Transfer Money Before or After arrival

[JaSi]

Hi all,

 

I was hoping to get some guidance.

 

I have created a commonwealth account in Aus. I am planning to head over on the 13th. I have a fair bit of money that I want to transfer there. Do I transfer now or do I transfer the money only once I have landed and activated.

 

I am naively scared I move all my money across and cannot activate or something.

 

Thanks

[dlmonnink]

I moved my money over in stages. About 2 weeks before I left I sent over R150k so I could have money to rent if I needed to and buy a car.

A few months after I cashed out one of my Retirement Funds and send that over which was about another R150k.

 

Important to note is that you can send R1 mill a year as travel money. Anything between R1-R10 mill you need clearance from SARS and R10+ mill I think is not possible without a lot of red tape.

It is a bit of an apprehensive feeling sending money and hoping it doesn't disappear but many have done it without problem. I used Forex Capital. Others user Cash Cow or Exchange 4 Free.

 

Once you get here you just go to the bank with your passport to activate account and your card will arrive in the mail a week or so later. Important to note is you CAN withdraw funds that you have sent over from your account as long as you have your passport. The card just makes it easier so you don't have to carry cash around.

[Garrett]

Does anyone here transfer money on a regular basis back to SA? I have a mate in Shanghai who said that all of his expat friends there are earning good cash and sending it back monthly to SA to pay off debt. They use Western Union but apparently get shredded every month in fees. What is the Oz equivalent that is cheap/reliable?

[dlmonnink]

World Remit is dirt cheap. I haven't used them but the quote on their site was about $4 to send $10k. There are members on the forum that have used them so sure they can verify.