# Immigration Companies



## parrot1219 (Aug 19, 2015)

Hi Guys

Looking to move to South Africa, hopefully on a business permit, has anyone here done the same??

Lots of immigration companies advertise, and appear very helpful would you use one of these or has anyone here successfully used one of these, if so how did you get on and who would you recommend??

Had looked at some in the past then a few rouge companies received some bad press on a recent watchdog program and are conscious with enough on our plates the last thing we need is to fall victim of a scam or poor service.

All help and advise gratefully received


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## Tony556 (Dec 5, 2014)

parrot1219 said:


> Hi Guys
> 
> Looking to move to South Africa, hopefully on a business permit, has anyone here done the same??
> 
> ...



Hi Parrot1219.

The business visa has a couple if administrative hoop, for example you need to secure endorsement from the Department of Trade industry (DTI) first before approaching home affairs for a visa. Depending on your time line on when you want to arrive in SA and the kind of business you intend on setting up, there may be scope for a different approach. Mainly because sometimes the decisions of the DTI can be infuriating. To give an example, we had a client who wished to start a property development company in SA and has a substantial chunk of GBP to invest, well above the 5 million threshold and had a solid Business plan . The DTI refused to endorse the application citing that the country had more than enough property developers. very arbitrary. To make matters worse there is no clear mechanism to appeal against such arbitrary decisions of the DTI, never mind the time it will take to secure the endorsement. 

The alternative, which is what we resorted to, is the Retired person visa, it is less administratively burdensome and if you can demonstrate the 5 mill required for the business visa you can manage the net worth required here. The new amendments provide that one can apply for additional endorsements on the retired person visa to work and that could be the way out. 

Effectively what the Retired person visa will do is to give you access to the republic to conduct your activities and form there you are welcome to either move to a business visa or permanent residence which is the better option as a next step


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## liz1liz (Aug 18, 2015)

i am a SA citizen but have not lived there for 10 years (I believe the immigration laws recently changed). My husband (Mauritian) and I plan to move to SA by the end of the year. 
We will receive his TR permit next week (been married for 6 years), now we need to apply for his PR once in SA. I just want to know if anyone has gone through the process recently? Any trick questions in the interview? What exactly is the declaration of support? Can we do it ourselves or do we need an immigration agent? We also have a 6 month old baby born in Mauritius (should receive his SA birth certificate in the next 2-3 weeks and will apply for his SA pasport once in SA)


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## parrot1219 (Aug 19, 2015)

Tony556 said:


> Hi Parrot1219.
> 
> The business visa has a couple if administrative hoop, for example you need to secure endorsement from the Department of Trade industry (DTI) first before approaching home affairs for a visa. Depending on your time line on when you want to arrive in SA and the kind of business you intend on setting up, there may be scope for a different approach. Mainly because sometimes the decisions of the DTI can be infuriating. To give an example, we had a client who wished to start a property development company in SA and has a substantial chunk of GBP to invest, well above the 5 million threshold and had a solid Business plan . The DTI refused to endorse the application citing that the country had more than enough property developers. very arbitrary. To make matters worse there is no clear mechanism to appeal against such arbitrary decisions of the DTI, never mind the time it will take to secure the endorsement.
> 
> ...


Many Thanks for your help on this, I see that you are a specialist in this field, are you able to provide me with contact details so I can share my position further with you??


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## parrot1219 (Aug 19, 2015)

Any More suggestions experiences would be greatly received


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

Hi parrot1219, 

I suggest making sure that before you pay for anyone's service, that you ask to see a copy or their valid Law Society certificate. Please also note that immigration practitioners are unable to assist since the new regulations.


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## parrot1219 (Aug 19, 2015)

LegalMan said:


> Hi parrot1219,
> 
> I suggest making sure that before you pay for anyone's service, that you ask to see a copy or their valid Law Society certificate. Please also note that immigration practitioners are unable to assist since the new regulations.


Many Thanks for that, are you able to provide me with contact details so I can share my position further with you?? 

So can I assume from your comment that I must carry out the process alone or I need to use a member of the law society


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## Fynbos (Jan 8, 2015)

Hi Parrot,

There is certainly enough information on this forum (and others) for you to do it yourself. However, it's after you've submitted the application where it really helps to have an attorney following up on your behalf. The DHA is notoriously chaotic, and a simple visa application can quickly spiral into an endless nightmare of phone calls and bureaucratic confusion. Immigration law firms registered with the Law Society are bound to levels of professionalism that consultancies are not, so before proceeding with a company, try and investigate whether they're underwritten by any regulated statutory bodies. All the best!


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## parrot1219 (Aug 19, 2015)

Fynbos said:


> Hi Parrot,
> 
> There is certainly enough information on this forum (and others) for you to do it yourself. However, it's after you've submitted the application where it really helps to have an attorney following up on your behalf. The DHA is notoriously chaotic, and a simple visa application can quickly spiral into an endless nightmare of phone calls and bureaucratic confusion. Immigration law firms registered with the Law Society are bound to levels of professionalism that consultancies are not, so before proceeding with a company, try and investigate whether they're underwritten by any regulated statutory bodies. All the best!


Many Thanks for that it is really appreciated, this is really helping me to build knowledge as to what I can expect, an more advice is welcome


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## pmtray (May 30, 2014)

@legalMan
Hi, I am relatively new to posting on the site so forgive me if I am wrong in doing this! 
I have been trying to send you a msg but without any success, is it possible you could send me a private mail regarding business Visa! Many thanks


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## parrot1219 (Aug 19, 2015)

well have been gathering quite a bit of information just recently, and just wondered if anyone on here has any further recommendations to make.

Has anyone used an immigration lawyer, if so please let me know and what was their service like??

Many Thanks


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## Fynbos (Jan 8, 2015)

Hi Parrot1219,

Should you be interested in reading reviews on our service, you can do so here: https://www.facebook.com/savisas/reviews/

All the best with your search.


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