# PR certificate missing



## wsg (Dec 3, 2013)

Hi All,

I got a confirmation sms that my pr was out, contacted capetown office and they said my application had been approved on 01 October 2013 and it has been dispatched from Head Office to capetown. I have been to home affairs a number of times to check on my pr certificate but i still haven't received it. I have noticed a number of people receive their pr certificates quite earlier than this once they have received the sms.

Anyone knows of people that had to wait this long and what the reason for the delay was? How can I locate my documents to be sure they are not lost? Who can I ask for assistance at home affairs since the front desk officers aren't giving meaningful info. If they are lost, in such a situation, what's the best way forward. My current work permit is expiring soon and I need to travel so you can imagine all the implications.

Thank you.


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

I've seen this a few times, each time with a different reason. In one case, the applicant's certificate had already been collected by an immigration agency and they hadn't notified the applicant.

The only way you can reliably find out the reason is to take Home Affairs to task through the courts by using the services of a lawyer or immigration lawyer.


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## wsg (Dec 3, 2013)

Hi LegalMan,

Approximately how much do I need to budget for the immigration lawyer for such legal action. Also, why would an immigration agency "steal" someone's pr certificate?

Thanks


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## MissGlobal (Aug 4, 2012)

We had about a 2 month ( if I remember properly) delay between when we got the SMS for my husband's PR being ready and when it was physically available to pick up in Cape Town. Just because they say it's been sent to Cape Town doesn't mean that it actually has. We took about 4 / 5 trips to home affairs before we were actually successful picking it up. 

I can't speak to the accuracy of this at all - but we developed a rapport with one of the home affairs guys dealing with our paperwork and this is what he told us : 

1 - Home Affairs uses an agency to print and deliver the certificates to the regional offices
2 - The ANC intentionally doesn't pay the agency for the cape town deliveries to make it seem as if the office is less efficient since it is DA run.

He ultimately felt so sorry for us - he gave us his cell and let us SMS him to check if it had really arrived instead of going back all the time.

I'd suggest you keep going to the same office that you've been going to when you were submitting your application and ask them. I know the folk at the front will look at you like you're nuts - but keep pushing.


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## wsg (Dec 3, 2013)

Thanks MissGlobal for the encouragement. I am just gonna 've to keep on checking. There is lots of mix ups. Some pple that had theirs approved way after mine 've gotten theirs already. Also, in terms of the application processing, seems there is no ordering by application date as some pple that applied way before I did are still waiting for responses.


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

MissGlobal is right, they actually can't accurately tell you where exactly the certificate is.

In the case I mentioned, no PR certificate was stolen, the immigration agency (not lawyers!) simply didn't contact their client to notify them that it was ready and waiting with them. It took us two months to finalise everything have it in the client's hands.


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