Andrew Stegmann
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South African Government Plans to Update the Country’s ID System

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet has approved the Official Identity Management Policy for public comment.

In a recent media briefing, minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu said that the policy proposes a number of changes to existing legislation including the Identification Act and Alteration of Sex Description and Sex Status Act, to align them with the Constitution and the Protection of Personal Information Act.

“It also proposes the integration of the national population register to enable a single view of a person with features to interface with other government and private sector identity management systems,” Mthembu said.

“It will integrate the current systems into a biometric-enabled National Identity System. The new proposed population register will form the basis of an official e-identity which will serve as the backbone of state and private digital platforms.”

In June 2019, International Relations and Cooperation minister Naledi Pandor said that the government is working on a new ID system that will provide a single source of information about all clients, using both biographic and biometric technologies.

“The new national identity system South Africa seeks to build will serve as a master source for civics and immigration management,” she said.

“The modernisation of South Africa’s Home Affairs, when fully and successfully implemented, will re-engineer and automate most of the key processes of the department and yield a significantly enhanced national identification system, and a credible national population register.”

Pandor said that some of the key elements of the system include:

  • Records of persons throughout their lifespan;
  • Birth, marriage and death records of residents (citizens, permanent residents, asylum seekers and refugees);
  • All persons entering the country will have their biometrics captured during the visa application process or at the point of entry;
  • Processing and storing of asylum seekers and refugees’ applications;
  • Records of visitors who enter and leave the country;
  • Records of illegal persons in the 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].

Andrew Stegmann
,

Mauritius’ Recently-launched Premium Travel Visa

Lynn Mackenzie, J.D., LLM
Courtesy of Samina Jaffery, Mauritius partner

Mauritius has introduced a Premium Travel Visa on 23 October 2020, valid for a period of one year, renewable, to welcome travellers seeking to experience the island living in a COVID-safe destination.

To qualify for the Premium Visa, interested visitors should produce proof of their long stay plans and sufficient travel and health insurance for the initial period of stay while meeting the following criteria:

i. the applicants should not enter the Mauritius labour market;
ii. the main place of business and source of income and profits should be outside Mauritius;
iii. documentary evidence to support application such as purpose of visit, accommodation etc.; and
iv. other basic immigration requirements.

From a personal taxation perspective, you will have to seek the advice of your tax advisor/ accountant in your current country of residence. This is because, if you have been spending a minimum of 183 days or more in Mauritius during a fiscal year, you will be considered as tax resident in Mauritius as per Clause 73 of the Mauritius Income Tax Act.

All your income and profits will be generated from outside of Mauritius as per the condition of the Premium Visa and therefore it is very much likely that you will already be paying taxes on those income generated outside of Mauritius in their respective source country. However, once you become tax resident in Mauritius after spending 183 days or more in a fiscal year, you will be liable to taxes in Mauritius on your income generated while in Mauritius, unless there are double taxation avoidance treaties in place between your country of residence and Mauritius, in which case, foreign tax credit can be claimed, if conditions are met.
The process is as follows:

• Step 1: Flight and hotel for quarantine pre-booking;
• Step 2: Apply online;
• Step 3: Get your premium visa approval via email after 48 hours;
• Step 4: Book your accommodation for stay in Mauritius;
• Step 5: Travel to Mauritius if PCR Test is negative; and
• Step 6: Comply with the quarantine upon arrival in Mauritius.

There is no processing fee payable to the Authorities in Mauritius for the application and approval of the Premium Visa. We shall be delighted to assist you with your Premium Visa application. Please feel free to get in touch with us via immigration@relocationafrica.com

The documents required are below.

Main applicant:

i. Digital colour passport size photo
ii. Bio-data page of passport
iii. Travel and health insurance
iv. Air ticket, including valid return ticket (including quarantine hotel details in Mauritius)
v. Evidence for pre-booking for accommodation in Mauritius
vi. Proof of monthly income (bank statement / attestation of monthly income)

Dependent spouse:

i. Digital colour passport size photo
ii. Bio-data page of passport
iii. Travel and health insurance
iv. Air ticket, including valid return ticket (including quarantine hotel details in Mauritius)

Dependent child:

i. Digital colour passport size photo
ii. Bio-data page of passport
iii. Travel and health insurance

Air ticket, including valid return ticket (including quarantine hotel details in Mauritius.

 

The content of this article is provided for general information purposes. The provision of this article does not constitute legal advice or opinion of any kind; no advisory or fiduciary relationship is created between Relocation Africa and any other person accessing or using this article. Relocation Africa will not be liable for any damages or loss arising from using any part of this article.

 

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
,

Pre-Travel e-Visa Requirement for Kenya

Lynn Mackenzie, J.D., LLM

Courtesy of IKM Advocates

Please see the directive from the Directorate of Immigration Services (DIS) on the pre-travel visa requirement:-

Directive The DIS is in the process of fully automating the issuance of e-visas.

 

In accordance with the attached directive, any person from a country that require visas to enter Kenya shall be required to apply for and obtain e-visa before traveling. The list of countries whose nationals are eligible to obtain an e-visa can be accessed through http://evisa.go.ke/eligibility.html.

 

The e-visa can be obtained through www.evisa@go.ke.

 
Effective date 1 January 2021

 
Impact on business/residence High

 

  • Travelers will not be allowed to travel to Kenya without an E-Visa

 

  • Applications for visas shall only be done on the online platform

 

  • This services applies to all types of visas, that is :-

a.      single tourist visa;

b.     single entry business visa;

c.      referral visas (RSEV);

d.     transit visas;

e.      courtesy entry visas;

f.       East African tourist visas; and

g.     multiple journey business visas

 

  • Piloting of fast-tracked visas is currently ongoing – we shall update you once this service is launched

 

  • The processing timelines and official fees payable will vary depending on the type of visa

 

  • Delays in the processing of applications should be expected due to system downtime in the initial phase

 

  • Increased lead time – we recommend that applications for e-Visas should be made at least 7 – 14 working days before travel

 

  • Once issued, the  e-Visas should be printed in color and presented at the port of entry on arrival

 

Should you require any further information and or assistance please do not hesitate to contact us at immigration@relocationafrica.com.

 

The content of this article is provided for general information purposes. The provision of this article does not constitute legal advice or opinion of any kind; no advisory or fiduciary relationship is created between Relocation Africa and any other person accessing or using this article. Relocation Africa will not be liable for any damages or loss arising from using any part oft his article.

 

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
,

Relocation Africa’s Monthly Social Responsibility Project, Month 3: Book Drive

As part of our constant drive to give back to our community, our team has endeavored to join together to participate in a monthly community-focused CSR initiative. The team comes together each month to participate in an activity aimed at uplifting the community around our head office in Cape Town, after which ideas are put forward for the following month’s initiative.

In this way, as South Africans, we are giving back not only on Mandela Day, but throughout the year, as the need doesn’t end after the holiday.

Naturally, we take all necessary COVID-19-related precautions when participating in the activities, so as to ensure the health and safety of our team members and those we are interacting with outside our office.

For our third month, in November 2020, we came together to collect books, with the theme of ‘Literature & Education are Vital’. We invited our neighbors to join us in collecting books they no longer needed, and dropping them off at our office’s reception. We then handed them over to charity Help the Rural Child.

Help the Rural Child is a chain of charity shops that support the Goedgedacht Path Onto Prosperity Rural Youth Centres. Help the Rural Child, through its charity shops, is doing its bit to help these children break out of the endless cycles of poverty that have trapped their parents for so many generations. Help the Rural Child has nine shops at present: two bookshops, one in Mowbray and one in Kirstenhof; four clothing and bric a brac shops in Mowbray, Retreat, Sea Point and Cape Town CBD; a furniture shops in Retreat and a Mobile Bookshop that goes out to schools. Their newest edition, connected to the Mobile Bookshop, is The Children’s Bookshop in Mowbray.

Their shops are all run with two staff members and a wonderful group of volunteers. All the stock of books, bric-a-brac, clothing, furniture and household goods are donated by the very supportive Cape Town public. We are pleased that we could be part of one of these donations.

 

Gallery

We hope this inspires our readers and other companies to start similar initiatives, as if we all work together, we can greatly improve the quality of life of those in need around us.

 

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].