15

@jenaand thank you for your advice. I gave them a call, but they could not help me. I was provided with the number that should have been the Pretoria office (0123954301) but that one does not seem to work.. Can you please provide me with the correct number of Home Affairs in Pretoria?

Edited by: jelle86

16

Seems the overstay issue is a hot topic. Any answers to this one. I have heard things have changed in S Africa that do not bode well for my plan. I want to spend my 89 days in S Africa ( I fly into Jburg) and then drive my combi into Namibia or Bostwana for 25 days or so, then drive back into S Africa and then fly out of J burg a few days later. Anyone see any issues with this. If they do not let me back in to SA, I am stuck on the border with my combi..Not a good thing. Any help with recent experiences would be a great help.

17

I was told about the swaziland trick and went ahead but when returning i only got 7 days extension so i suppose its down to there discretion with how much time they give you. I got to see the country atleast and I'm still here anyway?! Im supposed to be leaving on the 26th Jan but gonna overstay by 2 months so i expect a fine and have been told it will be around R1000 if anyone else knows more about fine amounts being judged on length of overstay let me know cheers!

18

My first time in south africa was in 2006. it was a six month stay that i had a visa for. one person who was with us did not have a visa, so he left after three months, went to swaziland, and came back for another three months. I thought i could do the same. i arrived in september 2010 this trip, was in joburg, took the bus down to lesotho on my 89th day, stayed in masaru (which was actually quite fun) for 12 days, then came back in to south africa. they wanted to only give me seven days as someone mentioned above. i told them i had a flight in only a months time, they gave me two weeks. im still here in south africa, my passport expired on january 3. today is march 16. So from what everyone has said here, i dont need to worry about how long i overstay.. i will only have a fine if/when i leave and want to return. By the way, if you are trying to work here in the country without a work visa, its quite simple if you find the right place. good luck to all of you. enjoy this beautiful country.

one question though. what if someone sees your passport and that you have overstayed before you are at the airport ready to leave?

19

Keep me posted on if or when you leave and let me know what happens and ill do the same! Doesnt sound like a problem so we'll see?! My visa ran out on Jan 24 and also still here :)

20

Hey thanks for the poast but was this recent and can he still return to SA when he likes?

21

I just found the Immigration act from 2002 that I believe is still the one being used. Here is what it says

Administrative fines
35. (1) The administrative fine contemplated in section 50(1) of the Act
shall be—
(a) R1 000 in respect of a foreigner who leaves the Republic within 30
days after the expiry of his or her permit;
(b) R1 500 in respect of a foreigner who leaves the Republic more than
30 days, but less than three months, after the expiry of his or her
permit; and
(c) R3 000 in respect of a foreigner who leaves the Republic more than
three months after the expiry of his or her permit.

22

Hi there i came to Namibia like a year ago on holiday "tourist visa" n found out that the construction industry is doing great. I got a work visa which lasts for like 3 months n its renewable n mine expired in Oct 2010 i havent bothered renewing it coz the home affairs Dept said i should apply for a work permit i did so but up to now i haven't received any word from them am sure if i dare leave the country the fine will be like no ones business but at the same time i want to go back home for holiday

23

thank you guys,you all been very helpful,just a question i am leaving South Africa in 2 weeks time and my visa run out already a week ago,should I go straight to the airport or is it better to go to the Home Affairs first?
thank you all in advance.....

24

If you guys have any recent experience with 90 day permit (extension, overstay, visa run), I'd appreciate your insight. Posted a new thread
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2260025

Thanks in advance.

25

I have been living in South Africa, and have a fair amount of experience with the overstayed visas that I thought I'd share.

o In general, the other posters are correct about the fines for overstaying. In my case, I overstayed by 60-some days, and was charged R1500. They assess the fine when you go thru passport control leaving the country (where paperwork will slow you down for a few minutes). You cannot pay it on the spot. It needs to be paid before you are admitted to the country again.

o To pay the fine (technically an 'administrative penalty'), you can either pay it at immigration, or at a South African embassy. I did it at immigration. They shuffled me off to a room where I waited for 30 minutes until someone took my rand, issued me a receipt, and sent me back to the immigration counter.

o Keep the receipt. They themselves told me it doesn't get entered into their immigration system very quickly or reliably, so hold onto it lest they make you pay it next time too.

o I was given a new 90-day visa as soon as I paid the fine, no problem at all. I got the impression that was very normal. There was no bias against me. Maybe if I'd overstayed by 5 years they would have been less enthusiastic to have me back; who knows.

o You can apply for an extension at Home Affairs. However, if you visa has expired, you cannot extend it. You must leave, and come back.

o After overstaying, I thought I'd be tricky and come in on a different passport, since I'm a dual national. No dice! They must match up name and birthdate in their internal computer, and saw that I was the same person, even though my nationality was different. (No, they didn't appear upset at this.)

o Be aware that if you go to a nearby country for a few days (like Botswana) and come back, they will not necessarily issue you a fresh 90-day visa. Instead, they let me back in, but kept the original expiration of my existing visa. I asked if I could get 90 days, and she said no: she could only do that if I had returned to my home country. However, one time when I actually had gone back home and re-entered, they still kept my original expiry date... in that case I didn't catch it in time, and maybe if I would have asked they would have given me the full 90 days. I would infer that the most efficient way to extend the visa is to stay in the country for 89 days, leave for 1 or 2, and then re-enter and get a fresh visa.

o An experienced commercial SA immigration lawyer I talked to told me that it was best to enter thru one of the major airports, rather than a land crossing. The land border agents are more likely to exercise 'vigilante justice' and give you 7 days or 14. If they try to give you less, she tells me you can try to ask for more and many people will be given 90 days if they are persistent enough. I found the agents at OR Tambo (Joburg airport) to be experienced and not jerks.

If you want to stay longer, it's worth looking into a work permit or temporary residence visa, which makes all of this much easier. Good luck, everyone.

26

Am in a slightly different situation.
My visitor's visa's extension application was finally accepted a week before the one i had expired. One thing led to the other and i have overstayed before the decision has been made as I thought is was a two day process.
Now I have just got a text message that says the decision has been made. Does anyone know what will happen when I try to get my decision and show an expired visa?
The ideal situation for me would be to be fined and pay at their offices (Durban) and then get extension. What are the chances of things happening this way?
I have overstayed by 33 days now.