# Study permit renewal



## expatinbloem (Jan 22, 2015)

Hello

I'm trying to renew my study permit and I'm completely baffled as to what exactly I'm supposed to submit with the application. VFS on their website say one thing which was quite a small and relatively easy list to fulfil, however when I went to apply they gave me a second list which requires things like unabridged birth certificate, police checks, medical and x-rays. After a lengthy argument with someone at VFS Global they eventually said that everyone needed to just read the act and decipher what they needed to submit from there. The Act however seems to suggest that I need just letters from my uni, proof of sufficient financial means and medical scheme confirmation.

I have an interview with VFS tomorrow and I thought that as it seemed the problem lay with VFS Global then all I needed to do was to submit the documents as per the act with a supporting letter and copies of the relevant pages of the act to back up my case for what I was submitting. Today however I heard that applications for renewal were being rejected if they were submitted without the documents from the "mystery list" and having spoken to a couple of migration lawyers it seems that if I engage their services I would still need to submit additional information in any case. I see no merit in paying R5000 when I could use the money to fly back to London and get the one day service.

I'm at a complete loss and wondering whether I will need to return to the UK to renew my visa as it all seems to be so complicated here. I actually have a Canadian and German friend who are in their home countries to renew their visas because the system here was so chaotic.

I wondered if anyone else had experience of renewing visitor visas and what happened with theirs?


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

Hi expatinbloem, 

I completely understand your frustration. First of all we need to realize that unfortunately we are dealing with a 3rd world mentality here when it comes to government services in SA and that is why following the Act and getting legal assistance is good idea. Also, there is no 1 day service at the South African High Commission in London. The processing time at the moment is a minimum of 30 days. 

You can rest assured that there are thousands of foreign nationals who have been negatively affected by the poor immigration services in South Africa. I hope that your appointment goes well today. Please let me know how it played out.


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## expatinbloem (Jan 22, 2015)

Many thanks for your response LegalMan, you have been a lot more upfront with your answers than others have.

My gripe really is with VFS Global who have been aware for some time that the information on their website was wrong. As VFS Global operate internationally I really don't feel that I can put my particular experience down to it being a third world country, but perhaps VFS see the South African contract differently to say their operations within other countries. I'm not saying South Africa is brilliantly efficient, but my situation isn't being helped by the incompetence of their visa partner. I think I'll leave it at that to save me from descending into a rant about government subcontracting and accountability.

Just a quick follow up question. At VFS today I gave up trying to argue as the person I spoke to clearly wasn't familiar with the Act. I did however establish that police clearance certificates are taking 8 weeks to come through which means that I will not be able to submit my application until 4 weeks before my visa expires. In this instance do you feel it would be worth me risking doing it here or should I go back to the UK for a month?

Many thanks


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

Hi expatinbloem, 

Its difficult not to descend into a rant . 

VFS staff were trained by DHA staff. Okay, enough said on that topic.
In answer to your question... You would need a police clearance certificate for South Africa for submission here or in the UK. However, once you have submitted your application through VFS the processing time will be anything from 6-10 weeks for an outcome. Therefore, should you have time constraints and want to avoid becoming illegal, then you should submit your application back in the UK.


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## expatinbloem (Jan 22, 2015)

Thanks again. I think my strategy will be:

If the police clearance arrives in a time period which leaves 8 weeks for a visa app outcome I'll apply here but through an immigration agent/lawyer to make sure that I don't get messed around. If it doesn't arrive in time then I'll go back to the UK and apply from there.

I'm the first of many people from our group to go through this process so everyone is looking on horrified at what's happening and are already working out just how early they can get away with applying for a visa.

I'll let you know how I get on.


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## expatinbloem (Jan 22, 2015)

I just had a thought.

Given the DHA are directing people to the VFS Global website which has the incorrect information, and VFS are directing us to the DHA (feeling dizzy yet) and occasionally directing us to the Act which doesn't match the list VFS and apparently the DHA are working to, would it be worth starting a thread to advise people to apply to VFS to get the correct list of supporting documents before attempting to gather everything?

It feels like the completely wrong way of going about a visa application but seems like the only way of getting a clear idea of what documents are expected.


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

expatinbloem said:


> I just had a thought.
> 
> Given the DHA are directing people to the VFS Global website which has the incorrect information, and VFS are directing us to the DHA (feeling dizzy yet) and occasionally directing us to the Act which doesn't match the list VFS and apparently the DHA are working to, would it be worth starting a thread to advise people to apply to VFS to get the correct list of supporting documents before attempting to gather everything?
> 
> It feels like the completely wrong way of going about a visa application but seems like the only way of getting a clear idea of what documents are expected.


Hi expatinbloem, 

It feels like you are on a roller coaster dealing with these entities. What is even more interesting is that the Embassies have different requirements as well, compared to VFS and the Department of Home Affairs. 

My advice is to always submit according to the Act and Regulations, because VFS must accept that application. In South Africa, you can appeal the Department of Home Affairs with a vengeance and shove the Act and Regulations in their face, always winning on appeal. Abroad, you need to provide what the Embassy asks for, even if its not 10% the same as the Act or Regulations, but rather for a swift process.


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