Formal emigration - has anyone done it on their own?

[JanineR]

HI all

Hubby and I are seriously considering the formal emigration process so that the Retirement annuity policy we have in SA can be paid out and terminated.

I know that there are 2 reputable companies on this site that can assist and do the process for me, but it is quite a costly venture so we are trying to figure out if it is worth it to try it on our own.

Has anyone done this without making use of the financial institutions? and if so, would you say it was worth it to not use the companies?

Thanks

[bbop]

We are in the process of formally emigrating and taking our pension with us, but we are making use of Cashkows. We found that they are not expensive and you can use the funds that you are obtaining to pay them at the end of the process. There is alot of paperwork and some rules involved and can be very time consuming. Have you already enquired from these companies what thier cost are? We started in September and are now only 65% complete.

[JanineR]

We are in the process of formally emigrating and taking our pension with us, but we are making use of Cashkows. We found that they are not expensive and you can use the funds that you are obtaining to pay them at the end of the process. There is alot of paperwork and some rules involved and can be very time consuming. Have you already enquired from these companies what thier cost are? We started in September and are now only 65% complete.

Hi there

Thanks for the reply.

I have enquired at one of the companies on this forum and was quoted R9k...we are trying to weigh up the options of paying the R9k or doing it ourself and saving the R9k....but i don't know if it is worthwhile or not.

Cost vs benefit i suppose..

[bbop]

9k is not alot. You have to get a tax certificate, cancell accounts, block accounts, declare assests, liase with Reserve bank to name a few. Use an agent, it's less stressful.

[JanineR]

9k is not alot. You have to get a tax certificate, cancell accounts, block accounts, declare assests, liase with Reserve bank to name a few. Use an agent, it's less stressful.

Ok....i think t might be better if you put it that way.

We are sitting in Aus so it could get tricky i suppose....

Oh well....it's got to get done...so maybe we should just use an agent....

[Sunnyskies]

I've generally found that I can get most things done with my trusty computer (provided my internet connection doesn't crash) and my mobile. Agents have only ever told me things that I know because I've already done the research. It will be like most things, you get given a list and told to come back with the paperwork. Then they charge you for telling you things you already knew and for lodging a few pieces of paper you could do yourself. Its not like you are rushing to leave the country - you've done that already - slow and steady and you will get there. You can then take the $1000 you saved and go away for a few days as a reward.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

I would use an agent to transfer the money, there are some nasty stories of people trying to get the cash out themselves and having their bank accounts frozen because they didn't follow the reserve banks procedures and get SARS clearance etc. It's far less stressful and then you know it's all above board and legal. good luck whichever route you choose to follow.

[slabbert]

I did it myself with the assistance of my bank who did the necessary reserve bank approvals etc

[Hugo2]

One of the benefits using Cashkows.com is that they have inhouse tax specialist that can assist you with the smaller issues not often highlighted in the forums. No other competitor assists and guides you on how ATO will tax you on the RA's cashed in. With the greatest respect no emigration or cross border branch of any of the AA's can assist you with cashing in RA's. So one has to compare apples with apples. At Cashkows.com the fee included the emigration year tax return, it includes the RA encashment and then the obvious the formal emigration (MP336, IT21 and the blocked account). I have recently joined the www.cashkows.com group and I am not part of the emigration team, I am the tax director within a separate group company. Before you accept any quote, ask the agent or service provider ho they envisage the RA will be taxed in Australia by ATO. JanineR as a quick guideline, you were granted PR in August. Your ATO taxation rules change on 1 March. Ask the various service providers if they can ensure you RA is cashed out within 6 months of your arrival - it will make a huge tax difference to your ATO tax bill. At cashkows.com the CRM's Pieter and Steve will, be abel to answer most of the RA taxation by ATO and should you have unique questions or issues such as a self managed superannuation, your questions will be escalated to the tax company where Dirk or I will gladly assist. The other issue is how do you exit SARS and smoothly enter ATO regimes and when should this be done. Interestingly enough the tax emigration date seldom coincides with the formal emigration. Cashkows.com will also deal with your trust at SARB level as part of the normal fee, and should your local accountant not know how to report the SA trust to either SARS or ATO, they can contact the tax company within Cashkows.com group and we will assist. The tax company within Cashkows.com is not only for their won clients. Should you DIY your SARB process you can approach CROSS BORDER TAX AND ADVISORY (the tax co on taxinfo@cashkows.com) for tax panning issues dealing with your local trust. Often it is better to dissolve the SA trust before you formally or tax emigrate as ATO treats the SA trust as an offshore trust. OK, too much information but the main issue is NOT the fee! Ask more relevant questions, what is included in the fee? Ask: Who will be assisting you with the complete financial impact of the relocation? What about estate planning, SA and Australian wills, remitting SA inheritances abroad? I have been in this market for near 20 years (Easter 2013 when Chris Hani's death will be marked for the 20th year, I will celebrate 20 years since I emigrated my then business partner), and I made a rather detailed analysis of the service providers and I can honestly stand up and state I joined Cashkows.com in May 2012, in my 19th year of emigration specialist, as I could associate with their bespoke service offering. Wish to speak to me? taxinfo@cashkows.com or read my personal blog www.hugovanzyl.co.za or go to Cashkows.com's tax newsletter on http://www.cashkows..../2012_december/Hugo

Edited December 19, 2012 by Hugo2

[Hugo2]

I did it myself with the assistance of my bank who did the necessary reserve bank approvals etc

the question is RA's did your bank do the RA's? Did your bank to the tax clearance or did you or your accountant do that? I am not aware of any AA doing tax clearances as you need a PR number and they do not hold same

[slabbert]

the question is RA's did your bank do the RA's? Did your bank to the tax clearance or did you or your accountant do that? I am not aware of any AA doing tax clearances as you need a PR number and they do not hold same

hi

i did not have any RA's - cashed in provident fund, shares etc then Nedbank did the transfer via the reserve bank with my accountant doing the tax clearance and closing down my tax file with sars etc

[QR-101]

Hello,

Did it myself with the help of my dad - he has power of attorney in SA

You need to obtain a blocked bank account in SA .... or that is how I did it

Also the below mentioned is required

Complete a SARS - IT21a, you can get the form online

Complete a MP336 – And get certified by your bank, you can get the form online

If you have property and it's paid off the title deed need to be handed in with your SA bank where you will have a blocked account, obtian a certified copy from you bank to provide with the above to SARS

Certified copy of passports and visa's

Certificate of Residency from the Australia goverment

My bank charged me ZAR3K to setup the blocked account

Hope it helps, if you want more infor send me an mail

Rgs

[Hugo2]

Albeit that DIY formal emigration is indeed possible, it includes risks not previously considered! This weekend the Nico Lambrechts story really rattled the industry! Read the full article:http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/nico-lambrechts-suicide-investment-banker-1530775

"Mr Coombe said that Mr Lambrechts had told his boss that he was “feeling frustrated financially”.

Mr Coombe said: “He couldn’t claim access to his salary as he was being paid in South Africa. He had school fees for his children to pay and this was causing him concern.”"

My first disclaimer is I did not know the person nor the family and using this as reference is not intended to hurt the family, in fact it is intended to prevent this from happening again!

Apparently he was employed in the UK by a leading SA bank - one that charges between R12k and R50k to open and manage a blocked account/formal emigration.

Why could he not transfer his salary? Why did his employer not apply for Excon permission to pay his salary abroad? One will not know the true story yet the lesson to be learnt is DO NOT DESPAIR, there is times one needs to pay a professional and not rely on your employers own IP and staff - no one person knows all the rules!

Recently I have faced frustrated client's trying to FX dealers and when the tax clearance failed they went into despair as the FX dealer could not resolve the tax issue. Why did you use the FX dealer for more than what they are good?

For the record most FX dealers state their FSB number but fails the Tax Administration Act for either not being a tax specialist or not declaring their SARS practitioner number. I have read, with great respect and the understanding, the arguments presented above but I plead with members, if using your own resources or that of an Fx dealer or bank fails, do NOT despair. Contact one of the bespoke firms and ask for assistance.

Yes, as most member already know I am a proud member of one of the bespoke advisory firms! We do not mind undoing where others got stuck, albeit we prefer to assist from thought to final remittance!.

The webpage if you are stuck is: www.cashkows.com and page to the cross border tax pages and if you interested, send us your detail and you can join our tax and emigration newsletters. Free of charge!

Hugo (at) cashkows.com

Master Tax Practitioner PR-8C200C1

Edited January 14, 2013 by Hugo2

[wendym]

Maybe this is a stupid question but I was wondering if I decide to "formally" emigrate in order to cash in on RA's (I am secondary applicant and de-facto spouse), would my OH (primary applicant) have to "formally" emigrate at the same time or could he do it later?

[HadEnoughofJuju]

Maybe this is a stupid question but I was wondering if I decide to "formally" emigrate in order to cash in on RA's (I am secondary applicant and de-facto spouse), would my OH (primary applicant) have to "formally" emigrate at the same time or could he do it later?

I don't think it matters when you do it or who does it first but I do think it matters what visa you are on, I remember our broker saying something about having to have a PR visa in order to cash in the RA policies and not just a temp (475) visa.

[QR-101]

SARS will look for this in order to proceed

http://www.immi.gov.au/allforms/pdf/164.pdf

[wendym]

Wow. I still amazes me the willingness of everyone to help and offer support on this form. You are all angels

@QR-101, thank you for the link. I was hoping to cash in the RA's just before leaving but it seems I'll have to wait until we've got an Oz address.

[QR-101]

Suggest you get all the other paper work done before you depart

[Oubossies]

If I formally immigrate and it might happen that there is an inheritance, how would that influence that?

[Oubossies]

Another question...

Isn't there a form on the website of the SA Reserve bank that needs to be completed to formally immigrate too?

[Sunnyskies]

If I formally immigrate and it might happen that there is an inheritance, how would that influence that?

I read on the webt that if you formally emigrate you are entitled to the first R500K on proving that you emigrated before the person you are inheriting from died. After that you need formal Reserve Bank approval. If you haven't emigrated you need to go through the investment allowance channel. My sister and I are busying trialling this as she formally emigrated before my father died, but I only left afterwards. we still have a bunch of paperwork to fill out for the authorised agents, but hopefully once they tick the boxes she can have her funds remitted to her account here without further hassle. I'm busy getting investment allowance authorisation.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

If I formally immigrate and it might happen that there is an inheritance, how would that influence that?

The way the guy from CashKows explained it was that once you have formally emigrated it will be easier to get inheritances and other large amount of money out of the country because you will not have to comply with the foreign exchange controls in place for taking money out of the country under normal circumstances. I am sure there are still procedures to be followed but it is a lot less of a hassle.

[Oubossies]

Where can I find those documents? Know it's somewhere on the SA Reserve Bank site but can't find it.

Thanks for your answers guys.

[HadEnoughofJuju]

Where can I find those documents? Know it's somewhere on the SA Reserve Bank site but can't find it.

Thanks for your answers guys.

If you PM me you email address I have several documents I can forward to you including the SARS and SARB documents.

[MrandMrsK]

@Hugo

Thank you for all this info. My issue is that I am not very clued up on finance-related issues and I would not even know the questions to ask!

Its very hard to trust in a person/organisation when I dont really understand it all, or the implications thereof

What is the best way of doing things- formally immigrate and get it over with (on a PR visa) or should one take the R1ml option and formally emigrate later. I dont understand the difference.

T