# How many visitor's permits per year?



## chainbreakr (Jan 10, 2013)

Hi all! I've been checking out this forum for quite some time and it's about time I start posting.

At any rate, I can't seem to find an answer to my question. Basically, I'm curious how many 90 day visitor permits can be issued per year. I'm accompanying my girlfriend (SA permanent resident) while she studies for her honours degree for 1 year.

I know that you can have your 90 day extended once at a home affairs office, but what happens after that? I'm willing to head back to America for at least 30 days, but I've found nothing to tell me if I'll get another 90 day if/when I fly back.

Instead of dealing with a work permit and finding a job, I've decided to do contract work abroad and just use my American bank account to avoid any problems of working on a visitor's visa.

Also, I've read the possibility of getting a volunteer's permit, but I see nothing about it on the Home Affairs site.

Any and all help is appreciated!


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## Oz_Child (Jan 28, 2013)

chainbreakr said:


> Hi all! I've been checking out this forum for quite some time and it's about time I start posting.
> 
> At any rate, I can't seem to find an answer to my question. Basically, I'm curious how many 90 day visitor permits can be issued per year. I'm accompanying my girlfriend (SA permanent resident) while she studies for her honours degree for 1 year.
> 
> ...


Hi Chainbreaker,

I renewed my 90 day visitors permit and got six months extension in 2008. This was done 3 times but you are only legally allowed two extensions. However I was attempting to change status after the second extension. So you should be able to stay longer. But you will need to prove sufficient funds to extend your permit. I am not sure about the validity of American contractors in SA I without a work permit. Your employer should be able to arrange the work permit for you. To change status from visitor to work permit will require quite a bit of documentation such as your qualifications which need to be assessed by the South African Qualifications Authority, you need police clearances in country of origin and SA if you have been here for 6 months. The list is quite long check the Home Affairs website.

Cheers H.


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## LozAus (Feb 1, 2013)

I'm not sure about most of your questions, but I've also noticed that the volunteer visa isn't on HA website... try the south african high commission in the US. in Aus at least, volunteer visas dont seem to be too difficult to get (they dont tell you not to buy your plane ticket before the visa is granted which gives me the impression that most volunteer visas are granted). hope that helps!


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## 2fargone (Jun 14, 2011)

chainbreakr said:


> Hi all! I've been checking out this forum for quite some time and it's about time I start posting.
> 
> At any rate, I can't seem to find an answer to my question. Basically, I'm curious how many 90 day visitor permits can be issued per year. I'm accompanying my girlfriend (SA permanent resident) while she studies for her honours degree for 1 year.
> 
> ...


I seem to remember there was another posting about someone wanting to do contract work in SA using their foreign bank account. 

South African Visitor's Permit for Charitable Activities

Here is the visa for volunteer's permit.


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## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

You have to be very careful. For a long time, some foreigners, especially Europeans, would exit South Africa and return the next day (called the "VISA run") to lengthen their permits. This is not what Home Affairs wants, as essentially you stay in the country indefinitely. They started to give only a 7 day renewal and most of these people had to find an alternative plan.


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