# Spousal Visa - Still waiting with anticipation (& some questions)



## caz-j (Mar 5, 2011)

Hi,

I've been reviewing this forum for quite a while, even before I made the move from the UK to SA, & it's been a great source of information (& occasional depression in relation to Home Affairs  )

I moved to SA in May, got married to my SA husband in July & submitted my Spousal visa application 2 days after we got married on the 6th July directly at the Pretoria office (we drove there especially to avoid any delays of transportation from a local office). 

I received a text on the 21st July to say it had been received at the 'office of application' with a reference number & waited the 30 days as instructed on the processing paperwork they gave me. Since then I have been calling the 0800 enquiry number on about a weekly basis & each time I have been told a different story - either telling me to call again in a week or that it should only be another 2-3 weeks, but assuring me that I will definitely get the visa they just don't know when!!! 

On my most recent call (9th Sept) I was told that my visa should have been dealt with by now (as it's over the 30 days - shock ) & will be escalated to someone higher up to be investigated! They gave me a new case/reference number & told me it would be another 2-3 weeks.

Basically, I'm starting to lose hope & was wondering if anyone can give me any advice as to what to do next?

Also, I haven't been working/looking for work whilst awaiting my visa & haven't applied for the work endorsement yet. When I have asked HA about this they told me that once I have my visa I can start applying for jobs & once I have an offer can apply for the work endorsement. They said that I can work whilst awaiting this endorsement - is this true? And how long will that take?

I would appreciate any advice / experiences...

Many thanks!


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

caz-j said:


> Hi,
> 
> I've been reviewing this forum for quite a while, even before I made the move from the UK to SA, & it's been a great source of information (& occasional depression in relation to Home Affairs  )
> 
> ...


Sorry to hear about your experiences with Home Affairs, unfortunately it seems to be the same for everyone. All I can say is that the current waiting time for a Spousal Permit is about 3-4 months so if you applied in July I would not expect to hear anything before say November. The 30 day thing is a joke, I have never heard of anyone who has had their permits back within that time.

It is definitely not true that you are allowed to work whilst waiting for the endorsement. When you apply you will get a receipt and it specifically says that you are not allowed to work until your endorsement has been issued. I am waiting for my work endorsement, I initially applied in May but discovered in August that Home Affairs had lost my application so I had to apply again in August and I am still waiting. No idea when it will come through but I am not holding my breath that it will be any time soon.

Good luck with everything. Just try to be patient.


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## caz-j (Mar 5, 2011)

Saartjie said:


> Sorry to hear about your experiences with Home Affairs, unfortunately it seems to be the same for everyone. All I can say is that the current waiting time for a Spousal Permit is about 3-4 months so if you applied in July I would not expect to hear anything before say November. The 30 day thing is a joke, I have never heard of anyone who has had their permits back within that time.
> 
> It is definitely not true that you are allowed to work whilst waiting for the endorsement. When you apply you will get a receipt and it specifically says that you are not allowed to work until your endorsement has been issued. I am waiting for my work endorsement, I initially applied in May but discovered in August that Home Affairs had lost my application so I had to apply again in August and I am still waiting. No idea when it will come through but I am not holding my breath that it will be any time soon.
> 
> Good luck with everything. Just try to be patient.


Hi thanks for your response & good advice. 
Having read the posts in this forum for about a year (even before I joined) I figured I would unfortunately end up in the same boat as everyone else, but I don't think I fully realised how long this process was going to take!  Although, I could see from everyone's previous bad experiences it was always going to be more than the 30days! 

My husband left the UK after 2 years in October last year when his visa expired & having done a lot of research re: visas in both countries we decided that me moving out to SA would be the lesser of 2 evils, in terms of cost & ease of getting a visa once we were married - now I'm not so sure!

I called Home Affairs again today; they told me they are still waiting to hear back from the Permit Dept, which is where my application was 'escalated' last time I called, to find out what the hold up is.

I also enquired re: what I had been told previously about the work endorsement, as I have the same receipt you're talking about saying you're not allowed to work until you get the endorsement. The lady I spoke to told me that I can't now apply for a work endorsement until my Spousal visa comes through, as they are 2 parts that are processed seperately. She said that the visa is the longer part of the application process & once I have that it should only take less than 3 weeks to get the work endorsement. 

In terms of working, she said basically it is up to the company offering employment whether they want to employ you without the work permit, as there is no guarantee that you will be awarded it just because you already have a spousal visa. However, when I pushed her about the legality of this she said that legally you're not allowed to work without the permit, & if you did both the employer & employee would be liable. As I know in the UK companies get fined large amounts if they are found to be employing people without permits.

Ultimately, I want to try & do everything by the book - so it sounds like I only got half the story last time! Although, I should have already known to take everything they say with a pinch of salt 

I just want to be able to get back to some sort of work & start contributing to our new married life in SA...

I'm really sorry to hear that they lost your 1st application, this process is frustrating enough as it is let alone having to submit all over again... 

Good Luck to you too!


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

caz-j said:


> Hi thanks for your response & good advice.
> Having read the posts in this forum for about a year (even before I joined) I figured I would unfortunately end up in the same boat as everyone else, but I don't think I fully realised how long this process was going to take!  Although, I could see from everyone's previous bad experiences it was always going to be more than the 30days!
> 
> My husband left the UK after 2 years in October last year when his visa expired & having done a lot of research re: visas in both countries we decided that me moving out to SA would be the lesser of 2 evils, in terms of cost & ease of getting a visa once we were married - now I'm not so sure!
> ...


I know exactly how you feel. Although I was prepared that the permit applications would be difficult I do not think I really appreciated how difficult and frustrating it would be. It is so irritating to know that you arrive in SA to be with your spouse and want to work and pay tax like a 'good' citizen but not being allowed to do it because of the inefficiency of Home Affairs. I am however working, my company is allowing me to work from home and are paying me my full salary. It is obviously not by the book but both the company and I are so frustrated and considering they offered me the job in April and we are now in August what else can one do. 

It is true that you must now wait for the permit to come through before you apply for your endorsement. You can actually apply for both at the same time (like I did) but this means that you would have had to have a job offer at the time of application. If you can get your endorsement through in three weeks after your permit has been granted then that would be great although I would be very surprised if that was the case. Sorry about the negativity but considering that it took Home Affairs 5 months to produce my daughter's birth certificate and another 2 months to produce her passport make me think that everything takes a very long time. My daughter was born here in SA in October last year, we wanted to go 'home' to visit my parents around April. It took until July before we were able to go because of Home Affairs, great isn't it. 

Anyway, keep at it, remember that it will be sorted and once it is you can start enjoying your new life here which is great! Keep me posted how you get on.


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## irishexpat (May 25, 2011)

Ah, the delays. When I applied for the renewal of my spousal permit in November, I got it in March - by which time I had a job offer so applied for a spousal permit with work endorsement. 
That full phrase is key. They do not endorse the permit you have, they will make you apply for the spousal permit again with the addition of the signed work contract.

If the medical and police reports you used in your initial application are less than six months old at that time, you can use them again.

It's now the end of September and my work endorsed permit has not come through, having been at the "final desk" since June. Unfortunately the reality of Home Affairs at present is that they are effectively not functional. 
If you are to do things strictly legally, it is quite likely that most people will not get an endorsed permit in time for it to be usable. 

You have to find an employer who is willing from the start to either keep a position open for at least 4 months and up to a year - maybe more, nobody can really say - or employ you illegally on the strength of you having applied for a permit that must, apart from very exceptional circumstances, be eventually issued to you.


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