As South Africa draws closer to the general elections on May 29th, an interesting development that has been noted by real estate and tax professionals in this country and was noted by The Times of London on 18 February, is the returning of expats to South Africa from Britain and mainland Europe.
This is, as the article notes, despite the multiple challenges of loadshedding, high crime and a severely underperforming economy. I should note that those are the reasons why many South Africans are choosing to emigrate. It is worth asking why people who have already escaped these debilitating challenges, and some who have been away since the 90s would come back.
While the article does offer its own reasons, I believe there are some quite rational reasons to come back and bet on South Africa, especially if an ANC/EFF coalition does not win in May.
Cost of Living
The most obvious reason is the cost-of-living crisis that is engulfing the developed world, especially around housing. It is one of the main reasons why Europe and the developed parts of Asia are having demographic crises. People have fewer children because of the cost of housing and childcare. Unlike in South Africa, very few people there can afford domestic and childcare help. The only exception to this, where there is a large population of South Africans, is the UAE.
South Africa offers exceptional value when it comes to housing costs (especially outside of Cape Town), childcare costs, schooling costs and domestic help costs. For comparison, even in the UAE, where tax-free incomes are surely a draw, sending your children to a school with a British or International Baccalaureate curriculum will set you back similar amounts (sometimes even more) to boarding at Michaelhouse and Hilton. Who can really say with absolute confidence that the education in the UAE or even Britain, Australia and New Zealand is better than South Africa’s much cheaper private and former Model C schools?
Are Dubai College or Auckland Grammar honestly better than Grey College Bloemfontein, KES or Rondebosch Boys? If anyone says yes definitively, what evidence could they possibly offer that is not denigrating those fine schools because they are in South Africa?
How about the fact that the foodie and fine dining scene in Johannesburg and Cape Town can rival any others, and I’d argue for Cape Town even outdoing many globally-fancied cities for a fraction of the cost of those cities. As an example, take FYN restaurant in Cape Town which is ranked as one of the top 50 restaurants in the world. Their dinner menu experience, while relatively expensive for locals, costs R3525 with a wine pairing. At the restaurant after it in the rankings, Danish restaurant Jordnaer’s, the dinner experience costs 3300 Danish Krone (R9200). The restaurant in front of it, Odette in

Singapore, costs 733 Singaporean Dollars (R10450) with a wine pairing. Even adjusting for purchasing power parity, South Africa again offers immense value.
Weather and Fun:
South Africa also has much better weather and a lot more sunshine than places where many of our expats are, with the exception being Australia. South Africa has every possible amenity and adventure you could want, either within the country or a relatively short flight away: from wildlife in the Kruger, to the world-class wine farms of the Western Cape (five in the top 100 in the world as ranked by World’s Best Vineyard Awards in 2023), beautiful beach towns (getaways) in both the Eastern and Western Cape. Mauritius, the Seychelles and Zanzibar are a relatively short flight away and if you want a Dubai-esque desert adventure, Walvis Bay in Namibia is a two- hour flight away. There are luxury train experiences with the Blue Train and Rovos Rail. All this is just to say we have lots of pleasant weather and lots of really cool and awesome things to do at relatively cheaper prices than anywhere else.
Friends and Family:
As infuriating and frustrating as it is living in South Africa, for many expats it is still home and nothing compares to it. They miss friends and family and all the accompanying warmth and familiarity.
So what’s my point?
It is worth pondering on the fact that, relatively speaking, so many expats come back to South Africa despite all the potential frustrations and the multiple challenges. It is worth asking how many more would come back if South Africa were to fall under new management, if infrastructure and service delivery were to improve and management took on more pro-growth policies instead of redistributionist ones.
It is also worth asking what the cumulative effect would be on South Africa in terms of tax collection and revenue, if high-earning expats did come back, paying down sovereign debt. What would that mean for job creation?
It is worth asking what it would do for tourism and our international reputation if a new government prioritised public order and safety, and reduced crime and lawlessness.
Admittedly these are all big if’s, especially if an ANC/EFF coalition were to win. That is part of the real risk-and-reward nature of South Africa. We are one of the few food-exporting countries in the world, we are sufficiently developed. We have the potential to become a rather wealthy nation with all our minerals and with some really good management.
However, we could also collapse into a dreary and failed Zimbabwe-like state.
I guess we have choices to make in May. V.5214

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.

 V.6133
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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.

 V.6130
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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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