# Permanent residence



## bshoward (Jun 18, 2012)

Hi all, if one has been a permanet resident in SA but has been out of the country for 5 odd years is one still classed a permanent resident ?? Hence do i need to re-apply for permanent residence as i am still married to a SA citizen


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## Johanna (Apr 13, 2009)

bshoward said:


> Hi all, if one has been a permanet resident in SA but has been out of the country for 5 odd years is one still classed a permanent resident ?? Hence do i need to re-apply for permanent residence as i am still married to a SA citizen




:ranger:

PR does expire after a period of time, I think it is 3 years .


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## GrahamWeifang (Dec 14, 2012)

Correct, 3 years.

best get yourself back there for a short holiday.

Gra.


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## Jujube (Sep 12, 2011)

Johanna said:


> :ranger:
> 
> PR does expire after a period of time, I think it is 3 years .


Hi Johanna,
do you mean that it expires after 3 years out of the country....or the PR itself is valid for 3 years only?

If the latter, what are you then supposed to do: renew every 3 years? what is the point of 'permanent' then?

Cheers,
Julien


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## Johanna (Apr 13, 2009)

Jujube said:


> Hi Johanna,
> do you mean that it expires after 3 years out of the country....or the PR itself is valid for 3 years only?
> 
> If the latter, what are you then supposed to do: renew every 3 years? what is the point of 'permanent' then?
> ...


PR = permanent residence whilst you live in the country. You do not have to renew it, but it does expire if you leave the country.

Most countries place a time limit on PR.


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## Jujube (Sep 12, 2011)

Thank you Johanna.

So it expires after 3 years being out of the country - as Graham suggested, does coming back for a short holiday breaks work?

I see some people on another forum talked about this rule not being valid if you're a spouse of a South African Citizen.

I tried to look for proper official documentations in this regards but unsuccessfully.


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## Johanna (Apr 13, 2009)

Jujube said:


> Thank you Johanna.
> 
> So it expires after 3 years being out of the country - as Graham suggested, does coming back for a short holiday breaks work?
> 
> ...


In all honesty, I do not know Jujube.

It would be best to contact the relevant department.


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## bshoward (Jun 18, 2012)

Thank you all for your input it is much appreciated, i am married to a South African so hopefully i wont have to renew it, eish eish


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## travellerct (Dec 24, 2011)

Hi, If you acquired PR through marriage (SA Citizen) and are still married, the PR never expires no matter where you live in the world. If you acquired PR through a different route then it has a 3 year validity and requires you to check in with the SA consulate by the end of those 3 years with a good excuse why you want to keep PR and not live in SA at that present moment.

Hope this helps

T


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## Jujube (Sep 12, 2011)

This does help indeed - Thanks for the info!

Happy new year ;-)


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

The official state of affairs here is:

In theory a permanent resident is classed as having lost their permanent residency status if they have been out the country for more than 3 years. This is detected when one travels in and out of South Africa.

You may first try apply for what is known as Proof of Permanent Residency, and once that determination comes back as confirmed “lost”, then it is suggested that you re-apply for a temporary and permanent residency permit at the same time.


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