Andrew Stegmann

Opinion: South Africa Needs More Visa-free Agreements if it Wants to Stop Losing ‘Passport Power’

Although the South African passport has lost 10 positions over the last decade on the latest Henley Passport Index, the country could play catch-up if a concerted effort is made to secure mutual visa waivers with so-called “high quality nations”.

This is the view of Amanda Smit, managing partner and head of South, Central and East Africa at the UK-based global citizenship and residence advisory firm Henley & Partners.

South Africa ranks 56th on the latest index, which ranks passports in the world according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa. It is based on data from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The UAE, for example, managed to increase its passport’s position on the index by 47 places over the last 10 years to 18th place, Smit told Fin24 on Wednesday.

Looking specifically at the BRICS countries, of which SA forms part, Smit said that, while Brazil and China improved their positions on the index over the past 10 years by nine and sixteen places respectively, India and Russia have also seen the power of their passports decline during that time, dropping by seven and two places respectively.

Smit says one might think the SA passport’s visa free or visa on arrival access to 100 destinations is a lot, but compare that to the Japanese passport (ranked in first place on the index) which offers 191 visa-free destinations.

On top of that, none of the 100 visa free destinations for an SA passport are in what Smit describes as the “most popular” destinations. In her view, that makes it more difficult to be “mobile” for business or leisure purposes.

She also argues that, while other African countries’ passports mainly remained static on the index, the SA passport lost ground.

Among African countries, the Seychelles remains the regional lead, ranking 29th globally with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 151, while Mauritius retains second place with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 146.

“My advice is that, if SA wants to improve the strength of our passport, we must be more proactive to obtain mutual visa agreements with other countries – preferably ‘high quality’ nations,” Smit says.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann

Home Affairs’s Recent Beitbridge Border Crossing Problems

Nearly 60 000 people crossed the Beitbridge border post in a 24-hour period earlier this month.

This is according to the Department of Home Affairs after complaints of long waiting periods, chaotic queues and under-staffing at the border post.

Thousands of people travelling back into South Africa had arrived at the border late evening on January 3 and were only assisted the next day.

Scores of people sat in long snaking queues waiting to be served by South African immigration officials. Others sat around the immigration area with their belongings and slept there the night.

GroundUp spoke to people who had waited several hours to be seen by an immigration officer.

One woman who had arrived at 23:00 said her brother was waiting for her on the other side of the border to drive her back to Johannesburg. She was only assisted after 09:00.

Another Zimbabwean woman said she had left her baby with her husband. She went to buy goods and did not expect that it would take that long when returning. It is unclear when she was assisted.

Scorching temperatures

When GroundUp arrived, only one immigration officer was processing and assisting people. During previous visits, five immigration officers were there to serve people travelling into the country. More staff only arrived at 07:00 January 4.

By then, travelers were exhausted and had begun shoving and pushing to get to the front to be served. One staff member tried to keep people calm but they did not listen.

After about 30 minutes of chaos, several police officers arrived. They ordered the group to stand in three lines.

People endured scorching temperatures and were only served by midday on January 4.

Siya Qoza, spokesperson for the Minister of Home Affairs, said 51 immigration officers were meant to be on duty at all times. He said 29 832 people had crossed the border on 3 January. The next day, 53 immigration officers were on duty and 30 137 people crossed into the country, he said.

When asked why more staff were not sent to assist during one of the busiest periods, Qoza said he could not respond to this.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann
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South African Expat Tax Amendment Countdown Begins

Compiled by Carin Smith.

An amendment to the Income Tax Act will bring considerable change to the expat landscape as from March 1, 2020.

Jean du Toit and Jonty Leon are the technical editors of the publication “Expatriate Tax – South African Citizens Working Abroad and Foreigners in South Africa”.

Amendments to the Income Tax Act are due to come into effect from March and, among other things, South Africans working overseas will only be exempt from paying tax on the first R1m they earn elsewhere.

The exemption was discussed in the 2019 Budget Review and has been the subject of some controversy in South Africa, Fin24 previously reported.

Du Toit and Leon say that in the 2017 Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, it was announced by National Treasury that the expat exemption would be repealed in its entirety – meaning that the totality of an expat’s income earned abroad would be subject to tax in South Africa.

“This perturbed the expat community, their employers and other stakeholders.

“Following presentations to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance and many submissions and workshops later, expats were begrudgingly handed a R1 million per annum exemption, and an extension to the effective date of the amendment to March 1, 2020,” explains Du Toit.

“It must be understood that expats’ entire remuneration will be taken into account. What this means is that, if they remain tax resident, they will be taxed fully on any allowances and benefits, as if they were just a normal employee working in South Africa.”

Leon foresees that the R1 million exemption will, in some case, likely be exhausted “somewhat rapidly”.

This will especially be the case where the employer pays for “benefits” such as security costs or drivers, international school fees, medical insurance or housing, even though these may not provide any economic benefit to the expat.

One of the unforeseen consequences, in the view of Du Toit, could be that expats may simply decide to sever their ties with South Africa and cease their tax residency.

“Unfortunately, the solutions for the expat in relation to this amendment are now becoming very limited. The expat exemption only relates to South Africans who are tax resident, so the obvious answer would be to cease tax residency of South Africa,” says Leon.

“However, doing this isn’t as simple as one might think. There are different options when doing this, but by far the cleanest and most direct approach would be to financially emigrate, provided this is done correctly.”

He cautions that ceasing tax residency, however, comes with certain tax implications, which must be understood fully before one embarks on this path.

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].

Andrew Stegmann

Home Affairs Gazettes New, Tougher Laws for Refugees and Asylum Seekers

Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has gazetted the Refugees Amendment Act, which came into effect from 1 January.

The amended act has new rules for refugees and asylum seekers in South Africa.

Speaking to Clement Manyathela on the Xolani Gwala Show, Dr Motsoaledi explains the new rules in the act. “We have added more exclusions on when can you get exclude for applying for asylum. In the new act we expel you if you commit fraud because when you defraud documents, you destroy the sovereignty of the country and undermine everything Parliament has done”, Motsoaedi said.

Motsoaledi says changes to the laws are much broader than what has been covered in the media. He explains that the act includes several updated definitions, including what it means to classify as a dependent.

According to Motsaoledi, applicants will be excluded if:

  • They have been involved in Schedule 2 crimes
  • They have fraudulent documentation
  • They were involved in war crimes
  • They enjoy protections from another country

 

For information as to how Relocation Africa can help you with your Mobility, Immigration, Research, Remuneration, and Expat Tax needs, email info@relocationafrica.com, or call us on +27 21 763 4240.

Sources: [1], [2]. Image sources: [1], [2].