Spouse Visa for NZ citizen and SA Passports for our kids!?

[tlupke]

Hello,

I'm hoping someone maybe able to give me some advise about my situation - sorry if these questions may have been asked a thousand times before but I am really new to this!

Basically I am a New Zealand citizen and my husband is a South African citizen - we have been married for three years. We have two children (one aged 2 years and one aged 4months) and they are both New Zealand citizens too. We currently live in New Zealand and would like to go to South Africa with the possibility of staying permenantly (if everything works out for us there!) The SA consulate has said that the best thing to do is apply for Birth Registration for the children and then apply for SA passports for them. I've been advised it can take aprox six months to recieve the passports? Has anyone applied for new SA passports from NZ before and had to wait such a long time?

In regards to a visa for myself I'm quite confussed! The consulate said the best thing for me is to apply for is a Relative Visa - is this correct? I have been reading about Spouse Visa's but can't find any confirmed information! With a Relative Visa is it possible to apply for a work endorsement once in SA? Is it correct that it can take six months to get the endorsement? I've read that you CAN NOT apply for a work endorsement on a Relative Visa but that you CAN on a Spouse Visa - but most people find that they are issued with a Relative Visa even if they asked for Spouse Visa's...??? This all seems very complicated!! What is the best thing for me to do so that I can look for work straight away? And what are the chances of finding work when I don't already have a 'permit' ??

Also if we do stay in SA permanently what should I do in regards to applying for a Permanent Visa - obviously the Temporary Visa would eventually expire. Do I have to wait until we have been married five years before applying? Can I get the Temporary Visa extended very easily if that is the case?

Any advise would be really appreciated as we really want to get things organized!
Thanks!!

[Saartjie]

Originally Posted by tlupke

Hello,

I'm hoping someone maybe able to give me some advise about my situation - sorry if these questions may have been asked a thousand times before but I am really new to this!

Basically I am a New Zealand citizen and my husband is a South African citizen - we have been married for three years. We have two children (one aged 2 years and one aged 4months) and they are both New Zealand citizens too. We currently live in New Zealand and would like to go to South Africa with the possibility of staying permenantly (if everything works out for us there!) The SA consulate has said that the best thing to do is apply for Birth Registration for the children and then apply for SA passports for them. I've been advised it can take aprox six months to recieve the passports? Has anyone applied for new SA passports from NZ before and had to wait such a long time?

In regards to a visa for myself I'm quite confussed! The consulate said the best thing for me is to apply for is a Relative Visa - is this correct? I have been reading about Spouse Visa's but can't find any confirmed information! With a Relative Visa is it possible to apply for a work endorsement once in SA? Is it correct that it can take six months to get the endorsement? I've read that you CAN NOT apply for a work endorsement on a Relative Visa but that you CAN on a Spouse Visa - but most people find that they are issued with a Relative Visa even if they asked for Spouse Visa's...??? This all seems very complicated!! What is the best thing for me to do so that I can look for work straight away? And what are the chances of finding work when I don't already have a 'permit' ??

Also if we do stay in SA permanently what should I do in regards to applying for a Permanent Visa - obviously the Temporary Visa would eventually expire. Do I have to wait until we have been married five years before applying? Can I get the Temporary Visa extended very easily if that is the case?

Any advise would be really appreciated as we really want to get things organized!
Thanks!!

Hi there, I shall see if I can help. Firstly, your kids. Yes the best thing would be to get the birth registration and then apply for their passports. Once you have the passports it will make things much easier for you and you will not need to worry about visas for your kids ever again. Less hassle for you. I do not know about the time to get an SA passport in NZ. We applied for my daughters passport here in SA and that took about two months. When my husband applied for his passport whilst we were in the UK he waited about five months for his.

You say you have been married for three years, you would therefore qualify for a temporary residence permit. You are correct in that you would qualify for a spousal permit HOWEVER if you apply for this permit in NZ you will end up with a Relatives permit. The reason being that embassies and consulates abroad do not issue Spousal permits, why that is, no one knows. As such if you apply in NZ you will get a Relatives permit. This permit cannot be endorsed for work. You would need to make a new application once you get to SA to have your permit changed to a Spousal Permit. You should only do this once you have a job offer however since you can then apply for the endorsement at the same time (otherwise you will need to make two applications and you do not want to do that). Yes, the application process for any permit outside and in SA is very lengthy (I did exactly that application and it took 10 months to get my work endorsement). There is really nothing one can do about this, it is just the way things work here so it is better to know this and understand that you will have to wait a long time, there is no other way around this.

You will be eligible for Permanent Residency once you have been married for 5 years. Your Temporary Residency will usually last for two years so if that runs out before you get your PR then you can extend it but again it is a lengthy process like all other applications. As you have been married for three years already, and if you get a TR within the next year then once you need to extend the TR you can also apply for your PR at the same time which means that you will have two applications running at the same time. Also remember that every time you have to make a new application, whether to extend or for PR you will need to obtain new documentation (like xrays, medical reports, police certifications etc).

Hope the above helps but if you have any questions let me know.