Financial emigration and the fright of the blocked bank account

Expat forums are full of it! Everyone’s talking about the dreaded blocked bank accounts required for financial emigration. Because, let’s be honest; everyone wants their money, but no one wants to hear anything about a blocked bank account.

In fact, if you’ve emigrated, the last thing you want to hear is that anything is ‘blocked’ back home.

But we’re here to tell you it’s not that bad. Blocked bank accounts aren’t as mean and inaccessible as they sound…

What is a blocked bank account?

A blocked bank account should really be called something else. Unfortunately, the good old bankers and legislators of the world are really better at crunching numbers than contemplating word etymology and semantics. Bless their hearts, though – everyone can’t be good with words.

It’s understandable that financial emigration sounds very scary once the big, bad, blocked bank account is mentioned though. Blocking, by definition, reminds us of something which requires us to reroute the old GPS, an uncomfortable affair involving drain cleaner and plungers, or perhaps something which belongs on an All Bran ad. Yes, it sounds uncomfortable and difficult and utterly final. It sounds like you will be barred entry to your beloved country.

But it isn’t!

A blocked bank account is actually just something which makes the process of moving your money abroad easier. This account is managed by a single banking institution of your choice. Though not all South African banks can manage a blocked account, you’ll still be able to choose which of the bigger banking institutions you want to hold your blocked account with.

For the exchange control process, SARS requires that all your money flows through a central account from South Africa. This means that you will now have one account in South Africa, and (lucky you), this account will be managed by a designated banker with thorough knowledge of international finance. For this reason, you won’t have access to internet banking and additional accounts – but essentially this is no longer necessary as you will have all those services in your new country.

That’s it! No blocked cash flow, no leaving funds behind, no being barred from moving money or entering the country. It’s simply part of the financial emigration process – but it doesn’t affect your South African citizenship.

Don’t be left penniless – move your money today!

Many South Africans moving abroad have saved every penny simply to make the move. Emigration is such a costly thing – they’re often land on foreign shores without any surplus funds to start off their new lives. There really is nothing worse than starting off a dream without any resources. Because resources cost money. Shipping your belongings costs money. Buying houses, cars and furniture costs money.

Luckily, if you have policies or assets left back in South Africa, there’s no reason why you can’t transfer your funds offshore. Depending on where you are and the type of funds you want to transfer, you may even get more money after the transfer. Also remember that not all policy transfers require blocked bank accounts – you can easily transfer the proceeds of many policies internationally without financial emigration.

So why wait?

Let finglobal.com help you move your money abroad! Don’t call us, we’ll call you.