you say that does ease my mind :P

Well he has told me that walking down certain streets is a "no no" and outright won't let me do it as things like muggings are still common in certain areas.

He has already arranged all the needed things like a cellphone as you mentioned and will be giving me a bottle of pepper spray and potential a taser if I still feel unsafe when the time comes. I was also skeptic about the public bus system in George, but he has told me how it is a privately owned small business, that allows has a security guard on the bus at all times so I do feel more comfortable about it.

I'll also take your advice with all the other stuff you mentioned

Another question I have, that I can't seem to find an answer to is, obviously I will need to apply for the South African Visa abroad here in the UK, is the embassy in London my only option? Or could I go to the one in Scotland say? I have tried phoning them but they do not answer...

Perhaps you might know?

Other than that my last issue is the South African university still has not replied to my e-mail, which I sent 3 weeks ago but that is out of my control...

All in all though, I am very excited to make this transition and it is really reassuring to here another person speak about South Africa/George as you do

ededed

I believe the only place that can issue visas is London, but I could be wrong. There used to be a phone number you dialed, that cost £1 a minute - you were forced to listen to a recording on a 9 minute call, and then it gave you a date and time for your interview, and if that wasn't suitable, tough shit, you had to dial again (and it often gave you the same date and time choice - awesome).

Get used to people not answering phones at government offices, that's the de facto status of all South Africna embassies and consular departments. Also get ready for apathy bordering on rudeness if you do get to speak to someone. I would suggest if you go to London, take your boyfriend with you and get him to speak in a thick Afrikaans accent. For some reason they take kindly to you if you know you are going "home" with someone. It worked for me. (My wife isn't a hulking rugby player but played on her South African accent and it opened doors).

Finally, guessing he was a big lad wasn't hard. If he's from George, and plays rugby, he's probably 120Kgs and 190cms tall. They're all like that down there - that's why there's no crime. Lads like him give the bad guys a poesklap. Ask him what that is - he'll agree.

CoxSA

Hi there... South Africa is great... it is a fantastic experience for a short term adventure.... However... We as a family of 5 are ready to leave this beautiful country due to 2 main reasons... Safety & Opportunities !!

I want my teenage children to know what it is like to live in a country where you can enjoy basic daily freedom & security ie: walk to school / no living behind bars & electric fences - My Husband is a weekly patroller / security volunteer to keep our area safer.... this is not normal living... stress levels are so high in SA ... there is so much aggression & driving on these roads.... that's another story .... Absolutely terrifying !!! The amount of money one as to pay for insurance says it all !!!

There are no opportunities here for youngsters... most leave school, and are very lucky if they get a spot at Uni due to BEE ... Not easy for young people to get jobs here either....

I grow up in the UK & yes I know it is not the same as it was... but no where is... the whole world has changed.... But SA is a very scary place to be right now, If I was in your shoes... I would get my SA Rugby playing boyfriend to come to the UK & play Rugby there....

At least from the UK travelling the world is easy.... SA is soooo far away from the rest of the world... travelling is very expensive.... cost of living is another negative about this beautiful country.... Yes SA is beautiful.... that can not be denied...