# Permanent residency



## noriki (Jul 14, 2014)

any one apply for PR from South Africa embassies ?
Any advice will be appreciated. ainkiller:


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## 2fargone (Jun 14, 2011)

I applied for TR in the USA. I know that is different than PR. 


But, what advise are you looking for?


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## noriki (Jul 14, 2014)

im about to apply for my PR from Riyadh 
i want to know if i need to apply online 1st and where they will take my Biometric identification? and im applying for Spousal PR i want to know if they will make interview with us ? or i must do it in SA.
and do they send all the application to Pretoria or they can issue my PR from the embassy 

thanks


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## 2fargone (Jun 14, 2011)

noriki said:


> im about to apply for my PR from Riyadh
> i want to know if i need to apply online 1st and where they will take my Biometric identification? and im applying for Spousal PR i want to know if they will make interview with us ? or i must do it in SA.
> and do they send all the application to Pretoria or they can issue my PR from the embassy
> 
> thanks


Have you tried to call or e-mail the Embassy in Riyadh? I would try to reach them to confirm everything. 

I didn't make an interview. I went to the Embassy in Washington D.C. with my documents.
They looked through everything and told me everything was in order and they would mail my passport back with the visa in it. 

I am not sure if the applications are sent to Pretoria I thought all visa go to Pretoria, but I got my visa back so quickly <2. It was issued in the United States.

It is MUCH FASTER to apply outside of South Africa.

They didn't take any Biometric ID for my visa so I am not sure what to tell you.


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## noriki (Jul 14, 2014)

Thank you for your advise 
The embassy here don't reply to emails or calls and I'm far from Riyadh and I want to be sure before I go 
Did u get your tracking reference no. From the embassy ?


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## 2fargone (Jun 14, 2011)

noriki said:


> Thank you for your advise
> The embassy here don't reply to emails or calls and I'm far from Riyadh and I want to be sure before I go
> Did u get your tracking reference no. From the embassy ?


Hi,

No I didn't get any tracking reference number. The Embassy told me to write my e-mail address on the forms and they would keep my updated with how the application was going.


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## noriki (Jul 14, 2014)

Hi
i phoned them today and they schedule my interview on Tuesday and they said i have to bring all my documents and they told it takes 4 to 6 weeks , but in HA site takes 6 to 8 months i dont know which one is right.

so i will be ready for this heavy trip Monday 
Thank you for your help


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## 2fargone (Jun 14, 2011)

Good luck! Hopefully it will be a short wait.

Ask them if they will mail you visa and passport back to you if you pay for the postage. So you don't have to make a return trip to pick it back up.

They Embassy in the USA mailed my documents back via Fedex to me so I didn't have to return to pick everything up. I think I paid $16 for overnight shipping.


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

Of course you can apply for PR outside of SA. However, all the PR applications worldwide go to Pretoria in South Africa for adjudication and therefore they take 6 to 15 months to process, due to a local backlog.


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## noriki (Jul 14, 2014)

thanks Legalman 
in the embassy they informed me it will takes 6 to 8 weeks ? and i have to intend an interview tomorrow do u have any idea about how it will be ? we are married for 6 years living out of SA for 3 years im worried they will ask us about our old days which we forgot most of them LOL


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

@noriki

Sorry if I sound blunt - but "which we forgot most of them LOL" isn't going to cut it at Home Affairs. The interview won't ask this type of thing. Most interviews are so fast and easy and just ask you to confirm what you've already written down.

About timing, I highly doubt they will do it in 6-8 weeks.


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## noriki (Jul 14, 2014)

you are right my interview was lekker fast


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## noriki (Jul 14, 2014)

guys how can I get the ref no. to track my paper
embassy said they sent my paper and I have to wait , but I would like to find out how can I track it


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## USMAN24 (Jul 15, 2014)

noriki said:


> guys how can I get the ref no. to track my paper
> embassy said they sent my paper and I have to wait , but I would like to find out how can I track it


I think you will need to somehow contact home affairs in South Africa to get a tracking number. The embassies are not very helpful with that info. Although you can email or call to find out.

I am in the same boat and applying for my PR from the US. I called and they instructed me to send my documents in( I live in Texas) via mail and they would schedule me for an interview. 

I have a couples of questions for you. At the interview,

Did they take biometric information from you?

Did you have to go with your spouse?(My spouse and child have already moved to SA as she had to start work, however we have all docs to show spousal relationship for over 5 years here in the US)

What questions were you asked at the interview?

Any info will be appreciated.


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## noriki (Jul 14, 2014)

Hi Usman 
I emailed the HA but no reply I will try to ask some one in SA to contact them,,



> Did they take biometric information from you?


no they only took my fingers print for Police CC and that was before PR applying 


> Did you have to go with your spouse?(My spouse and child have already moved to SA as she had to start work, however we have all docs to show spousal relationship for over 5 years here in the US)


 I took my spouse with me but I didn't have to as they said as long you have all the docs + certified copy of her ID and her bank acc dec


> What questions were you asked at the interview?


actually it was not interview he just went through our decs asking some questions for both of us like how many years u know each other ? when u will come back to SA? what kind of job u will do in SA ? general questions don't worry u will do good:humble:


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

As I said, the "interview" is really easy.


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

noriki said:


> thanks Legalman
> in the embassy they informed me it will takes 6 to 8 weeks ? and i have to intend an interview tomorrow do u have any idea about how it will be ? we are married for 6 years living out of SA for 3 years im worried they will ask us about our old days which we forgot most of them LOL


I've seen your post about the interview - so I assume everything went well.


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## noriki (Jul 14, 2014)

yes everything was smooth but now I trying to get the ref no so I can track my application 
the embassy says contact HA and HA says back to the embassy


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