# spousal permit & divorce



## siddah (Jan 20, 2012)

hi,
i am an indian citizen living in capetown. i have been married 4years now and have a baby who is 2years old. My wife and child both are SA citizen. i did applied for my permanent residence permit one year ago in ground of my child (sec 27.g) and i am still waiting for it from the home affairs in pta.

i am now on extended spousal permit and it will be expired on 2013. recently my wife and me having a difficult relationship. and we both wanna to get divorce. its being one month we staying separate now.

my question is how does this divorce gonna affect on my permit! is there any option or advice for me from the expats.

please. i am really having a difficult time now.


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

siddah said:


> hi,
> i am an indian citizen living in capetown. i have been married 4years now and have a baby who is 2years old. My wife and child both are SA citizen. i did applied for my permanent residence permit one year ago in ground of my child (sec 27.g) and i am still waiting for it from the home affairs in pta.
> 
> i am now on extended spousal permit and it will be expired on 2013. recently my wife and me having a difficult relationship. and we both wanna to get divorce. its being one month we staying separate now.
> ...


Hi there, sorry to hear that you are having such a difficult time. I believe that if you get divorced then you are no longer entitled to a Spousal permit. If your permanent residency has not yet come through and you get divorced, I guess you would need another type of Temporary Residency permit, although I am not sure under what category, I guess relatives permit would be appropriate due to your child's SA citizenship. Of course on such a permit you are not entitled to work which might be a problem. With regards to your Permanent Residency, this would not be affected by divorce. I have applied for the same PR as you as my child is SA citizen. Your PR (when it comes through) will be valid until the day that your child turns 21 years old and no longer dependent upon your support. Hope this helps.


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## siddah (Jan 20, 2012)

Saartjie said:


> Hi there, sorry to hear that you are having such a difficult time. I believe that if you get divorced then you are no longer entitled to a Spousal permit. If your permanent residency has not yet come through and you get divorced, I guess you would need another type of Temporary Residency permit, although I am not sure under what category, I guess relatives permit would be appropriate due to your child's SA citizenship. Of course on such a permit you are not entitled to work which might be a problem. With regards to your Permanent Residency, this would not be affected by divorce. I have applied for the same PR as you as my child is SA citizen. Your PR (when it comes through) will be valid until the day that your child turns 21 years old and no longer dependent upon your support. Hope this helps.


thank you very much sir,
So, if i get divorce after i get my PRP? Are they going to cancel my PRP also and how long after i can apply for the citizenship!


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## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

siddah said:


> thank you very much sir,
> So, if i get divorce after i get my PRP? Are they going to cancel my PRP also and how long after i can apply for the citizenship!


You say that you applied for PR on the basis that you are the parent of a South African citizen. As such your PR should not be affected by your divorce whether you divorce before or after having received your PR as your divorce will not change the fact that you are a parent of an SA citizen. I am not sure about citizenship but I think Home Affairs told me that you must have been in the country with PR for minimum of five years before being considered for citizenship (not sure if this is correct as I find that information obtained from Home Affairs is not always reliable).


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