# Police Clearance Certificates and TRP renewal



## oceanracer (Mar 10, 2015)

Could anyone care to comment on an appeal I logged with DHA via VFS global regarding DHA’s decision adversely affecting right of person (Temporary residence permit rejected) and for which I am still awaiting a decision 2 months later. Sorry for the lengthy explanation.
I received the rejection letter to extend my TRP i.e. visitor permit under section 11(6) in November 2014. My application was rejected due to regulation 1(c) because a police clearance certificate was older than 6 months courtesy of the illegal SA postal strike from last August.
I had a Visitors Permit, due to expire in January 2015, which entitled me to take up employment I.R.O. Section 11(6) as a spouse of a permanent SA resident. In order to avoid applying for an extension of this permit, I decided to apply for a permanent resident permit. This required my getting amongst other documents, police clearance certificates from South Africa, France, USA and New Zealand and from SAQA for my qualifications. I started this process in March 2014, however 6 months later some of these hadn’t arrived yet mainly due to a strike by SA Post Office workers. I eventually submitted my application for permanent residency after I received the SAQA certificate in late October 2014, by which time some of the police clearance certificates I had received had either expired or were due to expire shortly and replacement certificates were still being delayed by the postal strike. I therefore submitted my application to VFS in October 2014, with a note stating that the replacement NZ police clearance certificate was still stuck in the SA postal system (it was subsequently received in late November 2014, having being issued on July 2014).
When I was informed by VFS that the permanent residence permit would take 4 to 6 months to process, I realised that I would have to apply for an extension to my current visitors permit. This VFS helpfully allowed me to do there and then. The Department’s rejection letter refers to my application for a temporary residence permit, not to an extension of my existing visitor’s permit. I was first wondering if it was therefore possible that the wrong forms and documents were submitted in the rush and that the rejection was based on that submission. I understand that the documents required for a renewal are as below (according to the regulation document available at the dha website dha.gov.za/images/final_Immigration_Regulations_2014_1.pdf):

_“In respect of the renewal of a visitor’s visa for a period exceeding three months:
1.	Valid passport which expires in no less than 30 days after expiry of the intended date of departure from the Republic
2	A medical report.
3	A radiological report.
4	Proof of a valid air flight ticket or proof of reservation thereof (or sufficient financial means to purchase such ticket or to facilitate the return of the applicant)..
5	Proof of sufficient financial means.
6	A South African Police Clearance certificate where the applicant has been resident in the Republic for 12 months and longer_

This list indicates that only information and or circumstances that may have changed since the original application are needed for processing by the Department. Therefore police clearance certificates from foreign countries are not necessary. The last sentence of the regulation 1(c) is clear as it states that “Provided that the certificate shall not be required from a foreign country in the case of renewal or extension of a visa but from the Republic;”. 
It would, quite logically, appear that foreign police clearance certificates are not required for an extension or TRP and DHA’s rejection letter was unsubstantiated. Since then I was told by the lawyer I hired to look into the matter that since my original Visitor Visa application under section 11(6) was logged overseas, DHA is handling my renewal as a new application (I guess they did not yet figure out a way to communicate with their SA consulates and other high commissions counterparts overseas to get a copy of the original documents). 
Furthermore, I was told by my lawyer that with regard to a renewal application, applicants are able to submit a copy of previous police clearance only if the initial application was submitted at Home Affairs in South Africa. The embassies abroad don’t send documentation to DHA in SA. They should almost be deemed as two separate entities. Hence the requirement for new, valid foreign police clearance. This is with reference to Section 22 (7) of Regulations 2005. 
“An applicant is not required to submit documentation that is already in the possession of the Department and which can be retrieved or copied from the records of the Department”.
However this refers to Permanent Residence application and in any case this is no longer stated in the Immigration regulations of 2014 which supersede those of 2005. 
Did anyone have a similar experience with DHA? Am I right in believing that I have been misled all along? Is this just another case of red herring hiding something more sinister?


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