When a loved one passes away, the emotional toll is heavy – but for South Africans living abroad, the admin can be just as overwhelming. From getting a South African death certificate, finalising death duties and transferring your South African inheritance overseas, the process can feel like a maze of paperwork and red tape.
Every situation is different. Maybe you left South Africa years ago but never completed tax emigration. Or you emigrated as a child and have no South African ID. Either way, if you’re a beneficiary of a life policy in South Africa, you’ll need to follow specific steps to claim what’s rightfully yours. Let’s look at how this plays out, with some real-world examples.
Why a valid South African will and executor matter
Having a valid South African will is essential if you own assets in South Africa. It ensures that your estate can be wrapped up efficiently and that an executor can be appointed quickly with a letter of executorship South Africa. Without this, your loved ones could face frustrating delays in getting a copy of a death certificate South Africa, settling death tax South Africa, and accessing any funds.
To process a death claim in South Africa, these five items are typically required:
- A South African death certificate – in many cases, an unabridged death certificate South Africa is needed.
- A compliant tax file and tax number for the deceased, especially for taxable products like a life insurance policy in South Africa.
- A South African non-resident bank account or deceased estate bank account in South Africa to receive proceeds before they are transferred offshore.
- The correct paperwork to meet exchange control requirements.
- Proof of the beneficiary’s exchange control status, which affects how funds can be transferred abroad.
Top tip: Always update marital status with Home Affairs and review tax compliance during annual financial planning.
Read more: Claiming Death Benefits from South Africa as an expat beneficiary.
Real-life examples: what happens in practice with non-resident beneficiaries
Clement – still a South African tax resident
Clement was born in South Africa and emigrated 15 years ago but never completed tax emigration. He still has a valid green barcoded ID and tax number.
- When his father passes away and leaves him R500,000 from a South African life policy, Clement is still considered a South African tax resident.
- To access the funds, he needs: a South African death certificate, a non-resident bank account in South Africa, and the usual paperwork required for money transfers under the Single Discretionary Allowance).
However, if Clement inherits more than R1 million, things change. To access the foreign investment allowance, he will first need to cease tax residency, as SARS blocks residents abroad from using the R10 million allowance without doing so.
Clement – after tax emigration
Clement later completes tax emigration and has a formal letter to prove it. He then inherits R2 million from a life insurance policy in South Africa.
This time, the process is easier. With a non-resident South Africa bank account, the funds can be transferred offshore without limits – as long as the correct source of funds documentation is provided.
Sarah – emigrated as a minor
Sarah was born in South Africa but emigrated with her parents when she was just three years old. She has lived abroad for 20 years, has never applied for a South African ID, and inherits R800,000 from a pension payout.
Because Sarah does not have a South African ID and is a non-resident for exchange control purposes, the process is more complex:
- The executor must apply for SARB approval to transfer the funds offshore.
- A non-resident South Africa bank account must be opened in Sarah’s name to receive the proceeds.
- A South African death certificate is required to finalise the claim.
If the deceased’s tax number is inactive, the executor must first reactivate the tax number before applying for a tax directive to release the pension funds.
As you can see, emigration as a minor – and not having a South African ID – adds extra steps and delays to the process of claiming from a pension fund in South Africa.
Read more: Top things you need to know about death benefit claim payments for beneficiaries living abroad.
Don’t forget about unclaimed funds
Billions of rand in unclaimed funds from deceased in South Africa are sitting with insurers and administrators.
To check if you’re owed money, you can:
- Search the FSCA’s unclaimed funds list in South Africa.
- Use the National Automated Archival Information Retrieval System for a death record search by name South Africa.
- Contact fund administrators in South Africa to find outstanding claims.
How to handle a death claim as an expat beneficiary
If you’re living abroad and are a beneficiary of a South African deceased estate, you’ll need to meet certain requirements before your inheritance can be paid out and transferred offshore.
When transferring an estate distribution out of South Africa as a non-resident, you must provide the following to your authorised dealer:
- The South African death certificate (an unabridged death certificate South Africa may be required for use abroad).
- The Last Will and Testament of the deceased.
- The Liquidation and Distribution Account prepared by the executor.
- The Letter of Executorship South Africa issued by the Master of the High Court.
- Your TCS PIN from the SARS Approval of International Transfers (AIT) process.
- Your SARS Non-Resident Confirmation Letter.
If you don’t already have one, you will need to open a non-resident South Africa bank account. The estate distribution will be paid into this account before it can be transferred to you as a non-resident beneficiary.
For estate distributions exceeding R10 million, SARS will conduct an intensified verification into the source of your funds. Once this is complete, you will also need approval from FinSurv (Financial Surveillance Department of the South African Reserve Bank). Large transfers undergo a risk management review at exchange control level. This includes an assessment of your tax status, the origin of your funds, and a personal risk analysis in line with the anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regulations under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act.
Read more: Deceased estates and distant heirs: the expat’s guide to claiming your South African inheritance.
FinGlobal: here to make things easier for South African expats
Sorting out the paperwork to get your South African inheritance paid out as a non-resident beneficiary can be stressful and time-consuming. That’s where we come in. At FinGlobal, we take the admin off your plate and handle everything from start to finish. Once you’ve signed the paperwork, you can sit back, track our progress online, and wait for the payout to land in your account – it really is that simple.
We don’t just help with death claims either. Our team can also assist with tax emigration, tax clearance, international money transfers and a range of other cross-border services for South Africans living abroad.
Want to find out more about how FinGlobal can help you? Pop your contact details in the form below, and we’ll be in touch to chat about your requirements.