ukguy

I managed to get a 2 year permit which is a sticker placed in my passport.

The permit runs out in November 2015.

I plan to return to SA in January 2014, is it OK for me to buy a single ticket this time or is it best if I buy a return ticket that I can change the return date on when I know the date I want to return? (obviously before the 2 years are up).

On my way out of Tambo the lady that checked my passport told me to make sure the person that checks my passport on the way back in sees my permit or else they will give me 90 days on the stamp, seems obvious but it never occurred to me, you live and learn.

What exit date should passport control stamp on my passport on re-entry, the date my permit runs out?

ededed

Congrats! What kind of permit? I assume a work permit?

I didn't need a return ticket when I had a WP - but always bought one as it is much cheaper than buying 2 singles - just get flexible fares so you can change - that will also avoid any half-wit asking to see it, whether you need one or not. If you have a WP you can use the African passport queue too (handy hint that - could save you hours at ORT).

Just make sure you show the permit - I don't think they put a date on your stamp for exit if you have a WP at all (I just checked mine and they haven't - but who can tell which customs officer is applying which rule on that particular day?). Better safe than sorry.

ukguy

Thanks a lot Ed.

It's not a work permit. I have a 2 year lifetime spouse permit, then I have to re-apply for an extra 2 years.
Can I use the African passport queue with this type of permit?

You are right, it's probably best to get a return ticket that I am allowed to change the return date on.

I will make sure that I hand the passport to the customs officer with the permit showing.

ededed

Yes - accompanying spouse counts more than a WP. So you can work anywhere? Well done!

ukguy

Thanks again for the letting me know I can use the African passport queue.

Workwise, for the time being I am going to live off the proceeds from the sale of my small property.

I was working online in the UK but I found the internet connection poor and very slow where I was in North Riding for the last 3 months so I cancelled the Telcom contract.

The 8ta dongle was better but not great and I really need a fast consistent internet connection 24/5 to do my work.

MartynK

I agree with Ed, return tickets are usually a lot cheaper than two singles. Just check the terms and conditions of the ticket before you buy it, some are more flexible than others and a lot of the budget fares don't give you any flexibility at all.

As Ed says, you can use the SA Citizen and Permanent Resident queue when you come back. Immigration probably won't put an exit date in your passport at all. If they do, it'll be Nov 2015. Don't worry about it.

Your broadband requirements may present a challenge. ADSL is still the best bet for most people, but it's cripplingly slow and very expensive compared with most overseas countries, and availability isn't guaranteed. I'd take this into account when deciding where to live if you're going to depend on it.

ededed

Internet is appallingly bad here. Expensive and slow. 4m/s is considered super-fast when in reality you are lucky to get 2m/s when you run a test. And that's fixed line. Vodacom on my mobile says 4G - but it's nothing of the sort in reality.

I'm also in North Riding so share your pain. On Wednesday we had no water and last night we had no power and on neither occasion did I have enough signal to phone the utility company to find out what was going on. World class African city? No. Not even close. Yet all these services are staggeringly expensive with very little in the way of service or value - and all are effective monopolies so you can't even switch.

UKguy - have you moved now, or are you still in the area?

MartynK

Something else just occurred to me, which I think you need to be aware of. A couple of ISPs offer 10m/s uncapped accounts, providing your line can support this speed, which sound attractive by SA standards but there are snags. You're unlikely to get anywhere near 10m/s, and they throttle your speed drastically if you exceed their arbitrary download 'guidelines' during the billing month. You're generally limited to accessing the service from a single fixed point - landline - too.

ededed

Good point - MWEB are an example of this (and when the system is slow and you try and call them, you can be waiting for upwards of 45 minutes).

Your house needs to be wired for this - not all of them are. This means booking 6 weeks ahead to get a technician to come out and flick a switch.

ukguy

Thanks for the replies.

Yes the internet connection was 3x the price I pay in the UK and I get 6.2mbps download speed here and was getting 0.24 at best and 0.01 at worst, so it literally could not get any slower at it's worst without stopping completely. Customer service was very poor so I cancelled it.

Someone I spoke to there told me there is a satellite option available which is fast, do you know anything about that?

I found the lifestyle and roads a bit hectic in North Riding (not the estate we were on but as soon as you get out, like onto the Malebongwe drive.

So the plan was to find somewhere to rent that is more laid back and has some views. I viewed a few properties in the Hartbeespoort Dam area, least it had some views but I understand it is a few degrees hotter there and I was suffering in North Riding as it was. I assume landline internet connection would be worse there.

My partner is working in Chamdor so she would like to be a max of 1 hours drive away.

ED, yes I came back to the UK last weekend.
I was planning to go back to SA in January but actually am considering trying Spain out.

It may seem daft after paying and waiting so long for my permit but I found many things there expensive and I have had a nightmare with Nedbank, they fabricated charges, managed to copy my name down wrong from my passport so my forms have the incorrect spelling and I will need them corrected to rent etc. They did not keep promises so I am in the process of complaining about them (I have got the charges returned by contacting the manager but still no forms from the cretin that opened my account. She promised to send them Friday, Saturday, this morning and nothing. So the manager is getting a long letter of complaint about her which I have already prepared because I knew she would break her promise yet again.

Their incompetence does not give me any confidence to transfer funds from the UK to buy a car and to live off for 2 years. In fact it worries me.

Hertz have not returned my R3000 deposit and I am chasing it.
"Please be advised that it has been forwarded to the branch to review and we will respond to you as soon as we receive feedback.

We do request that you please allow us a few days to investigate the charges thoroughly."

The whole episode leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Car insurance is over 4x what I pay here for the same car too.

MartynK

Well, it's up to you. I don't think any of us would presume to advise you on what to do, but I think it's probably just as well that you've run into some of the issues that might affect your decision before you make a commitment.

Let's put it this way. I'm South African on my mother's side, I've lived here for + 30 years, and have no family in the UK, or none that I'm in touch with anyway. I love Africa - warts and all - and I do have two grown up children, who have no desire to leave, and a grandchild in this country.That puts a different perspective on things.

Would I move to SA now, for the first time? I don't know, but probably not. Will I stay? If my kids stay here, then I expect I shall too. If they decide to leave, we'll see.

FWIW, my wife lives in Scotland for various reasons, which is another complication!

ukguy

Regarding which queue to use at Tambo, I told my partner I was going to use the African passport queue, she telephoned the airport and spoke to a helpful lady,

"I called the airport help desk and the woman said at the immigration section at the airport there is only two sections, South African passport holders and Foreign passport holders. She said that you still have to go into the Foreign passport queue but when you get to the person at the desk to inform them that you have a two year temporary residence visa which you can show them in your passport and they will just stamp your passport with an entry stamp. Just make sure they stamp it on a blank page in your passport."

MartynK

The last time I passed through immigration control was in September, and there are still two queues, but the notice above the one on the left now states "SA passports and SA permanent residents", or words to that effect. TBH, I always used this queue in the past and no-one ever questioned me, but they seem to have made it official now. It may be different for temporary residence permit holders though, I don't know.

ukguy

Hi Martyn,

I know you said you are South African on your Mother's side but do you hold a British or SA passport?

With a British passport and temporary permit I am thinking the queue on the right is the one for me. I just have to make sure the official sees my permit before giving me a 90 day stamp.

MartynK

British. My mother automatically became a British citizen when she married my father after the war - the rules were different then - and I was born there. She also retained her SA citizenship, but I've never got round to applying for it. Both my kids have dual nationality and passports.

I think the difference is that I'm a permanent resident, and that's much the same as being an SA citizen for most purposes, although we can't vote in elections. PRs are now supposed to use the SA citizens' queue at OR Tambo immigration, but I really haven't a clue if this applies to people on temporary permits too. I'd just follow the advice you've been given, or take a chance if the queue on the left is shorter!