superkruz

My son and his girlfriend are getting married in November and want to relocate to SA early 2016 from Australia. He is a SA citizen but his fiance is not and need a visa to live and work in SA. I thought that it would be simple for her to get PR on the basis of her marriage to a SA citizen but he says that they have to be in a spousal relationship for 5 years before she is eligible for that - is this true? If she cannot get PR now on the basis of their marriage, what other options does she have? Surely the SA immigration laws cannot be so silly that it stops its own citizens from returning home with their spouses within the first 5 years of marriage?

scot47

UK immigration law does exactly that !

Pollyana

Doesn't SA have something similar to Australia? here you have to be married/cohabiting for three years (or 2 with a child) before you can get PR but there is a temporary visa that you get in the meantime. Hopefully someone can help out with this.....

mikelincs

No, there is no time limit after the marriage before they can com to the UK, just the financial requirements.

superkruz

In Australia you apply for PR from the outset but it is a two-step process - the first step gives you conditional PR status, which is a step up from temporary status, and the second gives unconditional PR. This is similar to the situation in the USA. I am not aware that SA something similar.

MartynK

AFAIK, your son's wife should apply for a Spouse Visa under the temporary residency criteria. That's normally good for 2 - 3 years and can be renewed, followed by an application for permanent residence after the couple have been married for 5 years.

Pollyana

I know how Australia works I was just conjecturing as the OP only mentioned Permenent Residency, whether there was a step in between in South Africa, like there sometimes is in Aus-allowing temporary and provisional residence.
Within Aus the Provisional step is really treated as a temporary visa, employers etc rarely recognise it as anything else.

Seems odd if South Africa don't allow a couple to live together in South africa until they have reached the 5 year mark, but then there's nowt as queer as immigration rules!

Pollyana

That sounds like the kind of thing I was thinking of -similar to Aus. Temporary but she can go for a permanent visa later once they have been together long enough.

superkruz

Thank you for the replies. Does the temporary visa have work rights?

superkruz

People on this visa are eligible for Medicare, for example, so that's not true at all.

MartynK

Sort of, but you need to obtain a work endorsement. I think it's just a matter of producing a valid employment contract, which the employer will generate as part of the normal recruitment process anyway.

girlgeek

I am confused around the spousal visa and looking for help, one of the 'conditions' of this seems to be that you need to have lived with an been jointly financially responsible with your spouse for a period of 2 years. My partner and I haven't been together that long and have lived in our respective countries for the duration of our relationship, despite holidays to and fro.

Does this mean that I can't move to SA to be with him?! I am looking to move in February and have saved some money, he is willing to (and can afford to) be financially responsible for me until I can find work but I can't see a work around.

I have been in touch with a few immigration companies (found over the magic of Google) who haven't replied yet and I am feeling very disheartened. Looking for help please!

SanDiegogirl

Sorry, but that is incorrect.

You can apply for a spouse visa as soon as you are married.

If granted you obtain an initial 2.5 year visa, then apply for a second 2.5 year visa and after the 5 year period you can apply for Indefinite Leave to Remain and then naturalisation.

MartynK

I stand to be corrected, but AFAIK:

You're not eligible for a spousal visa as you're not married. 'Partnerships' fall under a different category (Life Partner visa/permit) but these carry an onus of providing evidence of a permanent relationship and cohabitation. This seems to be a stumbling block in your situation.

Your easiest solution seems to be marriage. The husband/wife of an SA citizen or permanent resident is entitled to a spouse visa if you have been married for less than 5 years, and this can be converted to permanent residence at the 5 year point. Your marriage certificate should be sufficient proof for the visa.

A couple of caveats. Firstly, I'm reasonably sure this is correct, but not absolutely certain. Laws and regulations change, and the SA Dept of Home Affairs is the only definitive authority. Secondly, dealing with the SA authorities can be frustrating, to put it mildly. Delays, losing documents, giving contradictory advice and general indifference/ineptitude are common.

Ed (Moderator) will probably be along at some point, and he may be able to offer some further insights. Check back in a day or two?

girlgeek

Thank you for taking the time to reply - it is very much appreciated. I was coming to the conclusion as well that marriage was our route, and whilst we had already talked about it (in fact, nearly went and did it on my last visit) it seems so cliche to do it to secure a visa.

It is such a shame that the working interpretations of the laws actually hinder people emigrating. The process is frustrating and I expect as much and I figure it will take me a while to find a job so I have the time to 'track' through the process to try at least make it as smooth as possible.