Should you or should you not financially emigrate from South Africa?

You don’t need to leave your financial assets behind when leaving South African shores. Through financial emigration from South Africa you can create a free flow of your money, transferring assets any time you want.

Financial emigration – what does it mean?

Are you thinking of leaving South Africa in search of a new home address and greener pastures? In between packing up your house and belongings, don’t forget to start the ball rolling on wrapping up your finances through financial emigration.

The process of financial emigration from South Africa isn’t as easy as it might sound, and it entails more than just physically shifting your assets to a new global location. Financial emigration means getting in touch with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) and giving them the heads up that you have moved to a new country, and they should change the way they view you.

The result of the process of financial emigration from South Africa is that the Reserve Bank will consider you as a “non-resident” ; that is, a South African citizen who has left the country. Financial emigration has no impact on your citizenship, your passport or the right to support the Bokke – those go with you across the globe.

Why is financial emigration important if you’ve already emigrated from South Africa?

The purpose of financial emigration from South Africa is to wrap up your South African estate for emigration purposes. This includes declaring all your assets to the South African Reserve Bank (SARB), whom approves the transfer of assets to another country. Once your financial emigration is approved, you can transfer your assets from South Africa any time you want, without any additional approvals required from an exchange control point of view. Thus, creating a free flow of your capital.

Does financial emigration change your South African tax residency?

No, your tax residency is not dependent on or affected by your financial emigration from South Africa. In most cases your tax residency is established in your new home country. Depending on various double taxation agreements (DTA) between South Africa and other countries, you may still be taxed on income from assets in South Africa. Each DTA differs from country to country, so checking with the tax office in your new home is advisable, and you’ll find lots of useful information on the SARS website as well.

How do you financially emigrate from South Africa?

Here is an infographic explaining the process of financial emigration and changing your status from a South African resident to a non-resident.

It’s probably best that you familiarise yourself with the financial emigration process well before you jump on a plane.

That’s where FinGlobal’s expertise comes in handy. With thousands of clients all over the world, we’re the leaders in financial emigration – from getting your tax certificate to helping you shift your finances to your new home country, our job is to make your money moves as smooth as possible. Get in touch today! Our team is ready to get you started.