# permanent residence in SA as mother of SA child



## tkb13 (May 29, 2013)

I am currently in Cape Town on a TR life partner permit (relationship lasting 4 years). I was on maternity leave from my job in the UK, and our daughter was born in SA last year (she is a SA citizen as her father is a SA citizen). 

I have been told I can apply for PR as the mother of a SA child, but am a bit confused about which permit process to follow - is this category 27g? 

I have a job in CT starting in August 2013, and my TR permit has been endorsed to allow me to do this job, but this will only last for 2 years, and I would like to get PR by then to enable me to move jobs.

Also, what is the physical process of application? The Home Affairs website mentions that all applicants must first get approval from the Minister of Home Affairs stating that they are not an objectionable individual (or something like that) before they can submit an application. How do I go about obtaining this?

The HA website also states that all forms must now be collected in person from a HA office - is this correct, or is there anywhere I can get the forms from to fill them in in advance and at least know what docs I need to bring?

Any advice on the process of submitting an application would be gratefully received. The only HA office I can get to is the Wynberg one in Cape Town.


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

tkb13 said:


> I am currently in Cape Town on a TR life partner permit (relationship lasting 4 years). I was on maternity leave from my job in the UK, and our daughter was born in SA last year (she is a SA citizen as her father is a SA citizen).
> 
> I have been told I can apply for PR as the mother of a SA child, but am a bit confused about which permit process to follow - is this category 27g?
> 
> ...


Hi there,

Yes you can apply as the mother of a SA citizen. I did this so I know the process well. If you are granted PR under section 27g then this will be valid until the day that your child turns 21. If you are still in SA then, you would have been eligible for citizenship for quite some time which means that the expiry of the permit is not an issue.

I used an immigration attorney for my application. I applied on the basis as set out above, as well as on the basis that I am married to an SA citizen. My husband had to sign Affidavits for both himself and our daughter (since she was only 1 at the time of application) supporting my application. Apart from that, nothing out of the ordinary had to be supplied. I enclosed certified copies of my daughter's passport and unabridged birth certificate to prove her citizenship.

I think the rules have changed and that you must now get all forms at HA. You used to be able to down load from their website but I have seen that this facility has been removed. Only Regional HA offices deals with immigration matters so if Wynberg is a Regional Office you should be able to pick up the forms from there.

PR waiting time is very long, I applied 18 months ago and I am still waiting. Some are lucky though and manage to get theirs much quicker than that.

Happy to answer any questions that you have.

Saartjie


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## tkb13 (May 29, 2013)

Thank you. Did you have to book an interview first? It says on the forms that you must arrange an interview before submitting the application, but it's not clear how to do that!


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

tkb13 said:


> Thank you. Did you have to book an interview first? It says on the forms that you must arrange an interview before submitting the application, but it's not clear how to do that!


Hi, it depends where you apply. I applied in Cape Town (Barrack Street). We did not need to book an interview but was interviewed when we submitted the application. The interview was super informal just standing at the counter and the official who dealt with our application just asked me and my husband a few easy questions each and that was it.

I know however that if you apply in Johannesburg (Germiston) you need to book your interview. When I last checked the waiting time for an interview was about 6 months.


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## 2fargone (Jun 14, 2011)

Saartjie said:


> Hi, it depends where you apply. I applied in Cape Town (Barrack Street). We did not need to book an interview but was interviewed when we submitted the application. The interview was super informal just standing at the counter and the official who dealt with our application just asked me and my husband a few easy questions each and that was it.
> 
> I know however that if you apply in Johannesburg (Germiston) you need to book your interview. When I last checked the waiting time for an interview was about 6 months.


6 months for an interview?? And then waiting however long it takes for the PR?


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

2fargone said:


> 6 months for an interview?? And then waiting however long it takes for the PR?


Yes it is totally ridiculous. Although things may have changed but when I contacted them in October 2011, they said that the first interview appointment I could get was around Mars 2012. This is what made me decide to submit my application in Cape Town instead as they do the interview on the spot.


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## 2fargone (Jun 14, 2011)

This is one huge problem with HA it's not constant. It should be the same across the board for every location. Hope you get your PR soon Saartjie.


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

@2fargone - couldn't agree more. Also, Home Affairs has now drastically improved service delivery times for local SA citizens, but still has a long way to go for foreigners.


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## tkb13 (May 29, 2013)

Thanks for your help so far - please could I ask a few more questions?

1. if you will be working (as I will be, under my current TR permit) do you need to also submit the full qualifications and employment information, and get your qualifications endorsed by SAQA? Or can you just leave that bit out of the PR application, since you're applying under the kinship section?

2. what exactly do you need to say in an affidavit from your spouse and child - particularly the child one, since she is only 18 months old?!

3. do you need to have the child present when you submit your application? do you need to have the spouse present if you are not applying for a spousal permit (since we know that our 4 year relationship is not long enough to meet the criteria for that category of PR permit - although it will be by the time they get around to assessing my PR application!)

I can't get hold of anyone at Barrack Street to confirm whether or not I need to book an appointment for an interview, so fingers crossed the process is still the same as when Saartje applied.


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

1. No, you submit nothing like that if you are under a Life Partner Permit.
2. Nothing except that she is your child.
3. Preferably yes. (Your spouse has a separate application here - you cannot apply for a permit unless you fulfill requirements fully already.)


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## violina_bertony (Jan 27, 2014)

Hi thete i am new on forum. I just want to ask some question
I will apply for permanent residence as spouse in marriage 5 years and living in South Africa for 5 years.
Documents i have to submitt include police clearance, now I have to submitt police clearance form south africa because i am here for 5 years or i have to submit police certificate from my country as well as from south africa?
So do i have to get 2 police clearance : my country and south africa or they required only form south africa where i am staying now?


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

violina_bertony said:


> Hi thete i am new on forum. I just want to ask some question
> I will apply for permanent residence as spouse in marriage 5 years and living in South Africa for 5 years.
> Documents i have to submitt include police clearance, now I have to submitt police clearance form south africa because i am here for 5 years or i have to submit police certificate from my country as well as from south africa?
> So do i have to get 2 police clearance : my country and south africa or they required only form south africa where i am staying now?


Yes, you need police clearance from all all countries that you have resided in for more than a year since you turned 18.


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## tkb13 (May 29, 2013)

so...I did apply on the basis of kinship to a minor child. I still haven't received a response, but have been told by various immigration consultants that all such applications are now being refused, as the law changed and kinship to a minor child was no longer sufficient (the child had to be able to support you financially, which obviously a minor child can't usually do).
Is this genuinely the case? It seems so unfair that the rules can change after you submit an application. Even worse, since I haven't actually officially received a decision, I can't even know whether I need to resubmit under a different category (I could have applied on the basis of a 5 year relationship with my SA partner, but was told it was easier to do it on the basis of our child).
Have others already been rejected under the kinship to a minor child category rule change?


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

tkb13 said:


> so...I did apply on the basis of kinship to a minor child. I still haven't received a response, but have been told by various immigration consultants that all such applications are now being refused, as the law changed and kinship to a minor child was no longer sufficient (the child had to be able to support you financially, which obviously a minor child can't usually do).
> Is this genuinely the case? It seems so unfair that the rules can change after you submit an application. Even worse, since I haven't actually officially received a decision, I can't even know whether I need to resubmit under a different category (I could have applied on the basis of a 5 year relationship with my SA partner, but was told it was easier to do it on the basis of our child).
> Have others already been rejected under the kinship to a minor child category rule change?


Hi tkb13, 

I am sorry to inform you, but pretty much all applications have come back rejected even if the application was submitted before the law change. I agree with you that it is extremely wrong of Home Affairs. You could appeal their decision on that basis. 
I also suggest submitting a new application on the basis of your 5 year marriage and inserting a letter requesting the current application to be cancelled. 
Yes, you would need to provide all the new documents again, I am afraid. 
Just make sure that you keep your temporary residency visa valid at all times.


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## BIZIMA (Aug 11, 2015)

if you will apply under the child you must first apply for the waiver of the section that require you to prove that the minor child is able to support you


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