Moving money from South Africa for study, work visas or golden visas: what to know

Whether you’re paying university fees in the UK, starting a job in Sydney or Amsterdam, or thinking about an investor visa, one big question comes up: how do you move your money out of South Africa legally?

The good news is that the process is well-established, and the rules changed meaningfully in 2026 in your favour. This guide explains allowances, paperwork, and pitfalls.

Please note: this article is general information, not financial, tax or immigration advice. Every situation is different, and the FinGlobal team is always happy to talk through yours.

How much money can you transfer out of South Africa?

South Africa still applies exchange control. The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) limits how much money residents can send abroad each year. Also, all transfers must go through an authorised dealer. This is usually your bank or a licensed forex provider.

There are two main allowances for individuals:

1. The Single Discretionary Allowance (SDA)

On 8 April 2026, the SDA increased from R1 million to R2 million each year for every South African resident aged 18 or older.

The SDA can be used for almost any legal purpose abroad, including tuition, travel, gifts, living costs, and investments. You do not need tax clearance from the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to use it. The allowance resets every calendar year. It includes all your foreign spending, like card purchases while you travel.

Children under 18 do not qualify for the SDA. Instead, they have a separate travel allowance, which doubled from R200,000 to R400,000. This is strictly for travel or study costs and cannot be used for offshore investments.

2. The Foreign Investment Allowance (R10 million with SARS approval)

If you need to move more than your SDA, you can transfer up to an additional R10 million per calendar year. For this, you need an Approval of International Transfers (AIT) Tax Compliance Status (TCS) PIN from SARS. SARS lists the required documents on its official AIT page, and we cover the paperwork in our AIT supporting documents guide. Amounts above R10 million require a further special approval process.

Together, these allowances give one adult up to R12 million per year, or R24 million for a couple.

Read more: Moved abroad? SARS may still consider you a South African tax resident

Important: the rules change once you stop being a South African tax resident

What happens if you have ceased South African tax residency, through a process known as tax emigration? This changes the rules. Once SARS has confirmed you are a non-resident, the SDA no longer applies to you. Going forward, you will need the applicable tax compliance status pin from SARS depending on the source of funds for every transfer abroad regardless of the amount.

Read more:

• Tax Emigration South Africa
• Tax clearance vs tax emigration: what’s the difference?

If you still hold South African tax residency while living or studying abroad temporarily, you keep your annual allowances. Before you formally change your status, get advice, because ceasing tax residency can trigger a capital gains “exit tax” on certain assets.

How to transfer money fro South Africa for study abroad

Studying in the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands or Australia usually involves tuition fees, an accommodation deposit, visa fees and monthly living costs. For most families, the SDA covers all of this.

A few practical points:

• Each adult has their own allowance. If both parents contribute, each can use their own R2 million SDA, which helps in expensive cities like London or Amsterdam.
• A student who is 18 or older has their own SDA too, and parents can also pay tuition directly to the institution on the student’s behalf.
• Most student visas require proof of funds, and the money often needs to sit in the right account for a set period before you apply. Plan transfers early, because visa timelines and banking timelines do not always match.
• If a family somehow exhausts the SDA in a given year, further transfers for genuine expenses such as tuition may still be possible on application. Speak to an exchange control specialist about your options.

Keep every invoice and payment confirmation. Universities, visa officers and your bank may all ask for them.

Read more: Two million Single Discretionary Allowance

Moving money for a work visa or relocation

If you are taking up a job abroad, your money questions come in two phases.

1. Phase one: before and shortly after you leave. While you remain a South African tax resident, you can use your SDA and, with an AIT, the R10 million allowance. Typical needs include a rental deposit, a car, school fees and an emergency buffer in pounds, euros or dollars. Rental markets in cities like London, Sydney and Dublin often ask newcomers without a local credit record for several months’ rent upfront. Already having the funds in your new account before you arrive will make things easier.
2. Phase two: if the move becomes permanent. Once you settle and cease South African tax residency, the non-resident rules apply. Every transfer of remaining South African funds will require a TCS PIN. Find out whether a double taxation agreement applies between South Africa and your new country, so that you are not taxed twice on the same income. Our financial emigration service handles exactly this.

If you are only going abroad on a fixed contract and plan to return, you generally remain a tax resident and simply use your annual allowances.

Golden visas: what is still open in 2026

Here the picture has changed dramatically, and most of the popular destinations for South Africans no longer offer one:

• The UK scrapped its Tier 1 Investor visa over security and source of funds concerns, per this 2026 overview of closures.
• Australia ended its Significant Investor “golden ticket” visa, which had required a A$5 million investment, as reported by SBS News.
• Ireland closed its Immigrant Investor Programme in February 2023, per CitizenX.
• The Netherlands ended its wealthy investor scheme in 2024, per Investment Visa.
• Canada has no passive golden visa. Only Quebec runs an investor programme, relaunched in 2024 with strict conditions including a French language requirement, per SiLaw.

Two of the favourite destinations still have open routes:

• New Zealand offers the Active Investor Plus visa. It requires at least NZ$5 million invested over three years in the Growth category, or NZ$10 million over five years in the Balanced category, per Immigration New Zealand.
• The US offers the EB-5 investor route, from $800,000 in targeted employment areas or $1,050,000 elsewhere, per Movingto.

For those wanting a European foothold instead, Portugal accepts fund investments from 500,000 euros (its real estate route closed in 2023) and Greece still offers a property route at roughly 250,000 to 800,000 euros depending on location, per IMI Daily and Global Citizen Solutions.

From a South African money perspective, the key point is size. NZ$5 million is well over R50 million at recent exchange rates, far beyond the combined R12 million annual allowance, so it requires the special SARB approval process, careful structuring and professional help. Even a 500,000 euro Portuguese fund investment, at roughly R10 million or more, usually means combining your SDA with an AIT-approved transfer, splitting across tax years or between spouses. AIT applications take weeks and demand detailed proof of where your money comes from, so start well before any visa deadline.

The paperwork: what SARS and your bank will ask for

For transfers within your SDA, the process is simple. Your bank or forex provider records the purpose of the payment and, for travel, may ask for a ticket. For an AIT application, SARS requires items such as:

• proof of the source of the funds, for example a property sale agreement, savings statements or inheritance documents
• recent bank statements, issued no more than 14 days before you apply
• a statement of your assets and liabilities for the past three tax years
• details of the intended investment and destination country

Your tax affairs must be fully up to date. Outstanding returns or debt with SARS will stall the approval.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Leaving it too late. AIT approvals and international bank compliance checks both take time. Build in a buffer of several weeks for large transfers.
• Forgetting that the SDA covers everything. Overseas card spending, gifts and foreign currency subscriptions all count towards your R2 million.
• Ignoring exchange rates and fees. On large rand to pound, dollar or euro transfers, even a small difference in the rate can cost tens of thousands of rand, so compare quotes.
• Assuming the old rules still apply after emigration. Once you are a non-resident for tax purposes, you cannot use the SDA, and every transfer need SARS approval.
• Relying on outdated visa information. Investor visa rules change often, as the recent closures show. Always verify current requirements with the official immigration authority before you transfer funds.

Frequently asked questions

1. How much money can I take out of South Africa in 2026? Up to R2 million per adult per calendar year without tax clearance, and up to a further R10 million with SARS approval. Refer to SARB Circular 6/2026 and SARS.
2. I already live in the UK or Australia. Can I still use the R2 million allowance? Only if you are still a South African tax resident. If you have formally ceased tax residency, the SDA falls away, and you need an AIT from SARS for every transfer of South African-sourced funds.
3. Can my spouse and I combine our allowances? Yes. Each adult has their own SDA and foreign investment allowance, so a couple who are still tax residents can move up to R24 million per year between them.
4. Which of the popular destinations still offer a golden visa? Among the countries South Africans favour, only New Zealand (from NZ$5 million) and the US (from $800,000) still run investor residency programmes. The UK, Australia, Ireland and the Netherlands have all closed theirs.

Let FinGlobal simplify your international money transfer

Transferring money out of South Africa for study, work or an investment visa is entirely legal and, since the 2026 increase of the SDA to R2 million, easier than it has been in years. The essentials are simple: know your allowances, understand how your tax residency status changes the rules, keep your documents in order and use an authorised dealer.

FinGlobal is a licensed South African financial services provider (FSP 42872) that has helped thousands of South Africans with tax emigration, tax clearance and AIT applications, forex transfers, and retirement annuity withdrawals. Wherever you are in the world, leave your details on our contact form and a consultant will call you back.