Peter Wright

Hi all

my wife and I are returning to the UK in December after 10 years in Cape Town. We are permanent residents here and have been for a few years - we have however never applied for and do not have a green id book.

We have sold our house and want to take the balance of around R500k back to our UK account.

I cannot find a simple answer - as UK citizens do we need to go the foreign investment route, and if so how do we do this without the green id book (seems clear you need this)

Can we go another route ?

Any advice much appreciated.

Peter

Sherlock Holmes

Hi Peter and welcome to B.E.

It's my pleasant duty to welcome you to the forum and give you a point of contact should you need any help with the site in general. You can contact me here.

A list of all the moderators and helpers with their relevant countries including the rest of the world can be found here.

Any problems, dont hesitate to PM me.

I can't answer your question directly but would ask where CT is and are you asking about legalities or means of transfer?

Alistair.

Peter Wright

Thanks for the reply Alistair.

CT= Cape Town

I am asking about both - I need to find the simplest route given our circumstances.

Many thanks

Peter

Sherlock Holmes

I can do methods Can't do legalities (I assume there are some?) There are now several online transfer companies which include South Africa. I use this one and have for years. Cheap and reliable: www.tranzfers.com

Hope this helps.

I'll also PM a member who has done SA > UK > AUS and get him to have a look at this for you.

Peter Wright

Thanks -the key for us appears to be that we are permanent residents ans the money was earned locally.

Sherlock Holmes

Just to let you know, reply may be few hours yet, I expect he is asleep!

Mitzyboy

If you use search you will find a few threads on the subject

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...+money+from+SA

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...+money+from+SA

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...+money+from+SA

Peter Wright

Thanks - I did see those threads, but none are relevant to us. We are residents and not citizens and we earned the money in SA rather than bring it with us from the UK. I could see no clear resolution in them either.

Pablo

If you are Permanent Residents, then you are subject to the same exchange regulations as SA citizens.

Assuming you intend to follow a legal route to transfer your funds, then your accountant should be able to advise you on the specifics. As I recall, if you declare formally that you are emigrating from SA, then you are allowed to take out a sizeable sum. (I don't have the up to date figures to hand, but it's more than R500k.)

The question of whether you applied for, or still hold, a green ID book is neither here nor there. If you are Permanent Residents as you say, then this will have been recorded at the time your PR was granted. You will also have been issued with a certificate (even if you have subsequently lost it).

Obviously, fresh copies of lost or never-obtained documents can be obtained. Certainly, not having a green ID book in SA is a major inconvenience.

Peter Wright

Thanks Pablo - we do have our PR certificates still.

The bank is not being forthcoming - who are we best contacting to make the necessary arrangements ?

johnh009

Try these people:

www.currencyonline.com

They are part of the HiFX Group (who have an advertising banner on this site) and Bank of New Zealand. They will hold your money until you get an account set up in the UK.

I have used them and found them to be competitive and efficient. I believe there is no exchange control in SA these days or they are in the process of eliminating it. Is this correct? Here is some info. According to this site you can move only R200,000 currently without the restrictions of exchange control.

http://www.southafrica.info/business...ort/925317.htm

Alfresco

Hi Peter,

I have sent you a private message with some info in.

I had an old ID booked without a bar code in it and this was not acceptable for use of the Foreign Investment Allowance.

I had to apply for new barcoded ID book in London and sent the proof of the application which was accepted until my ID book arrives somewhere, sometime in the future.

The ID book application is a simple process and costs R20 (£2 ), so it may be worthwhile to apply for one. They take 2 - 3 months to process anyway.

Email the lady from Exchange4Free in the PM I sent you. They will also do your Tax clearance certificate for free if you are transferring more than about R250 000 out the country. Make sure your last tax returns are up to date as that is also a requirement.

Good luck!

Alfresco

You could also probably just use your travel allowance. Then you won't have do a Tax Clearance certificate.

http://www.exchange4free.co.za/index...Allowance.html


Either way you'll still need a barcoded ID book. It's a S.A. FICA requirement if you want to move your money out.

http://www.exchange4free.co.za/image...0allowance.pdf

Alfresco

Yes I was fast .

Pablo

No, alas.

There are different, and higher, limits for those who are formally emigrating from SA.