South African banks are eager to expand the availability of E-Home Affairs in South Africa — they are just waiting for the Department of Home Affairs to sign a partnership agreement before they can roll out the service to more branches.

This is according to Nedbank, which was answering questions from MyBroadband regarding the delays it faced in rolling out new E-Home Affairs branches during 2020.

At the start of 2020 — before South Africa recorded its first case of COVID-19 — Absa, FNB, Nedbank, and Standard Bank revealed their plans to expand their E-Home Affairs footprint substantially by the end of the year.

However, only Standard Bank was able to add E-Home Affairs capabilities to some of its branches during the year.

Nedbank told MyBroadband that its roll-out plans were affected by COVID-19, the National State of Disaster and the ensuing lockdowns, but said that the pandemic was only part of the reason for the delays.

“The delays are largely as a result of the finalisation of the partnership agreement with the Department of Home Affairs, and we have not been able to open any more [E-Home Affairs] offices in the last year aside from those already in place,” a spokesperson for Nedbank stated.

Nedbank said it intends to expand its E-Home Affairs offering, but it is waiting on the Department.

“There is big dependency on the Department of Home Affairs finalising a partnership agreement with participating banks that will see banks offering this service as part of their own operating models — using their own staff,” Nedbank said.

“Currently, the [Home Affairs] appointed staff manage and operate dedicated areas within participating banks where they process appointments that are booked via the DHA website.”

A glaring gap in the E-Home Affairs network is the fact that one of South Africa’s largest banks, Capitec, does not offer the service.

The E-Home Affairs system only allows you to book appointments and collect your documents from a bank where you are a client.

If your bank does not participate in the programme, or if your bank does not have an E-Home Affairs branch near you, then you will have to book your biometric data capture appointment at the best available Home Affairs office.

MyBroadband asked South Africa’s big five banks and the Department of Home Affairs why the system was designed this way.

“This decision was informed by the Department of Home Affairs,” Nedbank told MyBroadband.

“This is how the appointment booking process is set up on the [E-Home Affairs] website. It’s the same process for all banks and ensures that it does not create a competitive advantage for any one bank.”

Standard Bank told MyBroadband that this was an agreement between all banks at the time when the e-Channel proof-of-concept — which ultimately became E-Home Affairs — launched in 2015.

FNB didn’t answer the question directly, but said that the E-Home Affairs system has become an essential service that has issued over 251,000 passports and smart IDs through its branches.

“We believe that the consistent expansion of this essential service will provide more customers with convenience by avoiding long queues when applying for their smart IDs and passports,” said the CEO of FNB Points of Presence, Lee-Anne van Zyl.

Absa declined to comment and referred questions to Home Affairs, while Home Affairs and Capitec did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publication.

However, Capitec previously told MyBroadband that it has no plans to add Home Affairs service desks, as it has smaller optimised premises to help keep its fees as low as possible.

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This means that :

A refugee can apply for permanent residence if he or she has been living in South Africa on a refugee status permit for a minimum of five consecutive years.¹⁴³ For a recognized refugee to receive a permanent residence permit, the standing committee for refugee affairs must have certified that that person will remain a refugee “indefinitely.”

On March 30, 2004, the Standing Committee for Refugee Affairs published a decision intended to circumscribe the conditions under which certification shall be issued, namely: “…Where the appellant is likely to remain a refugee for the foreseeable future and the “foreseeable future” should be one year.”

Once the South African government has awarded you refugee status. The government will issue you with an identity card which shows that you are a refugee. You will be issued with a renewable Refugee Permit which is referred to as a Section 24 Permit.

You will be entitled to apply for a United Nations Travel Document tha tallows you to travel to any country except your country of origin. Should you travel to your country of origin for any reason, the South African government will stop recognising you as a person in need of protection. You will therefore cease to be a refugee. By voluntarily going back to your country of origin, you will be indirectly saying that you are safe there, hence you will no longer deserve protection or refugee status. Refugees have the right to work and enjoy most of the rights in the South African Constitution except the right to vote.

It is possible for refugees to eventually get a South African passport after a long period of time, which will entitle you to travel anywhere in the world including your country of origin should your fear of harm disappear. This will also entitle you to have a South African identity card and to be able to vote.

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In June 2014 the Department of Home Affairs amended the Immigration Act. The Study Visa / Study Permit was one the categories affected.

Background

For both standalone and dependent students who made applications prior to June 2014 for permission to study in South Africa, the application made would have been for a study permit.
The terminology, study permit, has now been replaced and post June 2014 all applications will be for a study visa.

What effect does this have?

The change in terminology in itself it somewhat superficial. The rationale behind the decision, to alter the naming from study permit to study visa, was simply to draw a distinction between temporary residence (VISA) and permanent residence (PERMIT). As an application for permission to study is a temporary residence application it will therefore now be referred to as a study visa.

What if you hold a study permit already?

If you are an existing study permit holder there is no need for concern. The conditions under which your study permit was issued still remain. In short, you have permission to attend the learning institution that was specified in your study permit application as well as work for 20 hours per week.

Will I be able to renew my study permit?

Technically the answers is no as a study permit no longer exists but in reality you will simply make an application for a study visa. You can read more about renewing your study permit / visa here.

Have there been any changes to the study visa?

Yes there have. We repeat – these do not effect your existing study permit. In case you are thinking of renewing your study permit (now a study visa) you should be aware:

• Study visa’s will only be issued where the learning institution is approved by the Department of Higher Education and Training.
• You must apply for a new study visa at least 60 days prior to the expiry of your study permit.
• There is a greater emphasis placed upon the leaning institution to ensure you comply with the conditions of your study visa. This will see stricter controls and accountably put into place.
• Those who have completed a Phd in South Africa will now qualify for a work permit under a new category called the critical skills work visa.

The South African Immigration Act allows applications for permanent residence from those who have a first kin relationship with either a South African Permanent Resident or Citizen. This category of permit is known as a relatives permit.

You can learn more about the relatives permit by viewing the below information, or if you prefer the human touch simply call us on any of the above numbers, request a call back here, or email your enquiry.

What is a first kin relationship?

The regulations that govern the relatives permit define a first kin relationship as:

• Parent.
• Child.

Therefore an application for immigration, under the relatives permit can be made by the:

• Child of a South African citizen or permanent residence holder.
• Parent of a South African citizen or permanent residence holder.

About the role of the South African citizen or permanent residency holder.

Applications for a relatives permit have two parties:

1. The sponsor – this will be the South African citizen or permanent residence holder.
2. The applicant – this will be the ‘foreigner’ wishing to obtain residence in South Africa.

What must the sponsor do?

As with most permit or visa classes the Immigration Act seeks to ensure that immigrants to South Africa are able to either support themselves, or have some sort of financial support in place to support them.

With the relatives permit the sponsor acts as the financial support for the applicant. Therefore the required sponsorship amount can only be met by the sponsor.

How long will the application for a South African relatives permit take?

The compilation and submission of the application is fairly quick but backlogs can experienced in the decision making process. The decision making process is the sole responsibility of the Department of Home Affairs and whilst they publish guidelines for this there are often delays. In some cases these are extreme meaning the relatives permit is not issued for up to 2 years.

If your plans dictate your need to arrive in South African prior to this period, you should consider other visa options, which include the relatives visa (temporary residency) which is processed much quicker.

Does the applicant submit from overseas or in South Africa?

The spouses, life partners and children (minor or major) of South African citizens and permanent residents can submit their relative visa applications in South Africa from a visitors visa, following the issuance of Directive 7 of 2019 implemented in July 2019.

Unfortunately, this does not extend to parents of South Africans. Parents and other eligible relatives must submit their visa applications at an embassy or consulate abroad.

Can you work as a relative permit holder?

As a relatives permit provides the holder with permanent residence status once this is granted you will be permitted to work, run a business or study with no further permissions required from the Department of Home Affairs.

As an example if you are seeking employment you can apply and take up the role exactly the same as a South African Citizen can. There is also no extra responsibility on the employe

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A Life partner visa for South Africa is a form of relatives visa. They can be applied for by applicants who wish to join either:

• Their partner who is a South African Citizen
• Their partner who is a South African Permanent Resident

It is more and more common for couples to not get married and the provision of a life partner visa in South Africa’s immigration rules caters for those in permanent relationships but not spouses.

Need to knows about a Life Partner Visa South Africa

1. With a spousal visa proof of the relationship is easy – a marriage certificate. Proving the relationship for a Life partner visa is not so straight forward. The criteria as laid down by the Department of Home Affairs specifies “such relationship must be intended to be permanent, exclude any other person and involve cohabitation, an obligation of mutual emotional support between the parties and a reciprocal obligation to support one another financially …” It therefore follows that the application for a life partner visa for South Africa focuses on the evidence of this relationship.
2. An application for a Life Partner visa now requires the applicants to have lived with the South African Citizen or Permanent Resident for a period of 2 years. If you do not posses this proof you will need to look at another visa option.
3. Applications for a Life Partner visa can be submitted abroad in country of origin or the country where you hold residence. Alternatively, submission can be done in South Africa when one is on a visitors visa (generally issued for 90 days). This is a new development that came into effect in July 2019.
4. Working on life partner visa is not permitted, nor is running a business or studying. A life partner visa is purely permission to enter and stay in South Africa with your South Africa partner. However, that said, holding a life partner visa, or an entitlement to apply for it, does provide applicants wishing to undertake some form of activity with a huge advantage. Applicants may apply for an endorsement to work, study or run a business rather than make a stand alone visa application under the specific category i.e. work, business or study which means meeting far less stringent criteria.
5. The endorsement process for a life partner visa can be applied for in two ways:- At the time of the application for the life partner visa- At any time when holding a life partner visa. The right to apply is of particular importance as many foreign partners have not secured employment or ‘set in stone’ their plans when making their initial application. For more details on endorsements to life partner visas see here.
6. Applications for permanent residence cannot be made on a life partner visa, but can be on a life partner permit. This is where the applicant is able to prove that the relationship has been in existence for a period of 5 years or more.For relationships that are yet to hit their 5 year anniversary, or lack substantive proof of such, then the life partner visa is the only option other than assessing their qualification under another criteria.

It is also worth bearing in mind the processing time for life partner visa applications for permanent residence. This can take up to 3 years for the Department of Home Affairs to process. So unless the planned move to South Africa is made well in advance, there is every likelihood that even when the permanent residence rules can be met an application for temporary residence (life partner visa) will also need to made.

www.samigration.com