New Immigration Act

[Jeremy]

The new Immigration Act due to come into effect on the 12 March, has been kicked out in the High Court.

For example, one part of the legislation would have meant that, as far as I know, any foreigner wishing to retire in SA would have to have assetts exceeding R20 million. Or, if a foreigner wanted to open a business - say a B & B, 5 staff would have to be employed, instead of the 2 currently.

Does anyone have an opinion on this. Personally, I am pleased that the legislation has so far been kicked out, but would love to hear from anyone with their views.

Jeremy

[Anonymous]

I found this pretty interesting as I also had heard some rumours. I took the liberty of doing some digging at www.iol.co.za. The following is a quote from an article published just yesterday.

******* Start ********
Stipulations include that:

Foreign visitors wishing to stay for more than three months would have to prove they had a monthly income of at least R20 000. They would also need visas.

Foreign pensioners applying for permanent residence would have to prove that their estates were worth R15 million and that their income was at least R25 000 a month.

Foreign nationals wishing to obtain permanent residence would have to prove that they had a net worth of R15m and would have to pay R100 000 to the government.

******* End **********
for reference here is the article:
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=13&art_id=vn20030218110908514C184503

The home affairs minister's new legislation due to kick in on March 12 technically was put on ice by the judge. The real frightening thought is that they were pushing real hard for this legislation to go through. Foreigners have now been giving a breather of about 4 months to apply, however the legislation will eventually be adopted unless parliament do something about it. This to me seems highly unlikely.

Regards foreigners purchasing land in South Africa. Foreign investment into the Garden Route area is essentially driving the price of local real estate sky high. In our particular Garden Route area there is definite reason for concern and the legislation attempts to work in favour of local citizens. In addition the new capital gains tax also tries to limit property ownership. However, the foreign investment comes at a good time and it is my humble opinion that the legislation is too drastic and ultimately will drive the investment to competitive countries.

These socialistic policies will not, in the long term aid the underprivileged. A system of tax or government where you continually take from the rich and give to the poor or prevent the rich from spending their money in an attempt to aid the poor ultimately hurts the poor more than the rich. The attempts to limit or control the pricing as a form of protection so that the less privileged may be able to afford a reasonable life style is a noble thought, yet is essentially flawed and does not solve the real problem, but merely delays the inevitable, which is a collapse of a 'propped' economy. The solution to the problem is to provide adequate platform for both. This unfortunately is where the problem lies in most countries in Africa. Bribery and corruption results in only one surviving, the essence of which is a lack of education and moral fibre within the system. Allow development in selected areas and channel the investment into finance of education. Then wait it out. There will always be rich and poor or those willing to work hard, those willing to be led and those wanting or demanding without working for anything. Growth must be controlled, but not stifled. The thriving economies in the world took many years of hard work and much suffering. Ours will be no different. There is no short cut when millions of people are involved.