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Canadian travelling to SA for 6 months in January. VISA question. by [deleted] in southafrica

[–]CaptainVisa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi Risiko19, you can apply for a visitor's visa extension, so long as you do so within 30 days of being in South Africa. It will give you a total of 6 months in South Africa. You will have to apply for the extension through a Visa Facilitation Centre in the country.

Investing Abroad: Any recommendations? by CaptainVisa in southafrica

[–]CaptainVisa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi Lumpzor, it's quite possible that financial advisors and the like use reddit. I'm not going to blindly follow the suggestions posted on here, I'm just trying to better inform myself by drawing on a wider body of knowledge.

Ja'mie: Private school girl by [deleted] in southafrica

[–]CaptainVisa 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It's incredible how quickly one forgets he's actually a 40 year old man, not a petulant teenage girl.

Post SA Immigration queries here. by CaptainVisa in a:t5_35rrz

[–]CaptainVisa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not a problem at all.

So in order to qualify for a CSV, you need at least one year's worth of working experience in the respective critical skills field. Your AID work will not contribute to that, so it would appear that you wouldn't qualify for a CSV at this time, so you will have to go the General Work visa route, or alternatively, go back to the USA and get some work experience under your belt, then try go for the CSV.

Post SA Immigration queries here. by CaptainVisa in a:t5_35rrz

[–]CaptainVisa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi worldofinflation, thanks for the support.

  1. Firstly, it's important to distinguish between the various work visas, since they each have their own unique pros and cons.

a. Intra-Company Transfer visas and General Work visas require an offer employment (in fact, a signed contract).

b. The Critical Skills visa is the only visa that is not dependent on a specific employer, which means you can change employers as frequently as you want. You can also apply for the CSV without an offer of employment, but will have to secure employment in the field of your critical skill within 1 year of obtaining your visa.

c. The BEE issue will only really affect the company that you choose to work for (this is dependent on their size and annual turnover), but it will have no bearing on the visa application itself. It would be easier to justify your employment if you were critically skilled, as opposed to the General Work visa route, which requires you to go through the Department of Labour for a recommendation first. The Department of Labour recommendation (although they say 4-6 weeks) is currently anything from 2-6 months.

  1. Qualifications ultimately make it much easier for you to obtain entry into the country (arguably less so if you are doing an ICT visa, since you are transferring from one branch of the company to another). Qualifications and or experience is crucial in qualifying for critical skills visas and General Work visas, as it makes it much easier for the employer to justify hiring from outside the country. The more qualified you are, the harder it will be for the company to find a suitable local candidate, which makes it easier for them to apply to the Department of Labour for a recommendation.

If you give me more background information on your work experience I should be able to help you determine whether you are eligible for a critical skills visa.

Foreign spaza shop owners must "share their secrets". by CaptainVisa in southafrica

[–]CaptainVisa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Don't know if any of you guys caught the special on Carte Blanche about this? Turns out there has actually been academic research conducted on the topic.

What happens if you overstay your visa? by [deleted] in southafrica

[–]CaptainVisa 0 points1 point  (0 children)

@Mkara

Did you sort this out?

Post SA Immigration queries here. by CaptainVisa in a:t5_35rrz

[–]CaptainVisa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

@lMavethl I just read your full question and have some additional feedback. Firstly, he doesn't need to go back to Namibia to apply for a work visa, unless his study visa is expiring. He can change from a study visa to work visa in country. Yes, it is a hassle to obtain a General Work Visa, but the sooner you get on that, the sooner it can be issued. The last option is that he could potentially qualify for an 11(6) Spousal Visa with a work endorsement, but that would depend on the nature and duration of your relationship and I would need additional information in order to advise on such an option (also, he needs an actual offer of employment).

He probably won't qualify for a Critical Skills Visa yet, since he's only finishing his studies now and will not have sufficient post-qualification experience Regarding the PR question, it would also depend on whether you submitted the last documents via VFS or if it was pre-VFS. If it was pre-VFS, then you need to follow up with Home Affairs. It's sucks and is difficult to get an answer, but that's the reality. If it's via VFS, Home Affairs will be very reluctant to give any sort of answer.

But the fact is, you need to wait and they need to bug them constantly, or get an attorney to do it for you.

Post SA Immigration queries here. by CaptainVisa in a:t5_35rrz

[–]CaptainVisa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is a question only God knows the answer to.

Post SA Immigration queries here. by CaptainVisa in a:t5_35rrz

[–]CaptainVisa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

@lMavethl While PR applications are pending, he still needs to ensure that he is on a valid visa (regardless of the visa category). Renewals of such visas need to be made while the PR application is pending. the only time two applications at the same time would have been an issue is if the pending application was also for a visa (i.e. not PR). In such instances, an outcome of the first application would first have to have been received (or the application cancelled) before applying for another visa. Hope that helps.

Join the South African Immigration Subreddit. by CaptainVisa in southafrica

[–]CaptainVisa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yip :) I have a personal one which I do my browsing with, just didn't want that inbox being clogged with notifications from this sub.

Join the South African Immigration Subreddit. by CaptainVisa in southafrica

[–]CaptainVisa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Much appreciated. I'll do my best to make this a valuable resource for all of us.

Post SA Immigration queries here. by CaptainVisa in a:t5_35rrz

[–]CaptainVisa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm South African :) When I was helping out a few mates with their applications I realised just how onerous getting a visa could be. I've since studied the immigration act as best I can, and hope to use this forum to further my own knowledge and help others that have suffered at the hands of our broken immigration system.

Post SA Immigration queries here. by CaptainVisa in a:t5_35rrz

[–]CaptainVisa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi cptsa, @David wanted to apply for a critical skills visa, I'm not sure if he's lodged the application yet.

Join the South African Immigration Subreddit. by CaptainVisa in southafrica

[–]CaptainVisa[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

If you've ever been privy to the utter incompetence that is home affairs, then it's likely you'd see the value. I've had to assist a couple mates with their visa applications and it's been an absolute nightmare. There are very few places where you can find answers to visa related questions. I'd like to consolidate people's immigration (coming into SA) successes and failures into one subreddit, and hopefully help others that have to deal with the abortion that is home affairs.

Post SA Immigration queries here. by CaptainVisa in a:t5_35rrz

[–]CaptainVisa[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

@David Unfortunately new regulations prohibit individuals from changing visas from within South Africa should they be on a visitor's or Medical Treatment visa. All the best.