# Spousal Visa: Marriage Certificate Question(s)



## baconsteakey (Aug 29, 2018)

Hello

My English wife is applying for a spousal visa to come with me to live in SA.
We were married in SA (in Feb 2018), and have the original marriage certificate that we received at the time.

I have 3 questions related to this if anyone could kindly help:

1. Is it sufficient to submit the original marriage certificate (or ideally a certified copy) to VFS when applying? Or, is it necessary to have this document "apostilled"? My understanding that an apostille is only required if the marriage certificate was issues in a country other than SA, which would lead me to believe getting it apostilled is unnecessary.

2. Given that we are married and were interviewed by home affairs in Cape Town to approve the marriage, is it still necessary to provide additional evidence of cohabitation? (e.g. bank statements, bills, etc with the same addresses on them)

3. Finally, are we mad trying to do this ourselves, without using some immigration lawyers? I'm getting nothing but horror stories from others who have done the same, so just wondering what the opinions are 

Many thanks for any answers.


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## baconsteakey (Aug 29, 2018)

Oops, for clarity, we currently live in the UK, in case it wasn't clear.


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## terryZW (Jun 26, 2017)

baconsteakey said:


> Hello
> 
> My English wife is applying for a spousal visa to come with me to live in SA.
> We were married in SA (in Feb 2018), and have the original marriage certificate that we received at the time.
> ...


_1. Is it sufficient to submit the original marriage certificate (or ideally a certified copy) to VFS when applying? Or, is it necessary to have this document "apostilled"? My understanding that an apostille is only required if the marriage certificate was issues in a country other than SA, which would lead me to believe getting it apostilled is unnecessary._

A certified copy is all they need. Just ensure you have the marriage certificate and the Form 12 affidavit too.

_2. Given that we are married and were interviewed by home affairs in Cape Town to approve the marriage, is it still necessary to provide additional evidence of cohabitation? (e.g. bank statements, bills, etc with the same addresses on them)_

Yes, you have to submit the same documents each and every time.

3. Finally, are we mad trying to do this ourselves, without using some immigration lawyers? I'm getting nothing but horror stories from others who have done the same, so just wondering what the opinions are 

I've submitted applications for (and never been denied) visas in 3 different categories since I first came to SA as a student in 2012. Never used any immigration lawyer or service.


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## baconsteakey (Aug 29, 2018)

Thank you yet again terryZW. Your info is incredibly helpful.


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## baconsteakey (Aug 29, 2018)

> _1. Is it sufficient to submit the original marriage certificate (or ideally a certified copy) to VFS when applying? Or, is it necessary to have this document "apostilled"? My understanding that an apostille is only required if the marriage certificate was issues in a country other than SA, which would lead me to believe getting it apostilled is unnecessary._
> 
> A certified copy is all they need. Just ensure you have the marriage certificate and the Form 12 affidavit too.


I just called the VFS premium rate number (charging 0.72 GBP per minute!!) and asked this. The person on the phone said I DID need to apostille it, which makes no sense to me whatsoever, however to be safe, we will probably just do it now, even though it costs about 60 GBP!


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## baconsteakey (Aug 29, 2018)

Amazingly, I emailed the VFS help team, and over email they said it was not necessary to apostille. Who to believe 

Anyway, 1 further question if I may...

I have the abridged version of our marriage certificate, form DHA-27, which was filled in by hand by the marriage officer and given to us shortly after the wedding. Does anyone know if this will be sufficient when applying for the visa in the UK? Or would I need to apply for an unabridged marriage certificate and submit this instead? (The unabridged certificate takes 6 months according to South African Citizens > Certificates > Marriage Cert > South African High Commission !)

EDIT: of course, I am asking VFS this same question over email, and will share what they reply with. I'm just looking for others with personal experience who may know.


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## baconsteakey (Aug 29, 2018)

FYI: the answer from VFS was:


> Kindly note that, unabridged marriage certificate will be required to support your visa application.


Which is an incredibly frustrating answer.


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## TheresaA (Sep 5, 2018)

You should apply directly at the embassy not through VFS. You will require an apostilled unabridged marriage certificate aswell as unabridged birth certificate for your wife with apostille. Getting the unabridged is going to take time with DOH but there are companies in SA to assist with the application and apostille.


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## TheresaA (Sep 5, 2018)

I am an SA citizen married to a Romanian citizen. We were married in Romania and my husband now needs to apply for a spousal visa ie relatives visa but the embassy informs us that the we must produce a South African marraige certificate...expecting us to both go to SA and register our marriage in SA and apply for an unabridge marriage certificate...this makes absolutely no sense and when I researched about this all infor.ation said that you dont get another Marriage certificate from SA. Even home affairs confirmed to me that they dont register the foreign marriage and they dont issue a certiifcate...so I am confused with this embassy.

Can any one confirm to me if you were married in another country if the embassy accepted the foreign marriage certifacte or was a SA one required?


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## baconsteakey (Aug 29, 2018)

TheresaA said:


> You should apply directly at the embassy not through VFS. You will require an apostilled unabridged marriage certificate aswell as unabridged birth certificate for your wife with apostille. Getting the unabridged is going to take time with DOH but there are companies in SA to assist with the application and apostille.


I don't think this is accurate (edit: for my particular circumstances as described earlier in this thread).
For one, I don't think I can apply directly at the embassy for a spousal visa. If you are adamant that i CAN apply at the embassy, can you tell me how you know this? What is the source?
Of course, I MUST apply for the unabridged marriage certificate at the embassy and not at VFS.

Also, "apostilling" a document means to make it valid internationally. However since my marriage certificate is a South African one, and the visa we are applying for is South African, I don't believe it is necessary to apostille our marriage certificate.

My wife's UK birth certificate on the other hand, yes, this must be apostilled.


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## baconsteakey (Aug 29, 2018)

TheresaA said:


> I am an SA citizen married to a Romanian citizen. We were married in Romania and my husband now needs to apply for a spousal visa ie relatives visa but the embassy informs us that the we must produce a South African marraige certificate...expecting us to both go to SA and register our marriage in SA and apply for an unabridge marriage certificate...this makes absolutely no sense and when I researched about this all infor.ation said that you dont get another Marriage certificate from SA. Even home affairs confirmed to me that they dont register the foreign marriage and they dont issue a certiifcate...so I am confused with this embassy.
> 
> Can any one confirm to me if you were married in another country if the embassy accepted the foreign marriage certifacte or was a SA one required?


I'm no expert, but it sounds like you got incorrect information from someone. This sounds like the perfect case where you have to get your Romanian marriage certificate apostilled.

Unfortunately, there seems to be a LOT of misinformation out there. Even to the point of getting two completely different answers from VFS on email versus phone for a particular question. I have done a lot of googling and reading, and finally even hired an immigration lawyer to help.


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## baconsteakey (Aug 29, 2018)

For the record, my wife's spousal visa was approved! Hooray. Thanks to everyone who provided helpful info in this thread and the forum in general.

Some notes from our experience for anyone in a similar situation:
These are specific to our circumstances obviously, so you need to use your head to figure out if it applies to you too...

Applied at: London VFS Offices (Wilson Street)
Applied on: 25/09/2018
Approved on: 16/10/2018

- We used a lawyer but they were really of very little help, and were very expensive for what they provided. In hindsight I wouldn't have used them and would have saved the few hundred pounds, but I mainly did it for peace of mind. As long as you are willing to do the research (read the government gazette, read lots of forums, etc) and apply logic, I think you should be fine.

- We were married in ZA. We did NOT need our unabridged marriage certificate thankfully as the application for that can take months I have heard. We submitted a copy of the shortform one (DHA-27) and a copy of the marriage register (DHA-30) which were given to us by our marriage officer after our wedding.

- The lawyers advised us to get an apostilled unabridged birth certificate for my wife (she was born in the UK). The apostille part of this was not necessary according to the VFS agent (and it was EXPENSIVE). The VFS agent REMOVED it from our application, so all home affairs got was a certified copy of her unabridged birth cert. That said, I would have got it apostilled anyway, so can't really blame the lawyers, and when I raised it with them, they maintained that it was necessary and that the agent was mistaken... regardless we got approved without it.

- As supporting evidence for our application, we submitted:
-- 5 x annual bank statements summary for each of us showing us at the same address back to 2013.
-- 3 x letters from friends/family in ZA, stating how they knew each of us, that they were at our wedding and confirmed our relationship was genuine. The letter was written by me (same thing but different variations for my dad/sister/friend), I emailed it to them they printed it, signed it and had a commissioner of oaths sign/stamp it. Also included a certified copy of their IDs. They then DHL'ed that back to me in London.
-- Thames Water bills with both our names on it going back 3 years, showing same address
-- Tenancy agreement from 5 years ago from our old landlord (it was just a printout without any signatures, so probably wasn't very convincing, although it was genuine).
-- A support declaration signed by me stating that I will be responsible for my wife financially, emotionally, etc and that she will not become a burden on the state at any point.
-- Copy of our title deed showing that we own property together.

I think that was it. Good luck to anyone else applying. Time to book flights!!


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