You need not know the category before you write. We assess the facts and place the matter in the correct visa, permit, or court process.
Overview
We act for first-time applicants lodging from abroad, for renewals and changes of condition on an existing temporary visa, and for permanent residence. Temporary visas run from about thirty days to five years, depending on category. Permanent residence, once granted, carries a South African identity number and ends the renewal cycle.
You need not name the category before you write. We assess the facts and place the matter in the correct visa, permit, waiver, or court process.
Civic Services
Where Home Affairs will not produce a civil document in the ordinary way, we take the civic file. That includes:
- Birth certificates — abridged and unabridged; registration within thirty days; late registration of birth.
- Marriage interviews and certificates — interviews where a foreigner marries a citizen; unabridged marriage certificates for use abroad.
- Passports — first issue and renewal.
- Identity documents — citizens from age 16; permanent residents must apply within twelve months of grant.
- Death certificates — for the population register, estates, and related purposes.
A wait of more than three months is ordinarily unreasonable (first identity books excepted). Where the Department does not finalise, we proceed in the High Court to compel a decision.
Gender Marker
A change of sex description on a South African document is governed by the Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status Act 49 of 2003. The Act applies where the person has undergone surgical or medical treatment to alter sex description, or meets the other grounds the statute provides.
The application requires at least two medical reports. A South African identity number encodes date of birth in the first six digits and sex in the next four; a successful application produces a new identity number. We prepare the reports, the application, and the follow-through at Home Affairs.