Cape Town â€" National Treasury believes that the 183 day threshold for
South Africans working outside the country should remain in the
proposed amendments to the tax laws.
National Treasury is in the process of repealing tax exemption laws on
income earned by South Africans working overseas through two bills,
the 2017 Taxation Laws Amendment Bill and the 2017 Draft Tax
Administration Laws Amendment Bill.
If planned new legislation goes through Parliament, South Africans who
work overseas could be taxed locally for foreign earnings from March 1
2020.
Following a public comment process, Treasury said the proposal will be
changed to allow the first R1m of foreign remuneration to be exempt
from tax in South Africa if the individual is outside of the country
for more than 183 days as well as for a continuous period of longer
than 60 days during a 12 month period. It revealed these changes at
parliament’s standing committee on finance last week.
In response to these changes, PwC’s tax policy leader Kyle Mandy said
he believed the minimum days should be increased to 325 to prevent
individuals from abusing the law.
Days being manipulated
Speaking to Fin24 on Wednesday, Mandy said that one of the concerns
Treasury had when PwC engaged with them was that the number of days
spent outside the country were being manipulated by some individuals
in order to take advantage of the exemption.
"The exemption does not require the employee to actually be providing
services for the full 183 or 60 day periods," he said.
"All that is required is that the person is outside the country for
the required number of days in which case any foreign services
remuneration will qualify for the exemption. “Staying out of the
country for 183 days is relatively easy to manipulate where an
individual is out of the country for an extended period of time,” he said.
One high-profile story involving a person benefiting from this was
former Proteas captain Graeme Smith. Following his team’s early exit
from the Cricket World Cup in 2011 in India, Smith got permission to
visit his then girlfriend in Ireland, and then to return to India to
play in the IPL.
Smith’s agent at the time, Craig Livingstone, told City Press: “Like
any person who spends time outside the country, (Smith) becomes
eligible for those tax benefits. Businessmen and other sportsmen are
entitled to them, so why shouldn’t Graeme be?”
Mandy believes the manipulation of the law should be stopped. “If the
requirements are a lot stricter â€" like making the minimum 325 days or
even 250 days â€" it would make it hard for people to manipulate the
exemption and would limit it to

those it is intended to benefit,
namely persons in long-term foreign employment.”
Why Treasury is sticking to 183 day limit
However, National Treasury said it was sticking with the 183 limit for
now. Chris Axelson, director of personal income taxes and saving at
National Treasury, told Fin24 on Wednesday that increasing the days to
325 would impact expats that earned lower incomes.
Axelson explained that the proposal in the draft response document and
the draft presentation kept the 183 day rule, where those out of the
country for less than 183 days would be taxed in full on their
employment income (as per the current law), while the first R1m in
employment income for those outside of the country for more than 183
days would be exempt.
“Given the concerns of the MPs in the previous public hearing on 29
August relating to the impact on lower income earning South Africans
overseas, it was felt that the 183 day rule should remain, but
alongside a R1m threshold.
“Under the 325 day proposal, if there were teachers, nurses, security
guards or others on lower incomes who worked on contracts overseas for
less than 325 days, they would be significantly impacted as the R1m
threshold would not apply to them.
“With a 325 day rule, those in high income tax countries would also
need to most likely pay top up taxes to SARS if they did not exceed
the 325 day threshold. For those reasons we proposed keeping the rule
at 183 days, but with the new threshold,” he said.
Parliament can request changes
However, Axelson said that the standing committee on finance could
still suggest an amendment either before or after the bill is tabled
in Parliament.
During this time, Mandy believes the days could be still increased. “I
think it is possible that they will go back and acknowledge that the
days should be increased,” he told Fin24.
“Treasury’s concern is that if they raise it, it will affect the lower
income people who the R1m threshold is primarily aimed at,” he said.
“They believe nurses and teachers will be negatively impacted by the
increase in the number of days.
"I don’t agree with that as such professionals should have little
difficulty in meeting a higher number of days requirements as they
should be on contracts of at least a year in the vast majority of cases.”
Mandy said he wouldn’t be surprised if they do increase the days to
about 250 days. “That would be appropriate,” he said. V.2015

One of the highlighted topics: Critical Skills Visa.

- Key Insight: Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast track to working in South Afr...
- This matter relates to critical skills visa and its broader implications.
- Individuals are advised to seek professional guidance.

Is your profession on the Critical Skills List? This visa is your fast trac V.6139
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One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, became a victim of identity theft in 2012 when fraudulent transactions occurred, using her personal details.

-The Pretoria High Court found that the department of home affairs had violated constitutional rights without due process.
-Only half of Lawyers for Human Rights` test group has been unblocked, while 385 000 identities remain blocked nationwide.
-LHR appeals extension, urges affected people to seek help now.

Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) are intensifying pressure on the department of home affairs over the national ID-blocking crisis, accusing the state of acting too slowly to unblock qualifying individuals despite a landmark court ruling.

In January last year, the Pretoria High Court found that the department`s practice of blocking IDs without due process was unlawful and unconstitutional. One of the applicants, Phindile Mazibuko, a Swati citizen and South African permanent resident since 1998, fell victim to identity theft in 2012 when fraudsters used her personal details.

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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6128
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6129
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A Washington state mother and her 6-year-old son have been released after spending more than three weeks in US immigration detention due to a brief trip to Canada and a small paperwork mistake, her attorney told CNN on Saturday.

Sarah Shaw, a New Zealand citizen who has lived legally in the US since she arrived in 2021, was detained at the Blaine, Washington, Customs and Border Protection checkpoint when returning home after dropping her two oldest children off at the Vancouver airport for a flight to visit their grandparents in New Zealand. Shaw, 33, chose the flight out of Vancouver because it was direct and she didn`t want her children to have to navigate a layover alone, her attorney Minda Thorward, told CNN.

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On 22 July 2025, the Gauteng High Court dismissed Sitrusrand Boerdery`s review of the Department of Employment and Labour`s refusal to issue a Working Conditions and Salary Benchmarking Certificate, an essential precondition for obtaining corporate visas under the Immigration Act.

Acting Judge Kekana AJ held that the Department`s decision was lawful, rational and procedurally fair. This judgment illustrates how businesses can - and must - structure their corporate visa applications to meet statutory requirements, and how legal practitioners should prepare robust review challenges when administrative authorities decline to recommend foreign-work permits.

 V.6131
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The United States could forfeit an estimated 9.4 billion dollars in visitor spending over the next three years following the introduction of a new 250 dollars `visa integrity fee,` according to industry groups, who warn the policy risks undermining tourism and costing thousands of jobs.
The United States’ decision to introduce a 250 dollars `visa integrity fee` on international visitors has triggered sharp criticism from the global tourism industry, with officials warning that the measure could deter millions of travellers and cost the U.S. economy billions.
The 250dollar `visa integrity fee,` part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act signed on July 4, 2025, will take effect later this year. According to immigration law firm Envoy Global, it applies to all nonimmigrant visa holders which include students, tourists, temporary workers, and business visitors particularly from African countries. V.6132
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The Border Management Authority (BMA) has doubled its staff at Airports in South Africa , including immigration officers.

What does this mean for travelers? V.6127
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1. Right to Legal Representation•You have the right to consult with a legal representative.•Contact an immigration practitioner, legal aid clinic, or attorney urgently.•Do not sign any documents without understanding them fully. 2. Section 34 of the Immigration Act•You must be brought to court with 48 hours to confirm arrest but you can remain locked up very long as courts figure out what to do with you •If you`re found to be illegally in South Africa, you may be detained for up to 30 days (extendable by a magistrate) pending deportation.•BUT this cannot happen arbitrarily. You must be informed of your rights, and Home Affairs must follow due process.- becomes a nightmare , you could lose your job , business , place to stay V.6121
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Driving for Bolt, Uber, Mr D, or Checkers Sixty60?If you`re undocumented, you`re risking more than just your income.The Risks if You`re Not Legal: - Vehicle impoundment - Heavy fines - Arrest & deportation - Permanent bans from working in SA V.6122
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