Can I get permanent residency if my father has a South African ID?
News24 – 28 June 2022
You are only entitled to apply for permanent residence based on your father having permanent residence if you are under 21.
Can I get permanent residency if my parent does, and I have lived in SA for more than five years?
The short answer
Yes, if you are a dependent of a permanent residence holder and are aged under 21 years. But there is a massive backlog at Home Affairs.
The whole question
Dear Reader
Both my parents are from Mozambique, but my father has a South African ID because he has been here for more than 25 years. I was born in Mozambique but I have lived in South Africa since I started school.
I want to apply for an ID but Home Affairs said I must apply for permanent residency first, which has a waiting period of five years.
Can it be allowed if I have proof that I have been here for more than five years?
The long answer
Unfortunately, in terms of Section 26 (c) of the Immigration Act, it seems that you are only entitled to apply for permanent residence (direct residence) on the basis of your father having permanent residence and you being his dependent, if you are under 21 years.
And, as you have pointed out, this could take five years, given the backlog of applications for permanent residence at Home Affairs.
As you probably know, Home Affairs closed down all applications for permanent residence at the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, and only re-opened applications in January 2022. They have an estimated 50,000 applications in backlog.
As not having an ID is a very serious deprivation, it may be worth consulting with organisations that have had plenty of experience in dealing with Home Affairs, and seeing if they can suggest anything that might help to speed up the process.