# Want to work in South Africa - advice needed



## paulvalentine (May 8, 2013)

Hi there, 

I am a British citizen in a civil partnership with a South African (been together for four years) and I've recently received a Relatives Permit from the South African Commission in London. I had requested a Spousal Permit in order to work (I have a job offer) but was advised by the Commission to apply for the Relatives permit and obtain a work endorsement in South Africa. I'm flying out at the end of this month - July.

I realise I should have applied for the Spousal permit (which was not offered to me - I've read that this isn't available in the UK, anyhow) and so how do I go about this when I arrive at the end of this month? How long does it take, where do I go (I'm going to be living in Durban), what forms need to be filled out, and what's the quickest way of doing this, the processing times, etc.

Any help would be greatly appreciated (thank you!).

Paul


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

paulvalentine said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I am a British citizen in a civil partnership with a South African (been together for four years) and I've recently received a Relatives Permit from the South African Commission in London. I had requested a Spousal Permit in order to work (I have a job offer) but was advised by the Commission to apply for the Relatives permit and obtain a work endorsement in South Africa. I'm flying out at the end of this month - July.
> 
> ...


Hi Paul,

Sounds like you have had the same experience as many others. The "spousal permit' is not available when applying from outside SA. Even if you specifically ask for it you will end up with a Relatives Permit. This permit (despite what the embassy says) cannot be endorsed for work. Many have been told (including myself) that it can but it cannot.

You will therefore have to apply for a new permit when you arrive in SA. You can either apply for the new permit and get it endorsed once you get a job or you can wait until you find a job then do the application for the new permit and the endorsement at the same time (I would advise the latter).

You can only get an endorsement once you have a job and your endorsement will be job specific in that if you change jobs you must apply for a new endorsement.

I waited 10 months for my new permit with the endorsement but that included Home Affairs losing my application three times. My second endorsement took 5 months.

I am not in Durban so I do not have any information as to where to apply but I am sure someone else on this forum does.


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## paulvalentine (May 8, 2013)

Hi Saartjie

Thank you for your response. I guess that was what I had expected. Does this mean that I need to get new copies of my radiology, police and doctors report or will this be on the system from the UK (this is going to be a pain if so!). Also, if it can take several months before I get the spousal visa does this mean that I won't be able to work until this comes through? I suppose I will have to see if I can apply again at the Durban immigration office (if it does exist) when I arrive.. 

Thanks again..

Paul






paulvalentine said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I am a British citizen in a civil partnership with a South African (been together for four years) and I've recently received a Relatives Permit from the South African Commission in London. I had requested a Spousal Permit in order to work (I have a job offer) but was advised by the Commission to apply for the Relatives permit and obtain a work endorsement in South Africa. I'm flying out at the end of this month - July.
> 
> ...


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## paulvalentine (May 8, 2013)

mokhele said:


> If you will be looking for a Job on your arrival, there are good sites that can help you as well. the following is one of them.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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