As a life-partnership relationship is as special as a marriage, and many South African citizens or permanent residency holders love their country and wish to have their foreign partners living in South African with them, the South African immigration regulations are not intensively strict on the length of the relationship, but proof is required to be submitted. With regards to temporary residence applications in order for the foreign partner to reside with their South African counterpart, there are no set stipulations for the length of the relationship in order to obtain this visa / visa. Permanent Residence applications in this category, the immigration regulations require the couple to be in a permanent relationship for 5 years or longer before an application can be submitted in order to reside in South Africa permanently with each other.