# leaving S.A with expired visa



## zimbunny (Jun 23, 2015)

Hello. I have waited for my appeal decision for 5 months. i am now due to leave anyway so it makes no difference. since my visa is expired is there any documentation i need to prepare for immigration officials? fines?


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## Fynbos (Jan 8, 2015)

Hi Zimbunny, if you have overstayed the issuance of your visa, then you will be declared undesirable once you leave the country. /SNIP/


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## zimbunny (Jun 23, 2015)

Thanks Fynbos. I will have to go with that option. Is there anything I should be aware off on exit? fines?


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## Fynbos (Jan 8, 2015)

Nothing to know other than the fact that you will receive a ban for between 1 to 5 years. No fines will be imposed on you. Good luck.


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## zimbunny (Jun 23, 2015)

Thanks Fynbos. I will definitely be in touch regarding overstay appeal!


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## Jack14 (Oct 26, 2014)

zimbunny said:


> Hello. I have waited for my appeal decision for 5 months. i am now due to leave anyway so it makes no difference. since my visa is expired is there any documentation i need to prepare for immigration officials? fines?


Do what other Zimbabweans, Mozambicans, lesotho and Swazi do to go thru without being declared undesirable 

Just get your cash ready and speak to the Bus driver, Your exit will be backdated to a date before the expiry of your Visa. The South African Way lol


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## zimbunny (Jun 23, 2015)

Jack14 said:


> Do what other Zimbabweans, Mozambicans, lesotho and Swazi do to go thru without being declared undesirable
> 
> Just get your cash ready and speak to the Bus driver, Your exit will be backdated to a date before the expiry of your Visa. The South African Way lol


LOL indeed


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## zimbunny (Jun 23, 2015)

zimbunny said:


> LOL indeed


LOL indeed


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## Sarainj (Jul 31, 2015)

Hi 

I am new to the forum and was pleased to see this discussion. I would be grateful if anyone has some knowledge about how the situation I will describe may play out.

I have a family member who lived and worked in south Africa on a work permit for many years. Whilst living there, their work permit expired and they went overseas for a holiday. At the airport as they were departing they were informed that they would only be allowed back into the country if they paid a ?R3000 fine before returning. They did this and returned. In 2011 they left South Africa with the work visa still expired with no intention of returning to live. They were told the same story at the airport as before, they would have to pay a fine if they wished to re enter South Africa. 

They now reside in the UK, have new passports and are hoping to visit friends in SA for a few weeks. Will they have to pay the fine before they return? Are the new passports connected to the old passports? As they are only visiting will they be picked out still? Does anyone have any advice in this regard? They are unsure as to whether they need to pay the fine or not and are anxious that they might not be allowed to enter the country.


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## MiaOh (Aug 3, 2015)

Hi there, 

Just to clarify - the work permit expired, they paid the fine, returned (at which point I assume they were issued a 3 month visitors visa or given an extension on their expired work visa?), but before again departing were told they had to pay a fine (again) in order to return? That really doesn't sound right to me that they would have to pay twice for the same expired work permit. Unless of course they allowed the visa to expire a 2nd time (Pardon me if I'm misunderstanding!). 

However I highly doubt that passport control would connect the old and new passports and I am pretty sure they would just be issued the 90 day visitors visa upon arrival. Even if the fine came up they should be able to pay it upon arrival. They can just try their luck (worst case scenario they have a fine to pay) or look into it by inquiring with the department of home affairs (good luck!!) or an agency that specializes in travel and immigration.


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## Fynbos (Jan 8, 2015)

Hi Sarainj,

There will most likely still be a record of the fine owed, and it would be ill-advised to fly into South Africa having not paid it. Under the amended South African Immigration Act, fines for overstaying one’s visa are no longer issued. They have been replaced by banning individuals from the country altogether. Therefore it’s unlikely you could pay the fine from within South Africa, we would advise enquiring with your closest South African embassy as to whether you have an outstanding fine.


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

Sarainj said:


> Hi
> 
> I am new to the forum and was pleased to see this discussion. I would be grateful if anyone has some knowledge about how the situation I will describe may play out.
> 
> ...



Hi Sarainj, 

There is a high chance that the names of the individuals will be red flagged on the system. Even with new passports. If this is the case, they would then just need to pay the fine upon entry into SA. So they should have that amount in cash ready to pay the fine, should they want to travel without any fears. 
Please make sure that if they do come up on the system and need to pay the fine upon entry, that they get a receipt for that fine, as many times, the immigration officers forget to lift the red flag, even after the fine has been paid.


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