# With a Spousal or Relatives Visa, can I also get a work permit?



## tryansc (Sep 3, 2012)

Hello, thanks for taking the time to read...

I am a US citizen, and my wife is South African and I am planning to apply for a spousal or relatives visa and stay with her in Pretoria...

my question is, once I arrive in South Africa, if I manage to get a job or work-study offer, would I be able to apply for a work or study permit while in SA on the relatives/spousal visa, or would I not be allowed to work or study at all?

Please help, and thanks a lot for reading. Can't seem to find the answer to this anywhere.


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## tryansc (Sep 3, 2012)

Hi, sorry for the double post but it seems I'm not able to edit my prior one.

After reading through pages and pages of a thread with a similar question, it seems as though I would NOT be endorsed for work on a relatives permit, but I wont be able to apply for a spousal permit either unless I'm in South Africa...

this leads me to believe that I will actually have to start with the relatives permit in order to enter the country...

so I guess now my question is: If I enter South Africa with a relatives permit, will I be able to change it once I am there to a Spousal Visa, even though my wife and I haven't been together for 5 years? If yes, will I definitely be able to work(if I get an endorsement)?

If not... what would be the next best option for me? My end goal is to be with my wife, and be able to at least hope to get work whilst I'm in SA.

Please, help!


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## gushungo (Sep 3, 2012)

tryansc said:


> even though my wife and I haven't been together for 5 years?


Meaning:

- my wife and I have been together for less than five years

or

- my wife and I formally/legally separated five years ago

or

- my wife and I have lived in separate places for five years but still consider ourselves a "normal" married couple (i.e. not formally/legally separated)

I don't know the answer to your question but I suspect the correct meaning will influence the answer.


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## tryansc (Sep 3, 2012)

gushungo said:


> Meaning:
> 
> - my wife and I have been together for less than five years
> 
> ...


Meaning my wife and I have been together for less then 5 years. We only got married this year, and have only been in a relationship for a total of 2 years.


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## concord (Jan 9, 2012)

tryansc said:


> so I guess now my question is: If I enter South Africa with a relatives permit, will I be able to change it once I am there to a Spousal Visa, even though my wife and I haven't been together for 5 years? If yes, will I definitely be able to work(if I get an endorsement)?
> 
> If not... what would be the next best option for me? My end goal is to be with my wife, and be able to at least hope to get work whilst I'm in SA.


 Hello!
Yes, if you come to SA on a relative's permit you'll be able to change it for a spousal one. BUT! You shouldn't apply for a new permit till you get a job offer. So things work like that: you have a job offer so you apply for a spousal permit with a work endorsement (not work permit, these are different things) which allows you to work for only one employer mentioned in the permit.
If you apply for a spousal permit without a job offer believe me you'll end up with a relative's permit anyway...


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## tryansc (Sep 3, 2012)

Very good advice, thank you a lot for letting me know! My other question would be, when I fill out the form(I'm pretty sure I need to complete the BI1738), where exactly would I turn this in?  On the website it says at your local Home Affairs, but I'm pretty sure the closest thing to me, being in the states, is a South African Embassy, and even that is a few hundred miles away. Would it be possible for me to mail the form and all other documents to my wife who is residing in SA currently, and have her turn it in for me, or do I physically have to be at Home Affairs in order to start the process?

If I literally have to go to South Africa(which I can go for 90 days with just my passport), would 3 months be enough time for the relatives permit to be finalized?


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## concord (Jan 9, 2012)

tryansc said:


> Very good advice, thank you a lot for letting me know! My other question would be, when I fill out the form(I'm pretty sure I need to complete the BI1738), where exactly would I turn this in?  On the website it says at your local Home Affairs, but I'm pretty sure the closest thing to me, being in the states, is a South African Embassy, and even that is a few hundred miles away. Would it be possible for me to mail the form and all other documents to my wife who is residing in SA currently, and have her turn it in for me, or do I physically have to be at Home Affairs in order to start the process?
> If I literally have to go to South Africa(which I can go for 90 days with just my passport), would 3 months be enough time for the relatives permit to be finalized?


 If you apply from the USA you have to go to the South African embassy over there. I'm not sure you can mail all the documents to the embassy (I did it in Russia) so you'b better call them and ask. You cant apply in Home Affairs being in the States.
If you come to SA without a relative's permit (just having your passport like you mentioned) you can apply for a temporary resincy permit at Home Affairs 30 days prior to the date you're supposed to leave SA. But the sooner you do it the better. Even if they dont process your application on time you can legally stay in the country. They'll give you a receipt which'll state that your documents are in process.


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## tryansc (Sep 3, 2012)

Hey, thanks for all the help! I just found out that I could actually mail the documents and the BI1738 to the South African Consulate in Washington DC. Just need my wife to send me a copy of her license or passport, and a signed letter stating she's willing to provide me with support. They said it only takes about 10 business days(wow). Seems easy enough 

I think I've pretty much cleared up everything that I need to know... my plan now is to save, book a flight ticket, and then mail in the forms and documents, and then head to South Africa. Once I'm there, I'll see about lining up a job. I have quite a few friends there from my last visit who could likely get me into their company so I should be all set in terms of the endorsement. I guess I'll see once I've arrived how it all works out with the Spousal permit.

Thanks a lot, you've been extremely helpful. I'll post my "story" and how everything played out once all is said and done about everything that took place for anyone else who is in need of help.


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## concord (Jan 9, 2012)

You're welcome! I hope everything will go smooth.

P.S. Dont forget to ask your wife to send you a copy of her ID book (as I remember they wanted it along with a copy of passport) and original bank statements for the last 3 months.
And good luck!


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