Transferring Money Into South Africa
Sending money into South Africa is a process that may not take place in the way one would expect, given that South Africa uses an exchange control regime that regulates money entering and leaving the country. For this reason, there are certain aspects of the process that one needs to pay careful attention to in order ensure a satisfactory result.
You should get the right advice before transferring funds to South Africa.
The first and most obvious consequence of an exchange control regime is that the repatriation of money is not as easy as it may be in countries without exchange control. What this means is that sending the money into South Africa may very well be the start of an inconvenient process, unless you follow the correct procedure. If you are planning on taking your money back out of South Africa again at a later stage (this is called “repatriation”), there are certain steps that need to be taken. Otherwise, the South African government will block your attempt and a percentage or in extreme cases all of the money will have to remain in South Africa.
This is why it is so important to observe the correct procedure when transferring money into South Africa. It is important to make a complete disclosure of assets to the appropriate authority, and to comply with any South African tax requirements that may apply to your specific situation.
You are strongly advised to make use of a South African currency exchange company when moving money into the country. Non-South African currency companies will in all likelihood have no clue as to how go about the process, since they do not have experience of operating under an exchange control dispensation, and even if they manage to transfer the funds without following correct procedures there may be issues later regarding repatriation. You need the advice of someone who has experience in dealing specifically with South African exchange controls and who has specific knowledge of the South African system.
