# Tourist Visa Extension beyond 6 months



## happydunk (Dec 14, 2010)

Hi all

I will go to home affairs to make sure but some advice would be good.

My girlfriend and daughters tourist visa are about to run out after 6 months, they are flying back to Spain can they return and get another 3 month visa 3 weeks later?

Its a long and complicated story as to why they have to do this, but basically comes back to home affairs not doing their job properly.

Thanks for any help


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

happydunk said:


> Hi all
> 
> I will go to home affairs to make sure but some advice would be good.
> 
> ...


Hi, not sure what passports your girlfriend and daughter holds but if it is one which is eligible for the usual 90 days visitors permit stamped at the airport then I do not think it would be a problem for them to return three weeks later. Perhaps someone else has recent experience in this regard. Good luck with Home Affairs, I know they are a real pain to deal with.


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## happydunk (Dec 14, 2010)

Saartjie said:


> Hi, not sure what passports your girlfriend and daughter holds but if it is one which is eligible for the usual 90 days visitors permit stamped at the airport then I do not think it would be a problem for them to return three weeks later. Perhaps someone else has recent experience in this regard. Good luck with Home Affairs, I know they are a real pain to deal with.



Thank you Saartjie

They both have Spanish passports so can get the 90 days and extend by a further 90 or when there ticket is expected to return which they have done. Home affairs are the biggest bind by not giving me my business visa in time and I have given them 7 months already and still not ready. They were going back to Spain to get dependency visas, but no visa for me no visa for them...........aaaarrrgggghhhhh


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## Stevan (Jun 30, 2009)

hi

they should have no problems. my mother and father inlaw went to lesotho for the day and got another 3 month stamp in thier passports when they returned after only three hours. 

the only problem may come if they see many extensions over a long period.


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

happydunk said:


> Thank you Saartjie
> 
> They both have Spanish passports so can get the 90 days and extend by a further 90 or when there ticket is expected to return which they have done. Home affairs are the biggest bind by not giving me my business visa in time and I have given them 7 months already and still not ready. They were going back to Spain to get dependency visas, but no visa for me no visa for them...........aaaarrrgggghhhhh


Believe me, I fully understand your frustration. Waiting for my work endorsement, it's been 5 months now (with one application lost by them). Still, there is nothing one can do but wait. I took some legal advise the other day to see what my options are but there is not much that a lawyer can do either. Hope it all works out for you in the end. I am sure it will.


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## Maggy Crawford (Sep 18, 2010)

I am amazed at that because since the 90 days for UK visitors came in I was told you had to return to your point of origin to get another 90 days. Last year went from South Africa to Zimbabe (Vic Falls) for 3 nights and on our return we did not get another visa stamp. Maybe because we were still wihtin the 90 days. Did your relatives travel to Lesotho at the end of their visas? I am very interested because we have a house in Stanford, Western Cape and only visit for 90 days each year.


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## Stevan (Jun 30, 2009)

Maggy Crawford said:


> I am amazed at that because since the 90 days for UK visitors came in I was told you had to return to your point of origin to get another 90 days. Last year went from South Africa to Zimbabe (Vic Falls) for 3 nights and on our return we did not get another visa stamp. Maybe because we were still wihtin the 90 days. Did your relatives travel to Lesotho at the end of their visas? I am very interested because we have a house in Stanford, Western Cape and only visit for 90 days each year.


no they still had a couple of weeks left to run. the people who took them have temporary residence and got a three month tourist stamp even though they didnt need it. This was after they had extended for another 90 days at home affairs. Unless they have changed things you can extend a 3 month tourist visa by another three months at home affairs without having to leave. 

South Africa Immigration Services - Tourist visa extensions
Tourist visa extensions, South African
In order to apply for a tourist visa extension applications need to be made 30 days prior to the expiry of the current visa extension.

As a typical example many visitors to South Africa are issued with a 90 day tourist visa upon arrival. This entitles them to stay for the stated 90 days.

In the event that the tourist wishes to stay for a longer period of time they would need to make an application for a tourist visa extension. This must be done 30 days prior to the expiry of the existing visa.


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## Maggy Crawford (Sep 18, 2010)

Reply to Stevan. I knew about the extension via Home Affairs which people say can be time consuming. That's why it seemed too easy to pop over to Lesotho and get another 3 months visa.


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## Stevan (Jun 30, 2009)

Maggy Crawford said:


> Reply to Stevan. I knew about the extension via Home Affairs which people say can be time consuming. That's why it seemed too easy to pop over to Lesotho and get another 3 months visa.


hi

A lot will depend on the home affairs office you use. in port shepstone allow an hour and you are sorted. the lady is very good.


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## Maggy Crawford (Sep 18, 2010)

I believe we have to go to Paarl. There used to be an office in Caledon but that has now closed for extensions. Thanks for the info.


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