Tying the knot in SA full of hitches

Source: Times Live, 22/08/2016

People who don't get cold feet before they marry would probably not be
so relaxed if they appreciated the extent of the bureaucracy involved,
especially when marrying a foreigner.


Foreigners coming to South Africa to marry face all sorts of
challenges, despite the revenue "wedding tourism" brings in.


Marriage officers across South Africa complain about the tortuous Home
Affairs procedures involved.


Three contacted said they now advised foreigners not to marry here
because of the arduous process.


Among the steps that create such hassles is getting a printed,
unabridged marriage certificate, which is so time-consuming that
tourists often leave before getting them.


Marriage officer Daniel Brits said it was a nightmare.


"I tell people to get married where they come from. I have to be
honest with them. I see hundreds of couples with the same
problems."


The most common complaint is that each Home Affairs branch has its own
rules for marriage paperwork, and even these change depending on who
is behind the counter.


Marriage officer Stephen Nicholson said each Home Affairs centre made
its own rules and that, despite there being a national policy, there
was no consistency.


A foreigner marrying a South African needs to be interviewed by an
immigration officer to ensure that reasons given for the marriage are
genuine and not just to get South African residency.
Marriage officer Jaco Venter said he "fully supports" the [interview
with an immigration officer] to prevent fraud. "The problem," he said,
"is that the requirements [for the interview] are not legal."


Couples are told to provide proof that lobola has been paid and to
have their parents present at the interview, even if they live
overseas.


Jeremy and Rafael, who asked that their surnames not be divulged, are
about to get married. They were told they needed their parents'
permission and that their parents had to be present at the
interview.

Both are in their 30s.


Rafael's parents live in Brazil and Jeremy's in Port Elizabeth. It
took days of going back and forth between Home Affairs branches in
Pretoria and Johannesburg before a proof-of-intent interview could be
set up with an immigration officer. When they finally had the
interview, it lasted less than a minute.


Jeremy said such a short interview defeated the entire purpose of the
process.


Venter said he knew of two couples whose parents had to fly from the
UK for their interviews.


"Imagine the cost involved. I had a couple that had to return to
Zimbabwe to get married because Home Affairs staff here refused to let
them get married because they had no proof lobola had been
paid."


Another problem was that South Africans marrying foreigners needed a
"letter of no impediment" from a prospective spouse, to prove they
were not already married overseas.


Nicholson said Commonwealth countries did not supply that document and
other documents they did supply might be rejected, depending on the
clerks on duty at that branch at the time.


Home Affairs spokesman Mayihlome Tshwete failed to respond to questions.