Section 11(6) Immigration Act South Africa
What is a Section 11/6 visa South Africa?
A visitor visa section 11(6) is issued to the spouse of a South African citizen or permanent resident who is in possession of a relatives spouse visa. The visitor’s visa section 11(6) allows you to either start your own business, study or work in the Republic of South Africa. This will not be issued to any siblings, mothers or fathers who would like to take up either activity and must apply for a work visa, study visa or business visa.
Section 11(6) falls under the visit visa category and the visit visa category is regarded as one broad category as there are many visa types that fall underneath this category, as the immigration act does not provide a different visa category. In layman’s terms, the visitor’s visa can be broken down into 2 categories.
These are the different South Africa visa types you could apply for.
Short-term Visas:
- Business visitors visa
- Section 11(2) short-term work visa
Long-term visas:
- Business, Study or work endorsement Section 11(6)
- Accompanying dependents visa
- Research, volunteers, academic sabbatical visas
- Crew, foreign journalists
- Academic researchers
- Tour guides
How long does a spousal visa take in South Africa?
The Department of Home Affairs has promised that a spousal visa application will be finalized in 60 working days from the date of submission. In our experience, this is not true and the reason is the Department of Home Affairs has a huge backlog of temporary residence applications and therefore many applications have taken months to be finalized. A longer wait for your visa should be expected after submitting it.
Submitting an application for a permanent residence permit in SA has also been affected where processing times are concerned. The Department of Home Affairs tried to clear the backlog during Covid but unfortunately could not reduce the number of applications.
If you find that applying for this visa on your own might be too tedious for you and might wonder what the charges are for a professional to help you, then you can read our blog post: How much does an immigration lawyer cost in South Africa? So you could make use of professional immigration services in South Africa.
Covid has affected the processing time as well and this should be taken into consideration. Abroad at a South African embassy or consulate, the processing time can take between 30 – 40 working days to be processed. This depends on the country you are based in and how busy the embassy or consulate is at that point in time.
Can you change your status in South Africa?
An applicant who is in South Africa on a visitors visa may not apply for a change of status, meaning they cannot apply for any type of visa in-country but should rather apply in their country of residence. The only time you are allowed to apply for a change of status in the country is for one of the following reasons:
- If you fall ill and need life-saving medical treatment for longer than 3months.
- Dependents who are on an accompanying or dependent visa would like to apply for a work or study visa.
- An applicant who is required to stay longer in South Africa for any criminal trial provided that it follows the Department of Home Affairs regulations.
What are the requirements for a spousal permit in South Africa?
- Completed temporary residence application form. Handwritten forms are not accepted.
- Copy of your passport and proof of your current status in South Africa.
- A valid passport.
- Your application must be submitted in person by you, 60 days before your current visa expires and if your visa is issued for 30 days or less than 7 days before it expires.
- A police clearance certificate from each country that you have lived in for 12 months or more since the age of 18.
- Biometric fees applicable
- Medical report – Less than 6 months old at the time of submission.
- Radiological report – Pregnant women and children under the age of 12 do not need to complete this.
- Marriage certificate.
- Affidavit document where a spousal relationship to a South African citizen or permanent residence holder exists showing proof that cohabitation, shared financial responsibilities and setting our particulars of children in the spousal relationship.
- Letter of support for spouse visa South Africa
- Yellow fever vaccination certificate if applicable.
- Birth certificates of each dependent child.
- Proof of a union which is recognized in the custom marriages act of 1998, if applicable.
- Divorce decree if applicable.
- Legal separation order if applicable.
- Proof of employment if applicable.
- Proof of business registration with CIPC, SARS if applicable.
- Proof of provisional acceptance from an Education Institution.
- Support letter and copy of your spouse’s ID who is a South African citizen or permanent resident.
In certain cases, a person might need to apply for a waiver letter depending on your circumstance (waiver letter immigration South Africa). A waiver letter could help you waive certain requirements.
Read about spousal visa renewal in South Africa.
If you have been banned from South Africa then you first need to remove the ban before you apply for any visa. You can read our post: What is the penalty for overstaying in South Africa?
Charl Vollmer has 8 years of experience helping people immigrate to South Africa. I am passionate about helping people and making their dreams a reality. Charl constantly stays up to date with South African Immigration rules and regulations. To contact Charl, visit our contact page.