Top 5 Things to Know about South African Visa Renewals

When is it a good time to start with the renewal ?
Picture this – it’s Monday and in a quiet moment you decide to go through your foreign employees’ documents.

To your shock you discover that one employee’s visa is due for renewal – at the end of the week.

Suddenly, your Monday is a whole lot bluer! You have no idea how you’re going to do this. You don’t even know if it’s still possible to submit a renewal!

Take a deep breath – this does not have to happen to you.
You can avoid any visa renewal shocks and surprises simply by keeping these 5 facts in mind:

1. Did you know applications must be submitted at least 60 days before the expiry date of the visa

South Africa’ Immigration Act requires visa holders to submit renewals at least 60 days before the expiry date of their visa. Visa holders may also submit renewals earlier but no earlier than 6 months prior to a visa’s expiry date.

Our advice? Don’t wait for the 60 days! Submit as early as possible to allow for unforeseen hiccups.

2. Start the groundwork early
The process of renewing a South African visa is the same as applying for a new visa. For this reason, it is advisable to start preparing for a renewal well in advance.

When it comes to work visas specifically, there are often multiple steps that need to be followed before being able to submit the renewal to the authorities. Given the backlog at Home Affairs due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we recommend starting the preparation process 12 months in advance.

3. The visa holder must meet all the requirements again
To apply for a visa extension, the visa holder must be able to meet the requirements of their visa again. This includes any new requirements or changes to requirements that were made by the Department of Home Affairs since the previous application or renewal.

Applicants who can’t meet the requirements of their visa will most likely not get a visa extension.
That does not mean it’s the end of the road! Unsuccessful renewal applicants can get assessed against all of South Africa’s immigration requirements to see if they perhaps qualify for another visa that lets them work in South Africa.

4. Keep critical documentation up to date
Want to save yourself a lot of headaches? Ensure that documentation with expiry dates are always valid. By keeping documents up to date, you’ll see to it that you’re ready to proceed with renewals as soon as it’s necessary.

Police clearances is one example of documentation with an expiry date. These documents are only valid for 6 months from the date of issuance. The passport expiration date is also an important one to keep in mind. It is impossible to apply for a visa with an expired passport.

5. Extensions must be submitted in South Africa
All extensions must be submitted in South Africa, at a VFS application centre. Visa holders can’t submit extensions outside of South Africa.

Need help with South African visa renewals?
Our corporate team can assist you with all types of South African visa renewals. The team will guide you through the requirements and work with you to submit a complete application.

How can we help you , please email us to info@samigration.com whatsapp message me on:
+27 82 373 8415, where are you now? check our website : www.samigration.com

Please rate us by clinking on this links :
Sa Migration Visas
https://g.page/SAMigration?gm

Alternatively , please contact us on :


Whatsapp Tel No : +27 (0) 82 373 8415 - ( Whatsapp messages only, No calls )

Tel No office : +27 (0) 82 373 8415 ( Whatsapp messages only, No calls )
Tel No landline CT : +27 (0) 21 879 5560
Tel No landline JHB : +27 (0) 12 880 1490
Tel No admin : +27 (0) 64 126 3073 – ( Whatsapp calls only – No Messages )
Tel No sales : +27 (0) 74 0366127 - ( Whatsapp calls only – No Messages )

www.samigration.com

How can we help you?
Please email us to info@samigration.com
Whatsapp message us on: +27 82 373 8415

Where are you now?
Check our website : www.samigration.com

Please rate us by clinking on this links :
Sa Migration Visas
https://g.page/SAMigration?gm


Get More Info By Following Our Page: https://www.youtube.com/@samigration

South African Citizenship

• SA Visa
• Citizenship
Citizenship Options
• South African Citizen by Descent
• South African Citizen by Naturalisation:
• Automatic loss of Citizenship
• Resumption of South African citizenship
• Deprivation of Citizenship
• South African Citizen by Naturalisation:
• Automatic loss of Citizenship
• Resumption of South African citizenship
• Acquisition of the citizenship or nationality of another country
South African Citizen by Descent:

Anybody who was born outside of South Africa to a South African citizen. His or her birth has to be registered in line with the births and deaths registration act 51 of 1992.

South African Citizen by Naturalisation:
Permanent Resident holders of 5 or more years can apply for citizenship. Anybody married to a South African citizen qualifies for naturalisation, two years after receiving his or her permanent residence at the time of marriage.

A child under 21 who has permanent residence Visa qualifies for naturalization immediately after the Visa is issued.
Automatic loss of Citizenship.
This occurs when a South African citizen:
Obtains citizenship of another country by a voluntary and formal act, other than marriage, or;
Serves in the armed forces of another country, where he or she is also a citizen, while is at war with South Africa.

Deprivation of Citizenship:
A South African citizen by naturalization can be deprived of his citizenship if;
The certificate of naturalisation was obtained fraudulently or false information was supplied.

He or she holds the citizenship of another country and has, at any time, been sentenced to 12 months imprisonment in any country for an offence that also would have been an offence in South Africa.
www.samigration.com

How can we help you?
Please email us to info@samigration.com
Whatsapp message us on: +27 82 373 8415

Where are you now?
Check our website : www.samigration.com

Please rate us by clinking on this links :
Sa Migration Visas
https://g.page/SAMigration?gm


Get More Info By Following Our Page: https://www.youtube.com/@samigration

The US has granted refugee status to 54 white Afrikaner South Africans, who could arrive as soon as Monday in Washington DC, where they will be welcomed by government officials, according to media reports.

Donald Trump suspended the US refugee settlement programme in January on his first day in office, leaving more than 100,000 people approved for resettlement stranded, having fled war and persecution in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo and Afghanistan.

In February, Trump signed an executive order directing his government to grant refugee status to Afrikaners, descendants of Dutch and French colonisers who he claimed were discriminated against.

On Thursday, US officials were trying to arrange a charter flight to land at Dulles international airport, with commercial flights being assessed as an alternative, NPR reported, citing unnamed sources.

The 54 Afrikaners would be met at the airport by “high level officials from the Departments of State and Homeland Security”, with a press conference being planned, NPR said, citing a source who said such a welcome was unusual.

Some officials told the New York Times that the arrival date was not yet confirmed, with plans in flux.

A US state department spokesperson did not confirm the flight plans, saying: “The US embassy in Pretoria has been conducting interviews and processing … While we are unable to comment on individual cases, the Department of State is prioritising consideration for US refugee resettlement of Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination.”

South Africa’s foreign ministry said in a statement: “It is most regrettable that it appears that the resettlement of South Africans to the United States under the guise of being ‘refugees’ is entirely politically motivated and designed to question South Africa’s constitutional democracy; a country which has in fact suffered true persecution under apartheid rule and has worked tirelessly to prevent such levels of discrimination from ever occurring again.”

The speed at which the new refugee programme was set up and refugee status granted was faster than normal, a source told NPR. Before the first Trump administration, it took an average of 18 to 24 months for a refugee to be resettled in the US, according to the American Immigration Council, an NGO supporting immigrants.

NPR listed 12 states that had agreed to take in the Afrikaners, some of whom have family in the US, including California, West Virginia and New York, NPR said.

The Department of Health and Human Services will help the South Africans with “housing … basic home furnishings, essential household items … groceries, weather-appropriate clothing, diapers, formula, hygiene products and prepaid phones,” according to a memo seen by the New York Times.

South Africa was ruled by white Afrikaner leaders during apartheid, which violently repressed the country’s black majority.

More than three decades after white minority rule ended, South Africa remains hugely unequal. White people typically have 20 times the wealth of black people, according to an article in the Review of Political Economy. The black South African unemployment rate is 46.1%, compared with 9.2% for white people.

According to the 2022 census, white people made up 7% of the 63 million population, about half of them Afrikaners, while black South Africans accounted for 81%.

Affirmative action policies since apartheid’s end have helped to create a black elite and middle class. However, most black South Africans remain poor.

The policies, along with high crime rates that affect all South Africans, have also nurtured a feeling among some white South Africans that they are now the victims of targeted racism.

More than half of white South Africans think “black economic empowerment” policies should end, compared with a third of black South Africans, according to a survey by Ipsos and the local news outlet News24.

Trump, along with his South Africa-born billionaire adviser Elon Musk and the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, have repeated the allegations that white South Africans are being discriminated against.

Trump’s February executive order referred to “hateful rhetoric and government actions fuelling disproportionate violence against racially disfavoured landowners”.

In 2018, during his first presidency, Trump also magnified the unsupported claim, popular globally with the far right, that white farmers in South Africa are being murdered at disproportionately high rates.

US refugee officials were directed to focus on screening white Afrikaner farmers from among the more than 8,000 asylum claims, the New York Times reported.

Inter Company Transfer Visa

An intra-company transfer work Visa may be issued by the Department to a foreigner who is employed abroad by a business operating in the Republic in a branch, subsidiary or affiliate relationship and who by reason of his or her employment is required to conduct work in the Republic.

An important factor is that the applicant has to have been employed with the company abroad for a period of not less than 6 months.

The Intra company transfer is not designed to be a long term visa. The idea is to bring in foreign workers employed by the company abroad with a branch or subsidiary branch here in South Africa; they work or conduct training for four years, and then return home.

This Visa does not require the hassle of proving the company could not find suitable applicants and it does not require the hassle of verifying an applicant’s formal qualifications. It is based purely on employment. If you are a company that needs to transfer in foreign employers, please contact us and we will make this go as smoothly as possible.
It is important to note that this category of work Visa cannot be granted for more than four (4) years and this type of Visa is not extendable.
www.samigration.com

How can we help you?
Please email us to info@samigration.com
Whatsapp message us on: +27 82 373 8415

Where are you now?
Check our website : www.samigration.com

Please rate us by clinking on this links :
Sa Migration Visas
https://g.page/SAMigration?gm


Get More Info By Following Our Page: https://www.youtube.com/@samigration

The short answer
Your frustration with Home Affairs is understandable. You may want to get legal assistance.

The whole question
How can I can assist my partner change his status from asylum seeker to temporary or permanent resident? We have tried everything. We even tried to make an appointment at Home Affairs to get married and two years later we are still waiting for a phone call. What can we do?

The long answer

Thank you for your email asking how you can help your partner to change his status from being an asylum seeker to temporary or permanent resident.

Your frustration with Home Affairs is understandable. So if you can afford an immigration lawyer, it may be a quicker route.

The Constitutional Court ruled in November 2018 that any foreigner, including refugees and asylum seekers, could apply for temporary or permanent residence, and that this could be granted if the person fulfilled the requirements of the Immigration Act.

Also, if you’re the spouse or life partner of a South African citizen, but don’t qualify for study, work or business visas, you have the right to apply for the Spousal Visa which allows you to stay with your South African partner or spouse. This permit can be further endorsed to allow you to work or study or start your own business.

In December 2018, the Immigration Act was amended concerning the rights of spouses in a “permanent homosexual or heterosexual relation”. These are the important points:

• Applications need to prove to the Director-General that the applicant is a spouse to a citizen or permanent residence permit holder.

• Applicants need to sign an agreement stating that the permanent homosexual or heterosexual relationship has existed for at least two years before the date of application for a relevant visa and that neither of the parties is a spouse in an existing marriage.

• Documents detailing the financial support the partners provide to each other need to be provided.

• Both partners to a permanent homosexual or heterosexual relationship may be interviewed separately, on the same date and time, to determine the authenticity of the existence of their relationship.

Asylum seekers and refugees do have the right to get married in South Africa as long as they meet the Home Affairs marriage requirements. These are essentially:

• that if you have been married previously, you must show proof of divorce or death of previous partner

• that you are not a minor (under age of 18)

• that you are not suffering from severe mental illness which prevents you from understanding what marriage is.

Your partner must also give Home Affairs a valid asylum seeker/refugee permit, as well as a declaration from the police confirming that he is not currently married.

The first step to getting married is to register your intention to marry with Home Affairs and apply for a Department of Home Affairs Marriage Certificate at least three months before your wedding date.

The following documents must be submitted with the Home Affairs marriage forms which are available on request:

• Identification documents, such as a South African ID card

• Both passports, if one partner is not South African

• A completed form, which declares that you are legally allowed to marry

• Official divorce decree, stamped by the court, if one partner has previously been married

• Death certificate, if one partner has been widowed

Before a marriage is declared legal in South Africa, couples are required to attend a Home Affairs marriage interview. This is to make sure that both parties are entering the marriage of their own free will. If you don’t attend an interview, the marriage certificate will not be registered and the marriage will be declared null and void.

And if all goes well and you apply for Temporary or Permanent Residency, you need to have the following documents:

• Proof of residence or spousal citizenship in South Africa

• Government issued Marriage Certificate (if you are married)

• A letter of support from the partner that holds citizenship/permanent residency

• How can we help you , please email us to info@samigration.com whatsapp message me on: +27 82 373 8415, where are you now? check our website : www.samigration.com

Please rate us by clinking on this links :

Sa Migration Visas

https://g.page/SAMigration?gm