South African law provides
for two kinds of visa categories temporary and permanent. A temporary status is
called a visa and a permanent residence dispensation is called a permit.
Why would someone need
permanent residence?
For a foreigner who intends
to come and reside in South Africa on an indefinite permanent basis, they are
well advised to apply for a permanent residence permit. To do so they need a
long-term temporary residence visa.
A foreigner on a short-term
tourist visa cannot apply for permanent residence in South Africa.
Am I ready to apply for a
permanent residence permit?
According to the
Immigration Act, there are 11 specific permanent residence permit categories
that an applicant can fall under. Some of these categories which fall under
section 26 of the Act are referred to as “direct residency”, and others which
fall under section 27 of the Act are referred to as “residency under other
grounds”.
- You
are eligible to apply for permanent residence if have been in possession
of work visas for at least the past five consecutive years, with a
permanent job offer secured in South Africa. A minimum of five years
work permits need to have been endorsed in a passport. Intra-Company
Transfer work visas are excluded and are not considered for this
purpose.
- You
are eligible to apply for permanent residence If you have been espoused
(by marriage or life-partnership) to a South African citizen or permanent
resident for at least five years.
- You
qualify to apply for permanent residence if you are the child, under the
age of 21, of a citizen or permanent resident.
- You
qualify to apply for permanent residence if you are the child of any age
of a citizen.
- You
are eligible to apply for permanent residence if you hold a critical skills work visa, as per Critical
Skills List published in the Government Gazette, AND you have accrued at
least five years of post-qualification experience (not necessarily related
to the critical skills).
- You
may be eligible to apply for permanent residence on the basis of your
intended investment in an existing South African business or if you intend
to establish and invest in South African
business. This investment should be no less than R5
million, or a lesser amount as agreed by the DHA should the business
enterprise fall within one of the prescribed National Interest sectors of
the South African economy.
- You
may be eligible to apply for permanent residence on the basis that you
have held refugee status in South Africa for at least the past five years.
For this purpose you will require obtaining a certification from the
Refugee Standing Committee confirming that you will remain a refugee
indefinitely.
- You
may be eligible to apply for permanent residence on the basis of your
receipt of pensions or irrevocable annuities for the rest of your life.
- You
are eligible to apply for permanent residence on the basis that you can
demonstrate your net worth to be equivalent to no less than R12 million
AND undertake to pay to the DHA a non-refundable once off fee of
R120,000.00 upon the approval of your application.
How do you apply for a
permanent residence permit in South Africa?
Once a foreigner is in
South Africa on a long-term temporary residence visa enabling him or her to
apply, he or she will be eligible to apply for permanent residence in a
category they comply with.
Short-term and
long-term visitor visa holders are not eligible to apply for permanent
residence from within South Africa unless exceptional circumstances as
regulated apply. Spousal-based visitor
visa holders may however apply for permanent residence.
The submission category of
a permanent residence permit application may, in some cases, also determine the
type of long-term visa the foreigner must hold to comply with the permanent
residence application’s specific requirements.
Applications for permanent
residence made in terms of sec 26(a) of the Immigration Act for instance,
require the foreign applicant to be in possession of a work category visa at
the time of submission.
Applications made in terms
of sec 27(b) of the Act require the foreign applicant to be in possession of a
critical skills work visa. No minimum period of work in South Africa is
required to comply with this category of permanent residence.
If I studied in South
Africa can I apply for permanent residence in South Africa?
Having studied in South
Africa alone does not make a foreigner eligible to apply for permanent
residence in South Africa.
Foreign graduates of South
African tertiary institutions who graduate in the area of critical skills are
eligible to apply for permanent residence with no delay in terms of sec 27(b)
of the Immigration Act. The Minister of Home Affairs has granted these
students a special waiver in April 2016.
If you were born in South
Africa of foreign parents and if your birth was registered with the Department
of Home Affairs, upon turning 18 years of age if you have lived in South Africa
since your birth, you may be eligible to apply for South African citizenship by naturalization.
I am married to a South
African can I apply for permanent residence?
Only the spouse, by
marriage or life-partnership, of at least 5 years of a South African citizen or
permanent resident is eligible to apply for permanent residence on the basis of
the spousal relationship.
My children are South
African citizens can I apply for permanent residence?
The relative within the
first step of kinship of a South African citizen or permanent resident is
eligible to apply for permanent residence in terms of sec 27(g) of the
Immigration Act. The first step of kinship includes parents and children.
The South African relative
needs to satisfy the Department of Home Affairs that he or she can financially
support the foreign relative in South Africa. Minor dependant children
cannot give financial assurance to their parents and for this reason this
category of permanent residence applications is restricted to the parent of a
minor child.
Can my accompanying family
apply for permanent residence with me at the same time?
Yes, as long as the
applications of the whole family are submitted at the same time then the immediate
accompanying family of foreigners applying for permanent residence may apply
together.
Should the applications not
be submitted at the same time, the accompanying family will need to wait for
the successful outcome of the main applicant’s permanent residence application
to be in a position to apply for permanent residence as his or her immediate
family.
The foreign spouse of a
permanent resident applicant is only eligible to apply for permanent residence
having been espoused for at least 5 years.
The foreign spouse of a
critically skilled individual applying for permanent residence in terms of sec
27(b) of the Immigration Act does not need to have been espoused for 5 years to
apply for permanent residence.
The foreign spouse of an
applicant who submits an application for permanent residence on the basis of a
business in terms of sec 27(c) of the Act does not need to have been espoused
for a period of five years.
Can I apply for permanent
residence if I was v-listed?
Permanent residence may be
issued, subject to the prescribed requirements, to a person of “good and sound
character”. Police Clearance Certificates from any country a foreigner
has resided above the age of 18 are required for the purpose of all permanent
residence applications.
In terms of section 30(1)
of the Act, a foreigner who is declared an undesirable
person does “not qualify for a port of entry visa, visa,
admission into the Republic or a permanent residence permit”. An
undesirability needs to be uplifted to enable a foreigner to obtain permanent
residence. A pending application for permanent residence may be rejected
on the basis of the foreigner being an undesirable person.
In terms of Section 29(1)
of the Act: “…prohibited persons …do not qualify for a port of entry visa,
admission into the Republic, a visa or a permanent residence permit”.
A prohibited person cannot be
granted permanent residence. Only upon the successful upliftment of a
prohibition a foreigner is eligible to apply and/or obtain permanent residence.
Can I lose permanent
residence in South Africa?
Each permanent residence
permit certificate is issued, based on category of submission, with specific
conditions which are endorsed on the certificate. Permanent residence permit
holders are advised to read carefully the conditions and when necessary to seek
professional advice.
For instance:
- A
permanent residence permit issued to the spouse of a South African citizen
or permanent resident shall lapse if at any time within two years from the
issuing of that permanent residence permit the good faith spousal
relationship no longer subsists, save for the case of death. As per
section 26(b) of the Immigration Act.
- A
permanent residence permit issued to the child under the age of 21 of a
citizen or permanent resident “shall lapse if such foreigner does not
submit an application for its confirmation within two years of his or her
having turned 18 years of age. As per section 26(c) of the
Immigration Act.
- A
permanent residence permit issued on the basis of a business shall lapse
if the holder fails to prove within two years of the issuance of the
permanent residence permit and three years thereafter, to the satisfaction
of the Director-General, that the prescribed financial contribution to be
part of the intended book value is still invested. As per section
27(c) of the Immigration Act.
All permanent residence
permit holders are required not to be absent from the Republic for more than 3
consecutive years to maintain their status valid.
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