# South African permanent residency



## Pitadeon (Feb 23, 2014)

Hi, i am a spanish living in SA for the past 3years, i am in process of renewing my spousal visa which its gonna expire soon, i married my south african husband 8years ago, so as far as i know i qualify to apply for permanent residency, my question is if i apply for the permanent residency do i have to give up my spanish passport? ,or is it just a simple sticker that will be attached to my passport similar to my temporary residency sticker on my passport?thanks


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## shumifan49 (Sep 18, 2013)

To start with: permanent residency is different from naturalisation. Permanent residency means you keep your original citizenship but obtain permission to remain in South Africa indefinitely. Whereas naturalisation means you obtain SA citizenship, which is a different type of application with different requirements.

PR might have requirements on how many days per year you have to be in South Africa, but I am not sure about this. Someone else might be able to advise.

So if you just want PR then it will be a stamp in your Spanish passport. If you want naturalisation then you will be issued with a RSA ID and will be allowed to get an RSA passport. You will still be allowed dual nationality, so be able to retain your Spanish passport. I seem to remember that LegalMan said this might change at some time.


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