6 Steps to Applying for a South African Critical Skills Permanent Residence Permit

So you finally have your South African Critical Skills visa. You are enjoying South Africa so much that you want to stay here on a permanent basis? Well, turns out there is a visa for that too! It’s called a Critical Skills Permanent Residence Permit and I will show you how to get one in this article. It is surprisingly easier than getting a Critical Skills Visa.

If you would like a guide on how to apply for a Critical Skills Visa please check out my previous article. There are several types of PR visas but this article focuses solely on the Critical Skills Permanent Residence Visa .

The Other types of Permanent Residence Visas for South Africa

• Relatives Permanent Residence Permit; if you’re a biological relative of (or legally adopted by) a South African citizen or of a foreigner with a valid South African permanent residence permit.
• Spousal/Life Partner Permanent Residence Permit;if you’re married to or in a permanent relationship with a South African citizen or with a foreigner with a South African permanent residence permit AND you have been married/together for at least 5 years. Same-sex couples also apply 🙂
• Five Years Continuous Work Permanent Residence Permit;if you can prove that you’ve worked continuously in South Africa for five years under a specific type of work visa and have permanent employment.
• Business Permanent Residence Permit;if you already have a business temporary residence visa, can prove that 60% of your workforce is made up of South Africans or permanent residents, have invested the prescribed amount (R5 million) into the book value of the business and have met the compliance requirements (i.e. registered with SARS, UIF, etc)
• Retirement Permanent Residence Permit South Africa;if you are planning to retire in South Africa and can prove that you receive a life-long monthly income equivalent to R37,000 a month from pensions, retirement annuities or property rentals. Guess what, there is no minimum age requirement for this permit!
• Financially Independent Permanent Residence Permit;This one is for the rich; if you have the equivalent of R12 million worth of global net assets, then you can buy your permanent residence permit for R120,000.

1. Verify that you qualify Critical Skills Permanent Residence Permit

You are eligible for this visa if you have 5 years of post-graduate experience and qualify for the Critical Skills Visa. You do not actually need to have a Critical Skills Visa to apply for PR. However, if this is your case, you can check out my previous article on how to sort out your documents for a Critical Skills Visa because you will need them for this visa too.

The 5 years of work experience requirement does not apply to graduates from South African institutions. In 2016, Home Affairs Minister Gigaba signed a waiver that allows foreign students who studied at South African tertiary institutions towards a degree in a critical skill field, to apply for permanent residence without the need to first apply for a critical skills visa or to have 5 years work experience. So if you graduated from an SA university with a “critical skills degree”, you can apply for this PR visa! Pretty cool right?

2. Get your proof of employment (or degree if you are a student)

You need to submit proof that you are currently permanently employed in South Africa. You can use a confirmation of employment letter supplied by the company you work for. If you are applying as a student using the waiver I explained in Step 1, you can submit your degree certificate and official transcript instead and proof that your degree falls within a critical skill area; so if you studied Electrical Engineering you can just print the official list of critical skills and circle “Electrical Engineering” (or what ever skill it is you are applying for).

3. Take Out Those Certificates From SAQA and Your Professional Body

You will not need these if you are applying as a graduate. If you currently hold a Critical Skills Visa then you will have a SAQA Certificate and documents from the professional body you used when you applied for the Critical Skills Visa. These documents will be needed again for this application. You can get a refresher on these documents on steps 2 and 3 of my article on how to get a Critical Skills Visa.

4. Prepare the miscellaneous supporting documents

NB: Any documents that are not in English must be accompanied by ones that have been translated by a sworn translator.

The following are a list of documents you will need along with the ones I listed above:

• Certified copy of your Critical Skills Visa (or Study Visa if you are a graduate)
• Certified copy all your previous South African visas including their corresponding entry and exit stamps.
• DHA-947 form completed ONLINE (handwritten forms not allowed)
• 2 passport sized photos (see requirements)
• Certified Copy of your current and previous passports.
• Certified copy of your birth certificate.
• Motivation letter specifying your critical skill and how it would benefit South Africa.
• Medical Certificate (Use this form). This must be no older than 6 months at the time of submission.
• Radiological report (Use this form). This must be no older than 6 months at the time of submission.
• Police Clearance Certificate from every country that you have lived in for at least 12 months since you turned 18 years.
• Proof of 5 years working experience in your critical skill field. If you qualify for the waiver I mentioned in Step 1 then you do not need 5 years working experience.
• Updated CV.
• At least 2 reference/recommendation/testimonial letters from previous employees.
• Yellow Fever vaccination certificate if you will travel through or have been to a yellow fever region.
• Academic qualifications (degrees, transcripts, certificates, etc.)

The following documents are conditional:

• If you are applying as a student as described in Step 1, include a copy of the waiver.
• Marriage certificate or in the case of a foreign spousal relationship, proof of official recognition thereof issued by the authorities of the country concerned if available
• The affidavit where a spousal relationship to a South African citizen or resident is applicable, as well as documentation proving cohabitation and the extent to which the related financial responsibilities are shared by the parties and setting out the particulars of children in the spousal relationship
• Divorce decree, where applicable
• Court order granting full or specific parental responsibilities and rights, where applicable
• A death certificate, in respect of a late spouse, where applicable
• Written consent from both parents and a court order granting full parental responsibilities and rights parent, where applicable
• Proof of legal adoption where applicable
• Legal separation order, where applicable

The following documents have already been addressed in steps 1-3:

• A letter from your current employer, no older than 6 months, confirming your permanent employment with them. This must be translated by a sworn translator into English if necessary.
• If you are applying as a student, you can use your proof of registration, degree certificate and official transcript. All of these must be translated by a sworn translator into English if necessary. You must also include a page from this gazette where your critical skill is listed and clearly circle it.
• A confirmation, in writing, from the professional body, council or board recognized by SAQA in terms of section 13(1)(i) of the National Qualifications Framework Act, or any relevant government Department confirming the skills Qualifications of the applicant and appropriate post qualification experience.
• Proof of application for a certificate of registration with the professional body, council or board recognized by SAQA in terms of section 13(1)(i) of the National Qualifications Framework Act
• Proof of evaluation of the foreign qualification by SAQA and translated by a sworn translator into English

5. Submit your Permanent Residence Permit application

If you are applying for this visa, you are most probably already in South Africa, therefore, you can book an appointment with VFS. More information on how to do that here. If you are unable to apply from within South Africa, you can do so at your nearest VFS centre or South African Embassy. However, because of how long it can take for this permit to come out in certain countries, I recommend first applying for a critical skills visa and then applying for a permanent residence permit once you are in South Africa. More information on how to apply for a Critical Skills Visa can be found on this article.

6. Wait Patiently While Your Visa Application is Being Processed

Unlike other types of Permanent Residence Permits which can take 3 years to come out, this one takes about 3 to 8 months. You will get an email, SMS or phone call from VFS to tell you that your permit is ready for collection. Now you just have to deal with getting a South African ID and converting your Driver’s License. Keep an eye out for articles on how to do this too.

PS: If you have any questions feel free to leave a comment below 😀