# spouse of SA citizen looking for work



## MaryR (Sep 1, 2011)

I'm in Durban with my husband who's a SA citizen. I have a Relative's Permit due to expire May 2012. It states I'm here to join my South African husband. I want to start looking for work and to have, as much as possible, my necessary paperwork in hand and be able to tell potential employers exactly what would need to be done to hire me legally. From what I've read so far it sounds like I need to have my Relative's Permit changed to a Spousal Permit, and to get a letter from someone who wants to hire me which would allow me to apply for a work endorsement on my spousal permit. 
What exactly is the form I need for this? 
I've looked on the Home Affairs website and elsewhere and haven't seen a form that looks appropriate to my case. 
Also it looks like I should also apply for a Permanent Resident Permit. If you have a permanent resident permit do you need any kind of work endorsement to work legally? I know it takes a long time for a permanent resident permit to come through so i won't count on that any time soon. 
I really appreciate if someone can help me with this. I've been looking a lot and haven't seen the answer to my question.


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

MaryR said:


> I'm in Durban with my husband who's a SA citizen. I have a Relative's Permit due to expire May 2012. It states I'm here to join my South African husband. I want to start looking for work and to have, as much as possible, my necessary paperwork in hand and be able to tell potential employers exactly what would need to be done to hire me legally. From what I've read so far it sounds like I need to have my Relative's Permit changed to a Spousal Permit, and to get a letter from someone who wants to hire me which would allow me to apply for a work endorsement on my spousal permit.
> What exactly is the form I need for this?
> I've looked on the Home Affairs website and elsewhere and haven't seen a form that looks appropriate to my case.
> Also it looks like I should also apply for a Permanent Resident Permit. If you have a permanent resident permit do you need any kind of work endorsement to work legally? I know it takes a long time for a permanent resident permit to come through so i won't count on that any time soon.
> I really appreciate if someone can help me with this. I've been looking a lot and haven't seen the answer to my question.


Hi there, yes you do need to change your permit, I had the same problem. The form you need is called BI-1740 (Change of Conditions). To get the work endorsement at the same time you need a offer letter of employment. Basically what I did was explaining to the company that was interviewing me how it works in that you need an offer to get the endorsement. When I got the job, they provided me with the letter which I submitted with my application. You can apply for Permanent Residence at the same time I think. Once you get Permanent Residency you can work and study without needing any endorsements so no more applications needs to be made once you have that. Please note however that the waiting time for Permanent Residency is currently a minimum of 24 months so you need to get your Spousal with Work Endorsement sorted in the meantime provided that you want to work that is. I hope this has answered some of your questions.


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## MaryR (Sep 1, 2011)

*Thanks!*



Saartjie said:


> Hi there, yes you do need to change your permit, I had the same problem. The form you need is called BI-1740 (Change of Conditions). To get the work endorsement at the same time you need a offer letter of employment. Basically what I did was explaining to the company that was interviewing me how it works in that you need an offer to get the endorsement. When I got the job, they provided me with the letter which I submitted with my application. You can apply for Permanent Residence at the same time I think. Once you get Permanent Residency you can work and study without needing any endorsements so no more applications needs to be made once you have that. Please note however that the waiting time for Permanent Residency is currently a minimum of 24 months so you need to get your Spousal with Work Endorsement sorted in the meantime provided that you want to work that is. I hope this has answered some of your questions.


Thanks! That really helps. Now let me just make sure I have the details right. I’m looking at that BI-1740 form.
- What exactly do I need in terms of an affidavit about my marriage and cohabitation? Letters from my husband, myself and someone else stating that we are married and living together? Do these need to be notarized?

- I assume I can go to the US Consulate here in Durban and get a police clearance for myself?	

- Am I right that we can ignore all the sections regarding work permits? 
I will just need a letter from an employer stating that they are 
offering me employment, and I will need to state in the appropriate spaces 
that I want to change the status of my permit to a spousal permit because I 
want to work and I want to add a work endorsement to the spousal permit?

Thanks for your help with this. I will be so glad to have this straightened out. 
MaryR


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

MaryR said:


> Thanks! That really helps. Now let me just make sure I have the details right. I’m looking at that BI-1740 form.
> - What exactly do I need in terms of an affidavit about my marriage and cohabitation? Letters from my husband, myself and someone else stating that we are married and living together? Do these need to be notarized?
> 
> - I assume I can go to the US Consulate here in Durban and get a police clearance for myself?
> ...


Evidencing your marriage you can do with your Marriage Certificate, nothing else is needed for that. Otherwise I supplied the following:-
1. Letter of Support - A short letter from my husband to state that he is my husband and that he is supporting me financially.
2. Police Clearance.
3. Offer Letter (employment).
4. Proof of Address.
5. Radiology and Health Certificate (I used the ones that I used for my previous application).
6. Copies of my passport, my husband's passport, husband's ID book, your current permit.

All of the above as Certified Copies.

Not sure about US Police Clearance. I had to get UK one and had to apply in the UK (the embassy does not help). If you have been in SA for a while they usually ask you to get Police Clearance from here as well which you can do at a police station, think it cost around R50 but not sure.

It is a while since I completed the form but I remember that you need to state that you want to change your condition as you want to work. The permit you should apply for is called a Section 11(6) Permit.


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## MaryR (Sep 1, 2011)

*Thanks*



Saartjie said:


> Evidencing your marriage you can do with your Marriage Certificate, nothing else is needed for that. Otherwise I supplied the following:-
> 1. Letter of Support - A short letter from my husband to state that he is my husband and that he is supporting me financially.
> 2. Police Clearance.
> 3. Offer Letter (employment).
> ...


Thanks! - I'll start getting those things ready. So we don't need to worry about the sections of the form regarding work permits - the employer putting in the advertisements, what was wrong with the other applicants, the hours and details of the position offered etc? Just a letter from the employer saying a position is being offered? MaryR


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

MaryR said:


> Thanks! - I'll start getting those things ready. So we don't need to worry about the sections of the form regarding work permits - the employer putting in the advertisements, what was wrong with the other applicants, the hours and details of the position offered etc? Just a letter from the employer saying a position is being offered? MaryR


That is correct. Because you are a spouse of a citizen of the Republic all those issues falls away regarding advertising the position etc. A letter from your employer is sufficient and the employer should also sign the form where appropriate.


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## MaryR (Sep 1, 2011)

*certified copies*



Saartjie said:


> That is correct. Because you are a spouse of a citizen of the Republic all those issues falls away regarding advertising the position etc. A letter from your employer is sufficient and the employer should also sign the form where appropriate.


Good. How does one go about getting certified copies?


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

MaryR said:


> Good. How does one go about getting certified copies?


Very easy. Go down to your nearest police station with your originals and copies. They will do the certification for you and it is for free. Please note that some stations are more helpful then others and some of them complain if you come with too many documents in one go. You can always make two visits if you have lots of documents.


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## MaryR (Sep 1, 2011)

*Thanks*



Saartjie said:


> Very easy. Go down to your nearest police station with your originals and copies. They will do the certification for you and it is for free. Please note that some stations are more helpful then others and some of them complain if you come with too many documents in one go. You can always make two visits if you have lots of documents.


Thanks! That helps.


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## irishexpat (May 25, 2011)

Just a thought. 
I have been waiting for my work endorsement for six months now. Fortunately my employer is happy to pay me under the table while waiting for the permit.
However that can't be relied on. I have been hearing recently that some people are getting their permits very quickly (under three weeks) from SA embassies in the US and UK. If I could cancel my current application and go home, that's exactly what I'd do now.
Have a look here, for example for Home Affairs in New York.
It might be worth your time to take a holiday home when the time for permit application comes. Maybe check with the embassy or consulate closest to wherever you'll be for confirmation?


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

irishexpat said:


> Just a thought.
> I have been waiting for my work endorsement for six months now. Fortunately my employer is happy to pay me under the table while waiting for the permit.
> However that can't be relied on. I have been hearing recently that some people are getting their permits very quickly (under three weeks) from SA embassies in the US and UK. If I could cancel my current application and go home, that's exactly what I'd do now.
> Have a look here, for example for Home Affairs in New York.
> It might be worth your time to take a holiday home when the time for permit application comes. Maybe check with the embassy or consulate closest to wherever you'll be for confirmation?


I agree with your suggestion for sure. When I applied for my daughter's un-abridged birth certificate at Home Affairs in January they told me that it would be a minimum of a five month wait to get it (I am still waiting for that one as it happens). When we contacted the South African Embassy in my home country (Sweden), they agreed to help. After one week we were able to pick up the certificate from our local Home Affairs office here in SA. So the embassies can definitely help but I suppose it depends upon how busy the embassy is in your particular country. I would for example not have expected that the SA embassy in London to be so helpful for the sole reason that they are so busy compared to the one in Sweden. Worth a try though for sure.


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## mano1438 (Mar 13, 2010)

*Sa permanent residence*

Hi, I will inform you of what I know.
I worked close to the immigration officials in Namibia when it was still South Africa, I arrived to South Africa from Brazil with a permanent residence permit, later I became a South African citizen but because of the independance of Namibia we had to renounce our RSA citizenship and become Namibian, but this we did under the guidance of the chief of immigration at that time, whom assured us that we would be able to regain our South African citizenship and which was not respected at all, I explain this to you so that you can understand that things have changed there considerably and perhaps what I tell you will not apply now.

I do know that to apply for a Permanent Residence you had to apply from outside the country, which was quite easy, just went over to Swaziland and applied from there, apply for a multiple re entry permit and you should be entitled to stay there for 90 days, go over the border, spend the night in one of the neighboring countries and return for another 90 days, this should see you through till you get your permanent residence permit.

I repeat that I don't quite know if this will still apply, just a matter of asking around I guess, good luck and enjoy your stay in South Africa, if it wasn't for all the apartheid crap and not only between whites and blacks but mostly between tribes, which is a real pity as this could be the best country in the world to live in!!!.....I do know, I spent over 40 years there and now in Europe,unfortunately!!

Best of luck and I do hope that I did help you somehow.

Mano





MaryR said:


> I'm in Durban with my husband who's a SA citizen. I have a Relative's Permit due to expire May 2012. It states I'm here to join my South African husband. I want to start looking for work and to have, as much as possible, my necessary paperwork in hand and be able to tell potential employers exactly what would need to be done to hire me legally. From what I've read so far it sounds like I need to have my Relative's Permit changed to a Spousal Permit, and to get a letter from someone who wants to hire me which would allow me to apply for a work endorsement on my spousal permit.
> What exactly is the form I need for this?
> I've looked on the Home Affairs website and elsewhere and haven't seen a form that looks appropriate to my case.
> Also it looks like I should also apply for a Permanent Resident Permit. If you have a permanent resident permit do you need any kind of work endorsement to work legally? I know it takes a long time for a permanent resident permit to come through so i won't count on that any time soon.
> I really appreciate if someone can help me with this. I've been looking a lot and haven't seen the answer to my question.


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