Relocating From South Africa? Key Steps To Undertake In The Emigration Process

There are a number of considerations when relocating to another country that involve much more than a mere physical departure and the taking up of permanent residence in a foreign country. In South Africa, an individual will continue to be regarded as a South African resident for exchange control purposes until such time as the South African Reserve Bank (the "SARB") has provided him/her with formal emigration approval. An individual will further still be regarded as a South African tax resident until a disclosure has been made to the South African Revenue Service ("SARS") that he/she has ceased to be a South African tax resident during the relevant year of assessment.

A number of key steps should, therefore, be undertaken from both an exchange control and tax perspective in order to ensure that the aim of initiating the emigration process is achieved.