What South African expats need to know about financial emigration and recession

With the South African economy currently in recession, lessening the effects of Rand volatility is a top priority for many people at the moment. Many expatriates have retirement funds and other assets in South Africa that they would like to withdraw and transfer offshore. This is known as the process of financial emigration. SAFFA.com had a look at the most common questions about this process below. What exactly is financial emigration? Financial emigration is the process of officially changing your status with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) from a permanent resident, or resident living temporarily abroad, to that of a non-resident of South Africa. This means that you have permanently left South Africa and relocated abroad. The process of financial emigration is daunting and admin-heavy. The average turnaround time to complete the entire process is three months. We recommend using an experienced, certified South African financial emigration specialist to complete the …
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  • 7 September 2018
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Moving to the UK? Don’t leave South Africa without tying up these loose-ends

For South Africans, the road to the UK can be a challenging one, but once you get there it’s worth it. To help you navigate through all the requirements and to ensure that your move goes off as smoothly as possible, we’ve compiled some essential advice and information based on what other Saffas have learned while making the big move. Transfer your money the easy way When transferring your money out of South Africa, you want to get as many Pounds for your Rands as you can. Banks are notorious for giving shoddy exchange rates and it’s far better to use a specialist forex agency. Forex agents build key relationships with banks from all around the world and they process all their transfers in bulk. That’s how they’re able to give you the best rates at lower fees. So forget about using your bank, shop around online and find a broker with local expertise that can help you get the most out of your money transfers. To financially emigrate, or not to financially emigrate? Financial e…
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  • 7 March 2018
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