Expats living outside SA must first answer the following questions before they agree to emigrate financially:

1. Provide a family structure and background information on the immediate family, i.e.:
2. Married, single, children?
   • Do your spouse and all your minor children reside with you in a foreign country
     • If not, provide some background information on the location and reason therefor, concerning your immediate family. Any intention for them to join you soon?
3. Your family home in SA:
   • Did you sell or rent it out? If rented out, is it a long-term rental agreement?
4. Do you own a holiday or house on the family farm, always available to you?
   • When you and you and the family visit South Africa, where will you reside?

And now the questions we will be asking:

1. Will this be the same for you, travelling all by yourself on a business trip?
2. Where do you live? Country, Province/State and City
   • Rental property or owned by the family, directly or indirectly via a family trust?
3. Did you avail to an investor visa, e. deposited some funds with the foreign government or bought/rented a qualifying property (Malta, Golden Visa etc.?)
   • If so; how long ago and have you spent substantial time in the said property?
   • If not, explain your intention with the property or investment?
4. Where were your born and how long did you sta in SA?
   • Provide some information on the passports ou held?
   • If not born in SA, when did you arrive in SA?
     • Wht was the reason for coming to SA?
   • What was the reason for leaving? Job, secondment or a family decision to find a new home country?
5. Can I avail to tax treaties and be considered tax resident in my new home, as this is not subject to financial emigration?
   • If yes, on what date was the tax exit?
   • Do you pay income tax, in the new home country on sourced income only or worldwide income?
   • Have you ever obtained a tax residency certificate from the new county’s tax authority?
6. Can I claim tax credits in SA, as I have paid the necessary tax in the country of employment?
   • Most countries, apart from the UAE, has the ability and intention to tax you on locally sourced income. Yes, even “tax havens” such as the Channel Islands do charge a personal tax on remuneration earned by employees residing in their country
7. It could be that your employer is paying on your behalf, do ask the HR department
   • If you are not in a treaty country, can I tax emigrate based on facts and intention?
   • Could the FE option be part of the building blocks to show the intention to exit South Africa and the SARS tax system as ordinarily tax resident?
   • If so, was the tax exit date this year or sometime in the future?
8. Why would you consider or wish the complete the FE process? Here are some reasons:
   • To cash out a retirement annuity
   • To be able to re-invest into SA via my offshore trust or non-SA company to ensure I am not exposed to SA estate duty
   • To exit large funds (more than R20m per family) sourced from past savings or huge inheritance?
9. Why do you think do service providers place so much emphasis on FE, insisting I incur the huge costs?
   • Should I not obtain a formal tax opinion from a person not selling FE to one and all, but only to persons that could show a clear benefit?
   • Did you pay your exit tax (CGT in terms on section 9H of the SA Income Tax Act)? If so: in which tax year?
10. Do you need to transfer funds from ZA Rand to foreign currency and vice versa?
    • Provide some additional information as to the reason, monetary value and the life events that may impact on this, e. sale of a house or parents being supported from abroad, passing on
11. Where do you intend to retire? Back in SA?
    • Irrespective of retirement plans, do you intend to return SA at any given time?
      • Timelines and life events that catapult you into making this decision?

Once you have considered all of the questions above, contact

Hugi van Zyl for more guidance.