South Africa Visa
Welcome to the World’s guiding experts on South African immigration.
Our expert team of registered immigration advisors are on hand to offer you with your FREE South African Immigration consultation today.
We aim to secure you the South African visa most fitted to your needs in the quickest and most impressive style. Our offices in Canada, South Africa and across the globe mean we are the starting choice for South African immigration affairs.
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South African Work Permits
South African work permits are issued as short term temporary residence visas and as an employer led immigration service, they are designed to help South African employers to source skilled workers from overseas. Permits are issued based on a job offer from a sponsoring South African company. This job offer forms the basis of the client’s right to live and work in South Africa, and the work permit is valid only for the sponsoring employer. Global Visas provide corporate visa service and can help South African businesses to source the skills and experience they require from overseas.
Family Immigration Visas
Like many South African immigration services, family visas may be obtained as either a temporary residence permit, or as a means to permanent residency. In some categories, such as the retirement visa, the choice of whether to opt for a temporary or permanent route is decided by the client, however, in family visa applications it is decided by the relationship between the applicant and their sponsoring relative. All applications must be sponsored by a South African citizen or permanent resident.
Short Term South African Visas
In South Africa, visas for tourism and for visiting family and friends are issued for a maximum of three months. Short term visit visas do not allow the applicant to switch into a longer term South African immigration service and although short term study is permitted, an applicant may not study for longer than the grant of their visa. Where students wish to continue studying in South African for longer than three months a study visa application must be submitted. Unlike a visit visa, a student visa allows the candidate to engage in limited employment, however in both cases permits are issued for temporary residence and candidates must return to their country of residency upon expiry.
South African Retirement Permit
Retiring in South Africa, or as is often the preferred choice, living seasonally in the country is an increasingly popular option which can be achieved through the South African retirement visa, a long term permit which can be issued as either a temporary residence permit of for permanent residence. The retirement permit, despite its name has no age limit, and the key requirement is that candidates have a guaranteed source of income. Candidates may remain on a temporary retirement permit which is granted for four years and is renewable by the same length of time indefinitely. However, clients may also apply for a permanent residence permit though the lengthy processing time makes it a common practice to enter in the first instance on a temporary permit before applying for permanent residency once in South Africa.
Temporary and Permanent Residence Permits
Several categories of South African visas and immigration services can be issued for either temporary or permanent residency. In family visa applications applying for temporary or permanent residency depends upon whether the candidate is within the first degree of kinship i.e. a parent of child, or the second degree of kinship, i.e. a nephew, niece or grandparent, with their sponsor. In retirement visa applications the option is left to the client to decide which to apply for. In all cases permanent residence awards many of the same rights as those enjoyed by South African citizens, however temporary residence permits can generally be processed much more quickly.
If you would like to know more about visiting or immigration to South Africa contact Global Visas today. Whether you’re living and working in South Africa o a work permit, or you would like to covert your temporary retirement permit into permanent residence, we can help. The quickest way to get your application moving is to visit the online assessment area and complete one of our enquiry forms.
