VISA Extensions
Many individuals who come to the South Africa on a visitor visa would like to extend their visa. They are able to make an application for an extension of stay in the RSA.
The extension may or may not be given depending on the reason behind the extension, and whether the HOME AFFAIRS South Africa is convinced that the applicant does mean to return to his or her home country after the temporary stay in the RSA.
Your visa is about to expire, or you have picked another temporary visa that will allow you to remain in the nation for a bit longer. Home Affairs makes provisions for renewals and extensions of South African visas, and you can lodge from within South Africa.
Visas in the Extensions stream include: Visa Extensions / Renewals
Visitors Visa Extension
Applying for a visa extension and renewal in South Africa can be a daunting task, particularly when needing to stand in queues at Home Affairs. Prevent this and let Immigration South Africa manage the application for you.
Appropriate Time to Apply
Please note that you simply should not apply for an extension of stay within three months of coming to the South Africa otherwise HOME AFFAIRS South Africa may conclude that even before entering the South Africa, you were intending to extend the visa which might be in contrast to what you might have said in the consulate or in the port of entry.
You must apply at least 45 days before the visa expires
The length for which the person can remain depends upon the visa’s expiration date, and NOT on the expiration date of the visa stamp. The date to the visa stamp is not relevant. Even though you apply for extension before the visa expires, you’ll be considered out of status when your visa expires, and your visa will be void. However, in that situation, your stay beyond the visa expiration date will probably be considered “unlawful presence” for the purposes of inadmissibility. If your visa is approved, your approved stay will likely be from the date of the visa expiration date.
No Easy Alternatives
You can’t go to neighboring countries either by air or road, and return to get a visa that is new and for that, reason avoids the long procedure of applying for extension. A new visa won’t be given. You come back to get a visa that is new and can’t even go to neighboring countries, etc. You’ll have to actually travel outside of South Africa and come back.
Extension Duration and Consequences
Generally, an extension will likely be given for the duration you ask and give justification. However, the utmost duration for extension you’ll be able to try to ask for is six months. In addition, you are unable to apply for a visitor visa extension as many times as you need. The maximum you can stay on visa is three months.
So long as you do not break any terms of the visa that you’re on and stay in the RSA legally. You will not get into any trouble while applying for an Immigration, simply because you applied for a visa extension.
Late Filing
If you’re late filing for an extension and your authorized stay has already expired, you should show that:
The delay was due to extraordinary circumstances beyond your control;
The length of the stay was acceptable;
You never have done anything to violate your non-immigrant status.
You’re still a non immigrant. This means that you or someone on your behalf never has filed an immigrant visa request.
You aren’t in proper proceedings to remove (deport) you from the South Africa.
Extensions for Visas
South Africa have strict rules for the granting and usage of visas. Frequently, these permits are given for company or tourism purposes, and no renewals are desired. Nevertheless, in some conditions, visitors to South Africa may want to prolong their stay beyond the usual 90-day interval. They wish to see other parts of the country which means they need to stay for a additional interval, or may have additional business to attend to. The visa as originally granted is the visitor’s permit to remain in the country, up to three months also it may be extended for a further 90 days, or for any duration of time.
Important Steps
There are numerous steps which the permit holder has to take to be able to make an application for the extension.
Documents needed for Extentions
Included in these are:
Applying for an extension using to form BI-1739.
Their passport certainly will have to get pages that are unused, and must continue to be valid for 30 days beyond the extension period.
details proving that the visitor has the financial means to remain within the country, including statements from their bank, charge cards, evidence furnished by their host in South Africa, or traveler cheques sufficient for the extension to their stay).
Proof of intent to return to their home country, including legal tickets for boats or airlines, or a repatriation amount.
Evidence of original documents confirming the reason behind the extension application, or the necessity to remain beyond the initial visitor’s permit in the nation. Payments of processing fees.
Evidence for extension
All this evidence should be submitted before the first visitor’s permit expires, and to the processing office in good time. Failure to procure an extension before the time granted by the original visa runs out will mean the applicant has to return to their country of origin.
Visa extensions for Swallows
who are swallows by the way?
For people who travel to South Africa (or any other country – For that matter) for roughly six months and return to their home country for another six months, to try to get a perpetual summer, we make use of a term: swallows.
Now, for those visitors to South Africa from visa-exempt countries, a 90-day visa-upon- port-of-entry visa, or arrival, applies. Those wanting to stay a further 90 days used to simply finish a “visa run,” which is quite dangerous in certain nations, but used to work just good for South Africa. A trip to Zimbabwe or Namibia or even Lesotho for a day, and as you re-enter SA, you received a new 90-day stamp in your passport.
Under the brand-new laws, 60 days before the expiry, meaning within the first 30 days of your stay in SA, you may apply for an extension of your 90-day visitor visa for a maximum of a further 90 days. Basically, you may still stay for six months, just as it absolutely was under the prior Immigration Act and regulations.
However, the new expansion procedure has now been outsourced to Visa Facilitation Services (VFS) at their various processing centres. The procedure is not especially arduous, yet does necessitate an in-person appointment at their offices and needs a lot more documentation than the passport of one. On their web site, one later looks for an appointment for submission and would complete the applicable forms. It’s more expensive and also R425 plus a new VFS fee of the R1.350 per person’s usual fees is required.
No requirement
There’s no requirement for medical and radiological certifications and neither for any police clearances. The main office of Home Affairs in Pretoria will still do the visa application processing, but now based on a scan done by VFS, and the result can be accumulated in a quoted 30 to 60 days from VFS.
The trouble is just that, up until now. Reports have flooded in of people stating that they applied well within the 60 daytime frame, and with a couple of days left on their initial 90-day Visitor’s Visa, they don’t have any choice.
However, to leave SA back home in anxiety about not receiving the new 90-day visa in time. If one leave the Republic of South Africa on an expired visa, a prohibition of between one and five years is issued on the transgressor, regardless of any evidence of application made earlier. This may again be appealed within 10 days, if the values of the applicant’s situation are good enough.
It remains to be seen how the Department of Home Affairs will try to work out the ever-present dilemma which has seen countless suits for them and caused boundless problems for immigrants coming into SA: the slow processing of applications.
Conditions for Visa Extensions
Really, there is massive confusion at present, especially since the brand-new law is still so unique, and all training of officials has only started some 4-6 weeks after the law has been promulgated. This left a lot of room for conjecture and own wild interpretations by officials around the world. A few of encounters and the interpretations have just never been part of the legal framework.
As it now stands, all Western European citizens, are still visa exempt, meaning they don’t have to apply for any visa upfront. You’ll be issued with a 90-day visa upon arrival in South Africa.
60 days before the expiry, meaning within the first 30 days of your stay in SA, you may apply for an extension of your 90-day visitor visa for a maximum of a further 90 days. Essentially you may, nevertheless, stay six months like below the prior law.
The extensions & Visa Facilitation Services (VFS)
The extension has now been outsourced to Visa Facilitation Services (VFS) in Cape Town. On their site http://www.vfsglobal.com/dha/southafrica/ you’d complete the applicable forms and later look for an appointment for submission. You need to appear in person, but VFS offices are clean, professional and productive. You pay the old fee of R425 plus a VFS fee of R1.350 per man.
