Many South African citizens travel abroad for work purposes to gain some international work experience or merely to reside in a foreign country. The consultants at Breytenbachs Immigration have seen on numerous occasions that many of these South Africans wish to return to their country of birth at some later stage. They have, however, on many occasions married a non-South African citizen and want their foreign spouses to accompany them back to South Africa.

It is, of course, important to look at the facts of every individual case before providing advice, but below we provide some general guidelines for these types of cases. We hope this will shed some light for applicants on what to expect, but urge individuals to seek advice from the Breytenbachs SA Immigration Department for advice in their unique circumstances.

South African spousal temporary residence visa

The spouse of a South African citizen or South African permanent residence holder can qualify for a spousal temporary residence visa, permitting him/her to reside in South Africa with his/her spouse. This initial visa must be applied for and obtained from the applicant’s country of origin or residence before travelling to South Africa. The application is done via the South African High Commission, South African Embassy or VFS offices in the country of residence.

Normally, the initial visa is granted for 24 months, and can be extended while the applicant resides in South Africa. It is, however, important to note that this visa will not enable the visa holder to take up employment.

South African work endorsement

It is, however, possible to apply for a work endorsement locally in SA, once a work offer from a South African based company has been received. Or, if the applicant has registered his/her company in South Africa to be self-employed.

Alternatively, if the foreign national already has a work offer at the time he/she applies for the initial visa, the work endorsement can be approved with the initial visa application.  The normal finalisation period of the initial visa lodged abroad is more or less 30 working days from submission date.

Life partners of South African citizens

The life partner of a South African citizen or permanent residence holder can also apply for a temporary residence visa with the same validity period as the spousal one. The approval of such a visa is subject to proof of cohabitation and shared financial responsibilities for at least two years.

South African permanent residence

An application for South African permanent residence can be lodged once the foreign national has been married to, or has been in a life partnership with a South African citizen or permanent residence holder for a period of five years or more.

This application can be lodged locally in South Africa or abroad and normally takes a period of 12 – 24 months to be finalised. While this application is pending, the foreign national must always ensure that he/she still has a valid SA visa endorsed in his/her passport if such a person resides in South Africa.

South African citizenship

As soon as the foreign national has had permanent residence status for a period of two years, and two years of marriage to the South African spouse immediately prior to the application, but after permanent residence status has been granted, the application for South African citizenship can be lodged.

Please note that the above guidelines are only that. We urge clients to get in touch with our South African Immigration Department, who will be able to provide you with advice in your unique circumstances and assist you in avoiding the many pitfalls and red-tape in the application procedure. Feel free to contact us at info@bic-immigration.com or visit www.bic-immigration.com.