Six reasons you should be using a professional immigration agency for your visa and permit application to South Africa
On July 23, 2013 / Leave a comment
The internet is full of good advice on immigration processes to South Africa, and submitting your own visa application for South Africa seems like the next thing to do.
Why should you be paying the administration fees charged by the Department of Home Affairs and, on top of that, an immigration practitioner or immigration agency to prepare your visa application?
Hmmm, let’s think.
1. South African red tape – South African red tape or bureaucracy can be disheartening at the best of times, especially if your life depends on it. Immigrating to another country is a big step and can take months. Having the right expertise along the way is crucial for the success of your visa application.
Imagine you spent hours searching the internet to discover the visa requirements, and you have queued at the police station to prove that you are, in fact, you. In some cases (as in the case of the life partnership permit application) you might have even dragged all your friends off to the police station with you to sign affidavits proving that they are actually your friends, and that you are really the partner of your partner.
You then get all your papers together in a file and pull a queue number at the Department of Home Affairs. Hours later, back outside, you glance at the African sun, remember why you are here and hope all will go well with your application. This is, however, where the emotional roller coaster starts.
After you have handed in your visa application you might wonder what happened to it, and if you have, in fact, handed in all the necessary documents.
Permit and visa applications can take months to be approved in South Africa. In some cases, for instance permanent residence permit applications, it can even take up to three years.
Initiate Immigration is in contact with the Department of Home Affairs on a regular basis. In fact, one of our Home Affairs liaisons checks up daily on our clients’ visa and permit applications.
We have noticed that we are getting good results by visiting the Department of Home Affairs on a daily basis to follow up on permit applications, rather than simply phoning in.
2. We know the movers and shakers – We maintain strong relationships with embassies worldwide, as well as with the Department of Home Affairs in South Africa.
Maintaining strong relationships with the Department of Home Affairs in Cape Town and getting to know the officials who deal with our clients’ visa and permit applications help us to keep the communication channels with the Department of Home Affairs open. This in turn enables us to check the progress made on our clients’ permit applications.
3. You could be at the beach – Outsourcing immigration tasks to the immigration specialists saves time and money.
Struggling with your own visa application is not cost-effective. Opportunity costs arise. For those of you who haven’t studied business, opportunity costs refer to the costs that arise when you should be doing something else of more value. Alternatives include going to the beach, visiting vineyards, or sampling Gluehwein on Table Mountain.
4. Trained and certified by the Department of Home Affairs -You will be dealing with registered immigration practitioners, experts in immigration to South Africa. Our immigration practitioners are registered with the Department of Home Affairs and had to go through challenging tests to become certified.
Immigration practitioners are in touch with the latest immigration law changes. They are in a great position to advise you on the best permit and what to do to get it.
5. Do you know the Immigration Act – As a professional immigration service we make sure your applications are compiled as per the Immigration Act of South Africa.
Compiling visa and permit applications according to the Immigration Act of South Africa helps immigration officials at the Department of Home Affairs to decide if you qualify, and then process your application.
Immigration officials are time constrained, so handing in your visa application in a format that can easily be understood helps immigration officials to process your application more efficiently.
6. More than just immigration – When relocating to a country like South Africa you will be confronted with all sorts of new situations. You will have questions about gym memberships, buying a car, tax, work, business practices, and so on.
As relocation experts we have compiled useful information relating to these frequent queries, and are happy to help you whenever possible.
If you have any questions with regard to immigration to South Africa, make use of our free immigration assessment, or speak to one of our experienced immigration practitioners.
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Im looking for an agent to help me having a work permit with immedeate effect