What should I do if I can't submit 1 month before the renewal date on a relative permit for South Africa?

Hi,

I cannot find a helpline number I am afraid...but from experience you will rarely get any help over the phone from Home Affairs.

You could try going over the border and coming back but I have read that Home Affairs are cracking down on visa runs. They are realising that a lot of people are doing this simply to extend their visas. Furthermore, the additional 90 days I assume would only be valid on a tourist visa so I am not sure it would work with your husbands perment residency permit.

To be on the safe side, speak to an immigration consultant.  Most of them will advise you without you having to a pay a fee so its definatley worth a try, especially as things have become even more unclear thanks to the new legislation that came in to place on the 1st of April.

Shantalie

Hi Smithy,

As far as I am aware, the only way you can get around submitting an application late is by providing some sort of proof as to why you could not submit on time. For instance, some documents that your applied for got delayed in the post (you will still need to prove you applied ahead of time). As your ID got lost you could maybe use that as your reason, but I think you'll be expected to show that you have at least applied for your ID book already. When handing in the application you will need to attached a letter explaining the cause behind the application being delayed.

This is just what I know from my previous experience, so you might also want to get further insight from a professional immigration consultant. Furthermore, from the 1st April 2014 a number of changes were made to the visa process...you will need to see how these changes affected your husbands situation.

For more info you can also take a look at the Visas for South Africa page.

Good luck

Shantalie

Thank you so for your response. I aonly realised that my I.D was missing last week and have not been able to get time off work. I have phoned the jhb office everysay for over a week now with no luck. Is there a help-line number perhaps. Some people have said that he should just go to botswana to get a new entry stamp as that will then be valid for 90 days but I'm not too sure. Its all so frustrating as apart from their website there is nowhere else that states about the 30 days before the expiry. I don't understand how a permanent residence can fall away especially as he worked here in SA for over 20 years.