Story of this Immigrant in South Africa

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A Chinese Immigrant in South Africa

South Africa immigrant In a new and remote place, the recent emergence of Chinese immigrant communities in Africa is also a story about the acceptance of personal sacrifice

By staff reporter Han Wei

"I'll be honest with you. I came here illegally."

Steven, a man in his thirties and the father of a ten-year old child, is a Guangdong native now living in South Africa. In Guangdong, he said he barely entertained the thought of neighboring provinces. But one night four years ago, he immigrated to oceans away to South Africa.

We met Steven in a small Chinese restaurant in downtown Cape Town. After staying in the South African city for about one week, his version of fried rice and vegetables gave us a sense of sudden familiarity in a place 10,000 kilometers away from home.

As a chef in this restaurant, Steven has now obtained a work permit and permanent residency in South Africa. With 300,000 Rand in savings, he’s also been able to purchase a second-hand BMW. But only four years ago, life was completely different for him.

"I had very little to do and came upon some trouble," he said without elaborating and continued to discuss his decision to go abroad four years ago. “During that time, I spent a lot of time thinking about what I wanted to do with my life. I talked to some older friends and they all told me that one must have some savings in hand for retirement."

"Then I decided to go abroad. But with little in my bank account, I was rejected by the U.S., Britain, and a few other countries." It was a humbling moment for him. "I was so hungry that even South Africa rejected me. At the time, I thought, how could a small country reject me? Although, when I got here I realized that it isn't so small after all," he laughed.

Steven's moved to South Africa not long after he was rejected by the South African embassy for a visa.

"I met with an old friend of mine who had spent seven years in South Africa. Before he went there, he had nothing, and was worse off than me. Starting with a small shoe business in South Africa, he earned a lot of money. He was able to buy a BMW and a villa in downtown Guangzhou which cost 4 million yuan!"

Steven turned to his friend and soon was posed with a surprising question.

"One night, I got a call from my friend and he asked: Do you really want to go to South Africa? I said yes. And then he said, go to the station now.”

Hurriedly grabbed three pairs of trousers and went to the train station. He entered South Africa after three days of traveling. It cost him 45,000 yuan.

"I first stayed in Johannesburg and washed windows. Life was tough and I was frequently harassed by the police since I had no legal identity. Then I decided to move to Cape Town and got the job here."

One year after landing in South Africa, Steven obtained a working visa. Now he has all the required papers as well as a driving license. He works seven days a week and stays in the restaurant till eleven everyday. He said his life is simple and repetitive. After work, he sometimes goes to the beach, to sit and think about the future. Or to take pictures that he sends to friends in China.

"When I first arrived, I spent most of my free time watching western movies. I didn’t speak any English in the beginning and I forced myself to learn it word by word from movies. I love movies, because I've learned both language and culture."

Speaking fluent English now, Steven said his favorite movie is Top Gun, because he felt the theme of maintaining one's confidence strongly resonated with him.

Steven says he often forces himself not to think about his family and friends. "I know it is good for children to stay with their fathers, but the more important thing right now is to earn money for their future. Nothing is perfect."

But when he first started talking to us, he was so excited that he announced to the restaurant he had new friends from China. "You know, I don't have many friends here and no one to talk to," he said later, despite having a laugh with every customer that sat down in the restaurant.

"My goal is to earn enough money for me to stop work after the age of 50. For this, I need 600,000 Rand to start my own business. I'll reach this in two years," said Steven, with a look of ambition contrasted with some uncertainty.

 

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Where can I make inquiries about immigration/permanent residence?

You should make inquiries at your nearest Department of Home Affairs office if you're in South Africa, at your nearest SA Embassy, High Commission or Consulate if you're abroad (see 'SA OFFICES ABROAD" in the box on the right), or directly to:

Department of Home Affairs
Chief Directorate: Immigration Services
Postal address:
Private Bag X114
Pretoria 0001
South Africa

Physical address:
Civitas Building
242 Struben Street
Pretoria
Telephone: +27(0)12 314 8011
Fax: +27(0)12 325 3351


Who can immigrate to South Africa?

South African immigration law aims to protect the health and security of South Africans, as well as their rights to employment opportunities in the country.

Protecting & creating job opportunities

South Africa has a vast reserve of unskilled and semi-skilled workers. Generally, a prospective immigrant to South Africa should not follow an occupation for which there are already sufficient people available to meet the country's needs. Unskilled and semi-skilled workers, in particular, will not usually be accepted as immigrant workers in South Africa.

Conversely, immigrants who are in a position to contribute to the broadening of South Africa's economic base will be welcomed. Applications by skilled workers in occupations for which there is a shortage in the country are encouraged - particularly applications by industrialists and other entrepreneurs who wish to relocate their existing businesses or establish new concerns in South Africa.

Commitment to the country

Because of the need to create job opportunities for South African workers, prospective immigrants should be seriously committed to investing their assets, skills and experience for the benefit of themselves and the people of South Africa.

Basic requirements

All applications for permanent residence are considered individually on merit by an autonomous statutory body, the Immigrants Selection Board. If you wish to immigrate permanently to South Africa, you should:

• Be of good character.
• Be a desirable inhabitant.
• Not be likely to be harmful to the welfare of the country.
• Not follow an occupation in which there are already sufficient people available to meet the country's needs.

Where to apply for immigration

In general, you should apply for immigration to South Africa while in your country of residence, and await the outcome of your application before proceeding to South Africa. In this case, you should apply at your nearest SA office abroad.

However, you may apply for immigration while in South Africa - at your nearest Home Affairs office - if:

• You are in the country on a valid work permit; or
• You are married to, or the child of, a South African citizen or permanent resident, and are in South Africa on a valid temporary residence permit; or
• You are being sponsored for immigration purposes by a blood family member who is permanently and lawfully resident in South Africa (see "sponsored persons" under "categories of immigration" above), and are in South Africa on a valid temporary residence permit; or
• You have been exempted from the requirement to hold a temporary residence permit.

Special arrangements for Chinese citizens

If you're a citizen of the People's Republic of China, and you wish to come to South Africa for business negotiations, feasibility studies, to establish a business, or to take up employment with a South African company which has been financed with foreign capital from Mainland China, you should first approach the Chinese Ministry of Trade and Economic Co-operation. Only after the approval of the Ministry has been obtained and the relevant applications have been lodged with the South African Embassy in Beijing, will the Immigrants Selection Board be able to consider your admission to South Africa.