7/15/2019 Home Affairs told me that a...

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Home Affairs told me that asylum

seekers cannot apply for permanent
residence. Doesn't this contradict a
Constitutional Court ruling?
The short answer
Asylum seekers (i.e. people who do not hold refugee status) may apply for a
residence permit.
The whole question
I am a South African citizen in a relationship with a Pakistani National who has been
in possession of an asylum document since 2014.
I was under the impression that asylum seekers, following a Constitutional Court
judgment (https://www.groundup.org.za/article/asylum-seekers-can-now-apply-
residence-visas/), can now apply for a residence visa/permit. When I contacted
Home A airs, I was told that it's not the case. According to Home A airs an asylum
seeker must hold refugee status.
I was told by an immigration lawyer that there are conditions to these applications.
People need to qualify for it. According to the lawyer,  it should be based on either:
critical skills/ business/spousal.
Is this true ?
I was informed by VFS that an asylum seeker needs to apply for a waiver before any
other applications can be made.
Please, could you kindly assist with relevant information and also maybe someone
who could help/advise us on the whole process?
I don't know who/what to believe. What is truth? What is correct
process/procedure?
The long answer
Thank you for your email asking about how asylum seekers can apply for
temporary or permanent residence.
It is not true that a person applying for a residence permit must hold refugee
status. The Constitutional Court ruled
(https://www.groundup.org.za/article/asylum-seekers-can-now-apply-residence-
visas/) that any foreigner, including refugees and asylum seekers, could apply for
temporary or permanent residence, and that this could be granted if the person
ful lled the requirements of the Immigration Act. It may be that this ruling has not
yet been made clear to all o cials in Home A airs, but VFS Global, the company
that processes applications for Home A airs, has placed a Home A airs statement
(https://www.vfsglobal.com/dha/southafrica/pdf/Asylum-Seekers-Recent.pdf)
acknowledging the Concourt judgement on its website.

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7/15/2019 Home Affairs told me that a... | GroundUp

It is true that a person applying for temporary residence is required to apply from
outside of the country, but this can be waived through an application to Home
A airs. (This is a Waiver of Regulation 9(5)). VFS says that it will immediately accept
submissions at all their o ces for exemptions from having to apply for temporary
residence from outside the country. A person applying for permanent residence
can apply from inside the country.
A temporary residence visa includes a study visa, a business visa, a critical skills visa
and a spousal visa. All of these will have di erent quali cations. You can nd the
list of critical skills online – a very long list – if you look up the Immigration Act. In
terms of the spousal or life partner temporary visa, a person must have been living
in a proven relationship with a partner for more than two years. In terms of
permanent residence applications for spouses or life partners, you must have been
in a proven relationship for more than ve years, and emotional and nancial
support must be proved. You may have to be interviewed.
You could ask the following organisations for advice and assistance:
Lawyers for Human Rights (Refugee and Migrant rights Programme (RMRP)) at
011 339 1960
PASSOP at 021 762 0322

Answered on March 26, 2019, 10:03 a.m.

Home Affairs (/Qanda/?Topic=102) Immigration (/Qanda/?Topic=5)

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