# Converting temporary spousal permit to permanent resident and business endorsement



## CapeTownAlex (May 6, 2011)

Hi

I moved to SA in Jan 2010 on spousal permit (temporary residency 2 yrs). Have now been married > 5 years to SA citizen so want to apply for permanent residency. I am also a chartered accountant and want to start a small bookkeeping business from home. I have the following questions...

1) Do I have to fill in the full permanent residency form and re-do all police/medical/radiology reports etc?
2) What if I don't get my permanent residency before my temporary residency runs out in November?
3) Do I have to get an endorsement to start up small sole trader business? Business endorsements seem to need proof of setting up cc/pty and employing 5+ people etc?

Help please?


----------



## Guest (May 9, 2011)

CapeTownAlex said:


> Hi
> 
> I moved to SA in Jan 2010 on spousal permit (temporary residency 2 yrs). Have now been married > 5 years to SA citizen so want to apply for permanent residency. I am also a chartered accountant and want to start a small bookkeeping business from home. I have the following questions...
> 
> ...


Hi

In response to your questions:

1) Yes, all documents will need to be redone.
2) You will need a valid temporary permit while PR is being processed. If PR is still in process, you would need to apply for an extension to your current temporary permit.
3) The Business Endorsement will need to be added even if you apply for a Sole Prop. The registration of the sole prop at SARS is easy, but the details will still need to be included on the application to Home Affairs.

You will NOT need to employ 5 people. This only applies to Business Permits, and not to Life Partner/Spousal Permits with Business Endorsement.

Hope this helps.

Regards

Joachim Schuckmann


----------



## Jujube (Sep 12, 2011)

*Sole Prop registration*

Hi Joachim,
in what you say above regarding the business endorsement, you refer to the 'registration of sole prop at SARS' being the only thing needed to present to HA to get this approved.

How do you go about registering as a sole trader with SARS?

I have read that there is no such thing as registration for sole trader as it is only yourself, basically. I also heard that you just needed to register for tax purposes with SARS.

Would you be nice to point me to the right directions?

Many thanks.

Julien


----------



## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

CapeTownAlex said:


> Hi
> 
> I moved to SA in Jan 2010 on spousal permit (temporary residency 2 yrs). Have now been married > 5 years to SA citizen so want to apply for permanent residency. I am also a chartered accountant and want to start a small bookkeeping business from home. I have the following questions...
> 
> ...


Hi there, I can answer two of your three questions:-

1. Yes, you have to do full Permanent Residency form with all new documentation (if your old ones have expired). It is important that your Police Cert is no older than 6 months and I think Radiology etc also cannot be any older than that as well.
2. The waiting time for Permanent Residency is currently between 12 and 24 months so you definitely wont get it before your Temporary runs out. As such you must apply for an extension on your Temporary Permit to ensure that you have a valid permit whilst waiting for the Permanent one. Apply for both at the same time.

I know the above is correct as I have just instructed an attorney to do my permanent residency application for me. 

Remember that you also need to go for interview again for your Permanent Residency.

Hope this helped.

Saartjie


----------



## CCSA (Oct 24, 2011)

Yes I believe you do have to get all the police, medical, radiology certificates etc redone. From what I've heard, you're looking at a minimum of 2 years to get permanent residence.

I am also a CA and looked into setting up my up own little bookkeeping business from home here in Cape Town. However I hit a bit of a brick wall when I realised that I would need a practising certificate from the Institute and professional indemnity insurance etc even for a basic bookkeeping business. Is this something you have looked into? Sorry to answer your questions with a question!


----------



## SadiK (Jan 10, 2013)

Saartjie said:


> Hi there, I can answer two of your three questions:-
> 
> 1. Yes, you have to do full Permanent Residency form with all new documentation (if your old ones have expired). It is important that your Police Cert is no older than 6 months and I think Radiology etc also cannot be any older than that as well.
> 2. The waiting time for Permanent Residency is currently between 12 and 24 months so you definitely wont get it before your Temporary runs out. As such you must apply for an extension on your Temporary Permit to ensure that you have a valid permit whilst waiting for the Permanent one. Apply for both at the same time.
> ...



Hellos and sorry to just pop in.

Saartjie please give some insight on what exactly to expect at the interview.
What kind of questions do they ask

Thanks


----------



## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

PaulineMK said:


> Hellos and sorry to just pop in.
> 
> Saartjie please give some insight on what exactly to expect at the interview.
> What kind of questions do they ask
> ...


Hi, I have answered this on your other thread.


----------



## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

> I have read that there is no such thing as registration for sole trader as it is only yourself, basically. I also heard that you just needed to register for tax purposes with SARS.


Yes, this is true.

Are there other unanswered questions on this thread?


----------



## SusanL (Sep 23, 2012)

*Temp to Permanent*

Hi everyone,
Hopefully someone can help - i can't get a straight answer!
I have a Temporary Resident Permit (Relative's) and qualify for the Permanent Resident Permit. My South African defacto spouse and I have been together for over 8 years and i have all the paperwork required.
At the moment i am living in Australia and i wanted to get a jump start of the permanent resident permit before we move over later this year.

The problem is that the South African High Commission in Australia won't process my application (i have called and checked this several times - they just say to go to DHA) even though on their website it says that you MUST submit your permanent resident application outside of South Africa. On the DHA website, it says you can submit it outside South Africa.
So, at the moment, according to the SA High Commission, i can't apply while i'm here in Australia but according to the SA High Commission, i have to. 

This is the wording on the SA High Commission website:

Applications for permanent residence must be lodged from current country of residence or the closest South African mission. Applications cannot be lodged in South Africa, nor can an applicant await the outcome of their application within South Africa.

Does anyone know of a way around this, or do i just need to wait until i get to South Africa? The SA High Commission in Canberra is the only place in Australia which processes any immigration issues or permits. Basically i am just trying to save myself some time, because as i have heard, current wait times are at about 2 years.

FYI - when i applied for my temp, i also submitted the permanent application, but the SA High Commission just sent it back to me.

Thanks everyone!


----------



## Saartjie (Mar 1, 2010)

SusanL said:


> Hi everyone,
> Hopefully someone can help - i can't get a straight answer!
> I have a Temporary Resident Permit (Relative's) and qualify for the Permanent Resident Permit. My South African defacto spouse and I have been together for over 8 years and i have all the paperwork required.
> At the moment i am living in Australia and i wanted to get a jump start of the permanent resident permit before we move over later this year.
> ...


Hi there,

I am not sure why they are telling you that you cannot apply in Australia? You should be able to apply for your PR at any SA embassy (if they haven't changed the rules very recently but I have not heard anything to that effect). In fact, as you rightly did, you should have been able to apply for both your TR and your PR at the same time (if you qualified for both at the time). You can also apply for your PR when you get to SA and await your outcome here. All that is required whilst you await your outcome of the PR is that you have a valid TR in place for the duration of your application, that is, merely applying for the PR does not entitle you to remain in the country but as you have TR this should not be a problem.

If the SA High Commission will not accept your application, I would get assistance from an immigration lawyer if I were you. It might cost a bit but if you cannot even get your applicaiton submitted then there is a real issue which may be difficult for you to resolve without assistance from someone who knows how it works.

I haven't helped much but Legal Man may be able to fill in any blanks.

Saartjie


----------



## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

Please send the link where they state that you must apply where you are. It is incorrect. I have on my desk right now a prepared application for someone who will go in tomorrow for PR, a foreigner, who is currently in South Africa.

But you are right, it will take a long time, so for now you are fine, no need to stress. Simply apply once you arrive in SA. In any event, if you are here in SA, your closest SA mission will be here.


----------



## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

Just noticed Saartjie's message - she is correct. An immigration lawyer should easily help.


----------



## SusanL (Sep 23, 2012)

Here is the link:

Welcome to the South African High Commission

They are the only embassy/consulate/commission in Australia which handles any immigration questions.
I called the consulate in Melbourne yesterday and they said the Commission in Canberra would handle my PR application. However, i called Canberra again and they said they wouldn't.


----------



## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

Well, that page is outdated and has a broken link. Trust me, Canberra is wrong and we've made a note to address this in our next meeting with Home Affairs. But it may never change, urgh...


----------



## YAM (Mar 5, 2013)

Ive just moved to SA from the UK (Jan2013) and decided to wait to apply for my perm residency until I arrived here. I went to the embassy in London to apply but they said the wait time was over 2 years and all applications get processed in Pretoria. They said at the time it would be easier for me to be in the country when applying rather than having to explain how the process started in the UK and is finishing here etc etc


----------



## LegalMan (Dec 26, 2012)

Hi YAM

Everything you wrote is correct. Do you have any questions?


----------

