Advice please

Have you been to visit her in the Ukraine yet? If not perhaps you should consider this before you go and spend money to get her a visa!
There are many things to ward caution over with a woman you have just met over the net and not yet gone to see that the woman behind the key board is the woman you want to take to SA with you!

Just a word of advice, that is all!

Phil

thanks Phil, i hear u.  we speak on skype almost every day.  she i very sincere. she used her own money for passport and will use her own money for the visa.  i will purchase the ticket via the net.  yes u are right though we should meet  but its costly

I agree it is costly, however pay now or later! I am preparing for my 4th trip to the Ukraine to see my girl friend. I consider this a small expense when considering once she comes to me and we would have problems the cost them will be far more and a future of hell for both of us if things dont work out!
Just consider this. If your willing to buy a ticket for her to come just sacrifice a little more in your life if she is the love for you and take the money you intend to use for her ticket and go there first!
I am not sure how the South African government works but here in the US i could not even consider to bring her here if i had not been to visit her in the Ukraine first. My girl cant even get a tourist visa to come visit me here in the States because the US government is worried she wont return home and live here illegally!! Yet the government allows mexican's to cross our border everyday and feeds and give them medical care so they can have babies and then I as a tax payer have to support people whom are a burden on society!!!!
Yes immigration is a bad topic for me!!!!!!
So just consider the trip to the Ukraine, it will also help you to discover even more about your lady than Skype can ever bring for you! Trust me on this one!!
Good luck!!
Phil

U absolutely right Phil, I can’t argue with u on this one. I’m not even sure if our government will allow this. im hoping that some who has experienced this in south Africa  will respond and enlighten me on this .. four trips to the Ukraine already Phil?  I will be broke if that was me.

You can find out most anything on the net that is for sure. You should try this web address. Perhaps it will answer some questions for you. http://www.southafrica.info/travel/docu … .htm#basic

I googled it and this this what i found. Hope it will answer your questions!

As for my 4th trip, yes it's not easy to take the time from work and also to pay for the trip! However i believe it is easier to personally sacrifice things and "stuff" that i do not need in my life in order to make it possible for me to go! As i stated in my last post pay now or pay later!!!!! It is much less to do it now than for things to not work out for me and my lady after she comes here to be with me. She encourages me to come visit her and yes of course she wants to come here but only when we "both" are ready for this! Believe me it is not easy having the love of my life 6000 miles away! Nor is it cheap! But where and when do you attach a price to true love?? And true love in my mind can never be known until you see, feel, and surround yourself with the one you love.

So good luck to you! Always keep an mind open, and think of this process as a marathon and not a sprint!

ah ah wise words, thanks

I moved the thread to the South Africa forum for better visibility.

Regards
Armand

Maybe you should just invite your GF on a 3 month tourist visa, that is easy to get, and then you will get to know each other a bit. It is very difficult to get a Life Partner Permit or Spousal visa if you have never meet each other, I had to prove cohabitation for several years and shared financial responsibility to get my visa.

Regards Sarah

I agree with both Sarahk and Phil.

Looks like the only way for you to bring your GF to SA is to apply for a tourist visa and then for a LLP (of course if you'll manage to get all the necessary documents). I mean if you check all the existing permits your GL won't qualify for any of them...

Phil's idea to go and visit her in Ukraine sounds good as well. Is it so expensive you can't afford it? It's possible to buy a return ticket for less than $1000. If you don't have this money how are you gonna support your GF if she stays in SA? (I'm pretty sure she won't be able to work in SA for a long time so you'll be the breadwinner).

Hi all

This situation is far more complicated than anyone has commented yet.

Firstly, the fact that you haven't ever met her (I assume from the above). My 2 cents is definitely meet before paying for the ticket. I've seen many people fall to similar things. However don't want to sounds pessimistic.

The Life Partner Permit (LPP) is a type of Relative's Permit and your life partner (you can't call her a girlfriend if you want that permit) can apply for this in the Ukraine or nearby. However, it requires solid proof that you live together, which you cannot possibly have. So this is not really an option.

As concordia says, you will most likely have to invite her here on a Visitor's Visa, most probably pay a hefty repatriation deposit and even then struggle to push through a Life Partner Permit in South Africa, since Home Affairs is very wary of Ukrainian (and many other nationalities) single women applying for an LPP from a tourist visa. It has a lower rate of success. Then, even if everything is successful, you will still be waiting a few months for the LPP, and all the while your partner cannot work.

With the information given, I seriously advise that you spend time and travel to the Ukraine first. This is not an easy permit process at all. And as they say in Russian: udachi tebe (Good luck for/to you.)