# Work endorsement to spousal visa - processing time



## JHinSA (Sep 14, 2014)

Hi,

I came to South Africa from the USA on a Spousal Visa and initialy applied for a work endorsement in the beginning of August at the new VFS offices. At the time I was told it would take 4-6 weeks to process. It has now been well over 7 weeks and I only get the same response: it is being processed by Home Affairs in Pretoria. I am sure that others are also waiting for their work endorsements to come through (or those that have recently received them) and I would love to know how long people have been waiting or had to wait for it to work out. How long has it been for you?

I originally applied for a Spousal visa with work endorsement in Washington, DC but they only gave me the spousal visa, telling me I had to reapply once I reached South Africa. Had I known how long the process would be taking, I would have been more forceful at the embassy! I had read on these forums back in 2011 that there has supposedly been a court case which allows individuals to work if their work endorsement has not been processed within 30 days, does anyone have more information on this?

Thanks!


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## capetonian101 (Jun 2, 2014)

Hi my wife applied for her endorsement on the 17th of july and till today its still at DHA and no one can give us any answers.This VFS is just a money making scam.
good luck


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

JHinSA said:


> Hi,
> 
> I came to South Africa from the USA on a Spousal Visa and initialy applied for a work endorsement in the beginning of August at the new VFS offices. At the time I was told it would take 4-6 weeks to process. It has now been well over 7 weeks and I only get the same response: it is being processed by Home Affairs in Pretoria. I am sure that others are also waiting for their work endorsements to come through (or those that have recently received them) and I would love to know how long people have been waiting or had to wait for it to work out. How long has it been for you?
> 
> ...


No you are not allowed to work until your work endorsement has been granted. Lots of people do since it can take a long time for it to come through but it is illegal to do so.


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

That's right, you must wait until it has been issued to legally work. The court case/s you refer to allowed those people (applicants in those specific court cases) to work, but it did not create a rule.

You could well have applied from the US, provided that you had the permanent contract of employment signed already.


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## kaybee1818 (Dec 18, 2014)

*work endorsement*

Hey JHinSa,

I saw you posted this a few months ago, so can you update us on your situation? Did you get it, and how long did it take?

I'm specifically curious how you applied for the spousal visa with work endorsement in the States. Did you already have an employer lined up, and submit your application with a job offer letter? 

I'm an American in a similar situation. I'm married to a South African and about to apply for a spousal visa with work endorsement, but I'm having trouble getting good info about whether I should apply abroad or in SA. I've heard that, if you have an offer letter and a job lined up, you can apply for the visa/endorsement simultaneously abroad and it will be processed much quicker than in SA. But, I've also heard that you can only get the visa abroad and the endorsement you have to apply for in person in SA. 

I could just move to SA and apply for both at the same time, but (like in your situation) I'm worried about it taking too long and losing the job. Did your employer wait for you? 

If you could give me any guidance I'd really appreciate it!!


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