SA Migration International

Our engineering company hires foreign specialists every year and managing multiple visa timelines became overwhelming. SA Migration was recommended by another firm and assigned consultant Herman to oversee our portfolio. He created a tracking system that listed expiration dates, outstanding documents and VFS bookings for each employee.

There was one frustrating week in October when responses slowed and we were left unsure whether two employees’ extension submissions had been processed. Herman later explained that DHA delayed issuing reference confirmations and he didn’t want to provide half information. Once the confirmations came through, his communication resumed at full pace.

The system now runs smoothly, and we’ve renewed or applied for over a dozen visas through SAMI without major complications. Outsourcing immigration admin was one of the best decisions we made

I contacted them for a critical skill visa application in south africa in August 2023. Mrs. Tarryn told me that I need to make an urgent advance of R4000 which was a discount offer valid only for that day (the most common scam).

I was anyway planning to start my application and I paid the advance. After that they vanished and after multiple followups they shared with me a list of requirements and documents. I shared all the documents and again after multiple followups on the next steps there was no response.

Meanwhile, my plans in south africa changed and I had to move back to India permanently. After multiple attempts I reached them and they offered to refund R1500 only. Tired of fighting, I agreed to that. I have been following up for the refund since November 2023 and they are fooling around nicely. I have not got any refund.

My initial visa application, submitted through a different agency, was rejected because several documents were missing and some otherwise acceptable items weren’t formatted correctly according to DHA standards. By the time I found SA Migration in Cape Town, I was mentally drained and worried I would have to start again from scratch. Consultant Warren reviewed the rejection letter in detail and immediately highlighted the issue areas with a seriousness I found comforting.

There was a week in early September where I felt uncertain because I didn’t hear anything back after sending additional supporting documents. I eventually phoned, and Warren admitted that they wanted to finish cross checking everything before updating me. I appreciated the transparenc even though I was stressed, it showed they were being careful rather than rushing.

In the end, the resubmission went through, and DHA approved it without further questions. I’m glad I didn’t give up, and even more glad I put the case into the hands of people who genuinely knew what they were doing.

I had a pending application that had been sitting untouched for nearly a year. Home Affairs never responded to emails, and I was tired of being in limbo. SA Migration took the case, reviewed the submission history, and began the process of consistent follow-ups on my behalf. Consultant Delroy handled the escalation professionally, filing follow ups until DHA finally acknowledged movement.

There were days where I felt panicked because progress looked frozen and sometimes SAMI took a few days to provide updates. Once Delroy explained how slow DHA responses can be and how he only updates clients once genuine movement happens, I understood the rhythm better. And to be fair, once movement started, their feedback became regular and reassuring.

Eventually DHA released acknowledgement and then finalized the case. It wasn’t fast, but without SAMI I would still be waiting with no answers.

My original visa application that I submitted through another agency was rejected due to missing supporting documentation. I was devastated. SAMI reviewed the rejection letter, restructured the application, and drafted a detailed appeal motivation explaining why the initial rejection was unfair. My agent, Kara, even reanalysed the supporting documents so nothing was left vague.

There was a moment when I waited nearly ten days to hear back from SAMI after sending additional evidence. I became worried the appeal window would close. Kara eventually explained they were negotiating wording for the motivation letter and needed internal sign-off before submitting. Once I understood the reason, the silence made sense.

The appeal succeeded and I received my visa. Without SAMI, I genuinely believe I would have returned home empty handed.

I needed a waiver because one of the standard requirements for my work visa didn’t apply to my industry, and without it, I couldn’t proceed legally. I had never even heard of waiver applications before this. Still, when I contacted SA Migration’s Cape Town office, Richard, the consultant assigned to me, explained the entire process calmly and professionally. He showed me examples of successful motivation letters and outlined what Home Affairs looks for in justification documents.

The only headache came in mid-March when I emailed updates and didn’t get a reply for almost a week. I began worrying that my application had stalled. When Richard finally got back to me, he explained they were training two new administrators and had fallen behind on correspondence. I appreciated the honesty, no excuses, no sugar coating. After that, communication improved significantly, and each step was clearly documented.

My waiver was approved in early May, and I immediately received guidance on how to proceed with the main visa. The entire experience felt structured and properly handled. It wasn’t perfect, but the results were real, and the value for money was excellent.

My South African husband and I had been struggling with permanent residence for nearly three years. We submitted multiple times on our own, and each application came back rejected for technicalities that weren’t clearly explained. A colleague recommended SA Migration, and I contacted them out of pure exhaustion. Their senior consultant, Edwin, did something no other agency had done. He reviewed every rejection letter, highlighted what went wrong, and explained what Home Affairs actually needed, not what we “thought” they wanted.

There was one stressful patch around November where I panicked because I hadn’t received feedback and thought something had gone wrong again. I phoned the office and was transferred twice before I reached Edwin. He apologised quickly and explained that they were waiting for confirmation from the Pretoria head office before contacting clients. He then followed up that evening with a detailed breakdown of the current status and even an estimated timeline window, which gave me peace of mind at a point when I was ready to give up.

In January, I received the call I had been waiting for, residence granted. The email came with copies of everything submitted, final letters, and post approval guidance on next steps. I appreciated that they didn’t just get the approval and disappear. They saw everything through professionally

I applied for a Critical Skills Work Visa and reached out to SA Migration after dealing with weeks of unreturned emails from other agencies. From the first call, their consultant, Tarryn, walked me through the requirements carefully and checked whether my qualification aligned with the updated skills list. What impressed me most was that she didn’t oversell, she told me upfront that processing times were unpredictable, but that they would manage everything that could be controlled accurately.

There was a point in mid May when I became anxious, because I didn’t hear anything for almost two weeks. It wasn’t that they forgot about me, but internal delays from the Skills Council slowed things down, and I wish someone had dropped a quick update email during that period. When I eventually followed up, Tarryn apologised immediately and sent through the tracking details and a clear timeline. After that, communication was a lot more frequent and reassuring.

The final outcome was successful, visa approved in just under two months, and I was able to start my new position in Sandton on the original date. SA Migration handled document compilation, submission, and quality checks with precision. I still believe they could tighten their update frequency, but beyond that, I have zero complaints and I’m grateful I found them when I did.

As a Cape Town tech founder, I needed clarity on international business expansion and regulatory requirements abroad. I decided to seek assistance at SA Migration, the agent assigned to me offered detailed direction, helping me understand risk zones, documentation standards, and business justification requirements.

I got frustrated when one business compliance question took longer to be answered than expected. When the reply came, however, it was very detailed and made the wait feel justified.

I appreciated that the communication was not hype based, only factual, structured, and well-reasoned.

From our quiet home in Pinelands, we wanted help determining if our combined pensions, assets, and documentation qualified us for relocation. The agents for SA Migration took a calm, no rush approach which felt appropriate for our age group and circumstances.

We became frustrated only when trying to format financial statements correctly for international submission. At first, the instructions felt brief, and we didn’t fully grasp the differences between local and international formatting expectations. Eventually, the guidance became clearer and we corrected it.

Overall, we appreciated the gentle communication and steady pace.

As a systems analyst based in Cape Town, I wanted to leverage critical skills eligibility. The explanation I've recieved from Sa Migration around how to match qualifications, work experience, and scarcity relevance really helped. It was handled like an analytical breakdown, not guesswork.

My frustration involved waiting for clarification about qualification equivalence documentation. It felt like a long week, though the eventual answer was thorough.

In the end, I prefer clear answers over fast ones, even if waiting is uncomfortable.

I wanted to understand if I could eventually apply for citizenship abroad after relocating. My consultant from Sa Migration was motivating but also honest not everything is guaranteed, but strong compliance history helps. Coming from Cape Town and wanting stability elsewhere, I appreciated both realism and direction.

My moment of frustration happened when I discovered I poorly archived old travel records from years living between Cape Town and Johannesburg. The consultant gave correct guidance, but the response felt blunt at first. Later I realised it wasn’t rude just factual, because policy doesn’t bend for feelings.

After that conversation, I built a travel document log for the next 10 years.

Applying for a study visa felt like learning adulthood overnight. Coming from Cape Town, I dreamed big but panicked easily. I didn’t know how to combine acceptance letters, funding proof, and insurance into something that made authorities believe I wasn’t a risk. SA Migration broke it down into phases, university admin, financial clarity, and official submission. That structure alone reduced half my anxiety.
I hit a stressful moment when I misunderstood the difference between provisional acceptance and full acceptance. I thought I missed everything and spent two days in worry until I received clarification. It was a small miscommunication but emotionally heavy for someone who hadn’t even left the country yet.
In the end, I gained more than a visa plan. I gained confidence, patience, and document literacy.

I contacted SAMI recently because I didn’t want to risk misunderstanding official requirements. The consultant assigned to me, was incredibly methodical and made sure I understood each document, form, and timeline. She also double-checked my identity and supporting documentation twice, which gave me confidence that accuracy mattered more than speed.

One area I felt could be slightly improved is the follow up timing. I received replies within the promised timeframe overall, but some answers took longer when approaching submission deadlines, which made me a little anxious. It wasn’t negligence but I think clients would feel even more secure if response timing was strengthened during crucial phases.

Aside from that, everything was smooth, respectful and well organised. I prefer professionals who are careful rather than fast and sloppy, and in that regard, they delivered exactly what was needed. I ended up receiving approval without needing to fix or re upload anything, so I still rate the experience highly

The team clearly knows immigration frameworks extremely well, and the written guidance they provide is detailed, accurate, and totally beginner friendly. The only part I would critique slightly is that my first intake call felt a bit fast paced, as if the consultant was trying to make sure we stayed on schedule. Once the onboarding was complete, though, everything slowed down and became much more personalised.

Overall, the professionalism outweighed the minor rushed feeling at the beginning. I’d still trust them with future applications.

I chose SAMI because I wanted structured guidance instead of trying to interpret every official requirement alone. My consultant, Daniel, was calm, respectful, and didn’t rush me even when I asked questions that probably seemed repetitive. I truly appreciated his ability to explain each step in plain language instead of throwing complicated terminology at me.

However, I do think their internal message turnaround time could be improved there were two occasions where I had to send follow-up reminders before receiving clarification, which made me slightly anxious due to how time-sensitive immigration processing can be. It wasn’t unprofessional, just slower than what I personally expected for something so important.

That said, accuracy matters more than speed, and SAMI delivered on that part. Everything I submitted was accepted on the first attempt, and there were no rejections, no missing documents, and no procedural errors. In my view, patience plus accuracy is still better than fast but careless service. I would definitely use them again.

Halfway through my visa process, I realized I’d uploaded the wrong version of my qualification certificate. I was ready to cry. Taryn calmly said, Don’t worry, we’ll fix it.

She contacted VFS for document replacement approval and walked me through the correction. I didn’t even have to reapply, they just added the right copy to my existing file.

The visa was approved three weeks later. It wasn’t just a migration service, it was emotional support through bureaucracy!

What impressed me most about SAMI wasn’t just the paperwork it was the follow up. Mandla called me twice just to check that I’d arrived safely for my VFS appointment.

He even emailed me a reminder to collect my visa before the VFS office closed early for a public holiday and I would’ve missed it!.

It’s those small touches that make you feel like a person, not a transaction. The process took time, but everything unfolded just as Mandla said it would.

You know those agencies that promise “24 hour responses” and then ghost you for a week? SAMI is not that. Ryan was my assigned agent, and he was as communicative as anyone I’ve worked with.

He emailed me updates at every step “Payment received,” “Documents couriered,” “Appointment confirmed.” Even when there was nothing new to report, he’d drop a line just to say so. It’s such a small gesture but gives you peace of mind.

We had a bit of confusion when VFS rejected one of my invoices because it didn’t have a tax number on it. Ryan fixed it in two days, sent me the corrected one, and the visa was approved within 10 weeks. That’s how a business should be run with honesty and follow through.

When I started my Critical Skills Work Visa, I was overwhelmed by the paperwork. I had tried to apply on my own and got my file rejected by VFS due to missing translations. That’s when a friend told me about SA Migration.

My consultant, Candice, was patient from the first call. She reviewed my old file line by line, corrected errors, and even called me after hours once to explain what needed to be notarized. What impressed me most was her calmness I panicked about the timeline, but she always reassured me that it was under control.

There was a short hiccup with the courier where DHL misplaced my certificate for four days, but she tracked it and made sure it reached the right place. The visa came through in just over two months, and she emailed me the confirmation before I even saw the VFS message. Real professionals, they don’t just work fast, they work right.

Renewals can be a nightmare, but Jolene from SAMI made it simple. She cross-checked my expiring permit dates, booked my VFS Cape Town slot, and ensured I didn’t fall out of status.

Courier delays from DHL gave us a scare documents were stuck in customs but she kept tracking and even contacted DHL directly.

Two weeks later, my renewed visa was ready. The calmness she brought to a stressful process deserves six stars if possible.

This is my honest and sincere review of my experience with sa migration south africa. I would like to share my experience in much details so that people like me who take online reviews seriously do not fall into trap of these crooks, unfortunately there is no authentic review from anyone on this company either good or bad, prior me signing up with south africa migration (Sami). Which made me get in touch with them. I am a software engineer in one the top 3 mncs in india. I applied for critical skill visas and signed up with sami on 31st dec 2015, the usual turn around time for this visa is about 3 to 4 months, in my case it has been over 1 yr and still not received although had I applied all by myself with the info available on the net I could have got in 3 months’ time. This delay has caused due to misguiding from the staff of sami. To go a bit further, I was given 1/3rd the quote for consolation for visa by sami. It gave me an impression that these guys are reasonable and their style of business is to provide service for an affordable price to a very large number of people. However this is not the case, I failed to realize that they are actually not reasonable but are cheap. And as the saying goes cheap is not reliable. I mean this in every breath I breathe. God knows how they able to be in the migration business with unprofessional ethics. Their main intention is to close with the clients asap, once your money is with them they don't bother to give any info to clients. The info they provide in terms of consultation is one that is available on the south african immigrating website. One will have to persistently and shamelessly call and literally beg to get service.
Some of the worst things happened to me is when getting evaluation with saqa. I was interacting with one person called mr. Noel hawes, he seemed to be a professional by the way he responds and talk to you. Unfortunately none of them in the organization is worth talking to. This person said he had spoken to someone in saqa who will take scan documents for evaluation. Assuming that he is right I scanned all my documents and sent it to him, it took him 30 days more from the time I gave him to submit to saqa. I was changed zar 500 by sami saying it is postal/courier service to send the documents from sami to saqa and from saqa to my indian address. Unfortunately I had signed up for my spouse as well at this point in time. These guys sent our documents to saqa and after I blasted their founder mr. Rod maxwell for delaying in posting, I was told that they have posted the documents and have not couriered to saqa. As expected my saqa got rejected for the reason stating that they do not accept copies of scanned documents. I was asked to plead to one of the senior officials asking them to reconsider their decisions. But when I spoke to the senior officials of saqa, the officer said clearly that they have stated on the web site that they do not entertain scanned copied. I told her that mr. Noel form sami had confirmed me that he had spoken to someone inside saqa who confirmed that they would accept the scanned copies. When I gave the name of the person to whom mr. Noel spoke, she said there is no one by that name who is or was saqa. Later noel said saqa is a government organization and one would only find liars there. So all in all time delay and rejection and some money lost.
For the second time I reapplied by myself and I got the documents delivered to my residence within 3 months. But wait what happened to my spouse documents? My spouse documents were processed by saqa and was available at saqa house. For the next 3 months I was after sami day in day out to deliver her documents. By then mr. Noel left sami and had joined elsewhere and it got even more difficult to get the documents. After three months of continues pressure rod maxell finally asked someone to pick my spouse saqa certificate from saqa house. This time these guys ideally had send the document to my indian addressed as agreed, but instead they kept the documents at their office and asked me to pay money to send her documents to india. I refused to pay at this stage and provided my receipts email confirmation on agreed terms and clarified that they have already charged me for that and pushed hard for them to post her from then they took another 3 months to confirm. 3 months later sami guys misplaced the original saqa certificate of my spouse, at this point in time I completely got pissed off and blasted them for their lack of responsibility. Post which they neither respond to my calls or emails. It’s an indirect way of their communication to sulk not to reach them. Being in a foreign country one cannot do much when they throw such unprofessional attitude.
Apparently all the while I was in communication with mr. Noel the so called ex-employee of sami. He was on my side whenever I shared my feedback about sami. When I got my skill registration, mr. Noel the ex-employee committed to me that he shall be arranging an offer letter from a company who have proper tax returns. And we would get our visa for 5 years instead of 1. When I asked him about the legal consequence of it, he said there are many body shopping companies who employee people upfront, when the client get their visa and requirement these body shopping companies would place them in such companies. I believed it to be true since I know for the fact that this model works in us. This person initially quoted me rands 3000 for two offer letters. Thankfully I did not pay him so much, I paid 1000 rands, and guess what? This person also gets absconding. There is no way he responds to emails or picks my calls after the money is in account. All in all perhaps south africa is having a high crime rate and a very bad reputation because of people like rod maxwell, shane (The replacement to noel in sami) and noel. This is how people from civilized world get cheated. These guys do not have any integrity, they are one bunch of liars really have no value for your hard earned money and time. Responsibility and accountability is a far away from reality. I really wonder how they are in business since 12 years.
The main purpose for these guys is to make money, any money is good for them, big or small, I remember noel saying “something is better than nothing” when I agreed to pay him rands 1000 for offer letters. That is how cheap and money minded they are. Initially sami quote rand 5000 for application, when you say its too expensive they say they have a discount running in their organization and give you 50% off. If you say can only give 1000 rands, they will be ok for that, I wish I had told them rands 100 perhaps they would even agree for that as well. And then they ask you to sing up with them making an online payment. They then do all nonsense like courier charges and offer letters scams just to extract more money from you.In the process if you still want to pursue, it’s likely that you figure out your way or drop the idea of it.In any case they would have made money from you. The truth is everyone in this organization is a big liar, a third rated crook, they have no idea about immigration developments at times there is a high possibility that you are aware through online blogs and they aren’t. I have made a sincere attempt to all you people reading this article to stay away from sa migraton (Sami). I am not sure how good or bad the other consultants are.In any case you want to apply for critical skill visa to south africa, there is ample of info available on the internet and do it by yourself, it works out fast with far less expense. I am committed to help people from getting fooled by agents like rod maxwell and noel hawes. Adding on these people are there in facebook and linkedin to prove there are genuine, end of the day their intentions are not clean. I have declared there name here so that you know with whom are you interacting.

This company Is nothing but a scam!Rod Maxwell charged me R20 thou to get my permit finalised in a short space of time a up to tis nothing has transpired #this guy rod Maxwell, is nothing but a thief .this man has continuously taken money's from clients that I innocently reffered to him not knowing he is nothing but a crook!this company he operates is just to tak people's money's and no assist them.-I paid the deposit of R10 since that day it's story's after story #all he does is bluff lie in treat clients lik rubbish. He thinks thinks foregnirs are idiots #i am going to ma sure this company closes down one way or the other. He has gone to far #

http://sami.co.za/
http://www.samigration.com/

SA Immigration International
Tel: +[protected]
Email: [protected]@sami.co.za

Looking at above mentioned attractive websites and a crazy level follow-up from their agents, I decided to acquire their SA Retirement visa services but regret to say that since I paid their advance aount (5, 000 ZAR) on Feb. 10, 2016. I hardly see any of those " Crazy Follow-ups" despite I am begging them to tell me my case progress. I even contacted each and every person in the company including the CEO Mr. Rod Maxwell BUT NOTHING HAPPENED.

I STRONGLY RECOMMEND " NOT TO DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY (sami) FOR IMMIGRATION SERVICES" They are Forge and Fake company. Their target is just collect a little amount like 5, 000 ZAR and disappear from the scene.

I will be visiting SA Embassy soon to file a case against them.

Take care when you choose SCAMS like SAMI for South Africa.

Saeed Mirza

I friends, SA Migration International took R5000 from me in advance for Visa services.
Once they receive the money they will never reply to your e mails an also will not pick your calls.
I they will answer your mail it will be unplesent and on phone calls they will continue to make false promises.
When i was frustated with the service and demanded my money back they asked me that they will deduct service fees and will refund rest.
I agreed on this as i do not want to risk my original documents with such unprofessional peoples.
But then they never replied my e mails or neither took my call, if they will take my call they will cut hearing my voice.
Please do not use SA Migration International for visa as most gurantee you will loose your money and they gurantee to provide non professional services.