# Visa Overstay and Good Cause Application



## howardsway (Jan 17, 2013)

I am a British Citizen living in Cape Town with my South African partner and 2 young children, 8 and 11yrs, both with dual nationality. I have had a series of Temporary Relative visas with business rights over the years but ran into trouble when renewing my last visa (expiry 17/12/2015). The change in procedures meant that I was able to renew in time (My original application was presented in time but was judged incomplete). I was then told to prepare a good cause application. This was rejected (as they all are apparently), and I was told to lodge an appeal and wait for a decision. It has now been 3 1/2 years and I am still waiting. I do finally have to leave the country in the next week and am almost certainly going to receive a 5 year ban. This obviously will negatively affect my partner of 15+ years and my 2 young children. Any advice would be greatly received.


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## traveller94 (Aug 26, 2016)

Leave, apply for an overstay appeal on the ban, re-apply for a visa abroad


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## Fortune07 (Apr 14, 2016)

howardsway said:


> I am a British Citizen living in Cape Town with my South African partner and 2 young children, 8 and 11yrs, both with dual nationality. I have had a series of Temporary Relative visas with business rights over the years but ran into trouble when renewing my last visa (expiry 17/12/2015). The change in procedures meant that I was able to renew in time (My original application was presented in time but was judged incomplete). I was then told to prepare a good cause application. This was rejected (as they all are apparently), and I was told to lodge an appeal and wait for a decision. It has now been 3 1/2 years and I am still waiting. I do finally have to leave the country in the next week and am almost certainly going to receive a 5 year ban. This obviously will negatively affect my partner of 15+ years and my 2 young children. Any advice would be greatly received.




Greetings,
My husband has been in this situation and it took us 1 yr to sort it out without him leaving the ctry.

So, my husband joined me here on a visitor’s visa valid for 2 yrs (expiring in Sept 2018). Then he wanted to study and we first wanted to have that visa endorsed to study but the school said they wanted a full-fledged visa. So, we went and applied to change his visa to study visa. This visa was supposed to expire in Jan 2018. Now due to some misunderstanding and bad advice we sat thinking the visitor’s visa that is to expire in Sept 2018 will still be viable. Wrong thought as we had CHANGED HIS STATUS hence that one was null and void.

Now after studies in June 2018 he went to apply for critical skills he received a rejection stating the obvious YOU HAVE NO VALID VISA AS THE STUIDY VISA MADE YOUR VISITOR’S VISA NULL AND VOID. That’s where the headache started. We were advised to apply for a good cause. In Oct 2018, we did and it was rejected saying there was no good cause why he didn’t renew his visa. He was issued with a notice to leave SA within 2 weeks. We held our grounds that he is going nowhere; we gonna stay in the ctry and fight this bec we knew if he went back to our home ctry, it will be almost impossible for him to return to SA (will elaborate on this later). We appealed to the DG as advised by the immigration officer and in December 2018 we still got a rejection with same reasons. Now in the rejection letter, it was stated we could appeal to the minister within 10 working days. Mind you this was December. Who really works in December?

Nevertheless, we put together a good appeal, someone on this forum (TOM KELLY) helped me out with some results from court cases to back my appeal. We appealed solely on compassionate grounds; apologising for our ignorance and begging the minister that he stays in the ctry bec we were newly married and had a 1yr old son at the time.

All these applications were done via email. We sent to minister’s office to one Benjamin Khoza who sends to the appropriate division like he said. We solicited help from anyone we could, we got hold of the Minister’s secretary and sent the appeal via her as well. We even contracted an immigration agent to look into the matter for us. Finally, in June 2019, he was called to come to the head office. I followed him there alongside our 1 yr old son. Our theory was the guy who called him is the main decision maker, and he will actually see me and see our young son and it will at least have an impact on his decision. After that meeting I was asked to send my work contract and an affidavit that we are still married which I did. August 2019, we received an outcome which was a Form 20, the document permitting him to remain in the ctry and apply for a new visa.

Now back to why my husband didn’t leave the ctry as was asked to. The visitor’s visa he came with took him 8 months to get from our home ctry. I mean, the high commissioner there is sthg else. They told us it will take a couple of weeks but we waited 8 months and he was also told when it was about to expire, he has to return home to renew it. To which we said “they are crazy”. Now imagine him following the notice, that would have been 5 yrs ban. And I know for a fact the high commission would have made it even more difficult for him. So, we decided he stays back and fight the battle. Especially as I read other stories of pple who stayed back and fought.

Now pple will say staying back is risky but I will say if you are married to a SA citizen with kids who are SA citizens, it is your constitutional right not to be separated from them. Check out the constitutional laws. And I have learnt the constitutional laws supersedes immigration laws in such circumstances. With a police clearance showing you are no criminal you are not negatively affecting SA in anyway, you just wanna be with your family, you have a good case.

In my case when all these started, I was on a work visa. Then in Feb 2019 I got PR, which really made a big difference on my husband’s case, well so I think. Then what more of u who is married to a citizen?

Nevertheless, this appealing on a ban from European ctries I have read they go very fast, but where I come from, naaah it was a no, no, no.

Sorry for the long read, hahaha not really a good writer. I said let me just put our story out there, who knows who can get inspiration or help from it.


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## Drnl (Sep 4, 2016)

Hi dear sister
You story is very inspiring as I'm almost on the same situation as your husband but I'm married to a south African citizen since november 2011 and have been on relative visa since 2014 until it expired on October 2018
My passport did expire as well but i managed to get a new one from my embassy and the old passport got lost this year.
Now the big problem is that i know for a fact that my good cause application will be rejected by the immigration, let alone the the DG.
So,is it wise for me to directly appeal to the minister for the form 20 since we all know that the immigration and the DG keep rejecting all the good cause application. 
Can you please send me the minister's office email details in order for me to directly contact him or his secretary.
Thank you.


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