Getting a new business off the ground is an enormous task, even more so when it is done in a foreign country. That is why InsideSA offers services to help foreign nationals with their business planning and setup in South Africa.

Our services

InsideSA has developed our service offering to be able to help with business planning and setup in South Africa from start to finish:

Business plans

A business plan is not only an integral part of starting a business, but also makes up a vital part of an application for a South African business visa. Our in-house experts can help you draw up a business plan that will serve your vision, as well as satisfy the regulations and requirements of the Department of Home Affairs and Department of Trade and Industry.

Finding commercial property

Our property experts can help you find the perfect property for your business, whether it’s office, retail or industrial space that is required. Our service is independent and impartial, as we do not stock property or act on behalf of sellers.

Commercial insurance

Insurance is a must when operating a business. In South Africa, various options exist, ranging from basic retail insurance products to liability and indemnity products. The first step is doing a risk assessment of the business, after which our experts will advise you on the best insurance product for your business.

Money transfers

InsideSA offers our clients the very best exchange rates, safe and secure trading, and advice on foreign exchange control and compliance thereof. This makes taking money in or out of South Africa hassle-free for foreign immigrants.

Banking and foreign exchange

Our consultants can assist with all your banking and foreign exchange needs, ranging from opening corporate bank accounts to advising on cash account options and facilitating foreign exchange itself. It’s all done from the comfort of our boardroom too.

Accounting officers and bookkeepers

While InsideSA do not offer in-house accountancy services, we can refer clients to a number of reputable and experienced accountants and bookkeepers.

Tax registrations

InsideSA’s in-house international tax lawyer offers a one-stop tax registration service. Advice and assistance are provided on all required South African business registrations, helping to ensure compliance.

To learn more about how InsideSA can help with business planning and setup in South Africa, contact us

For more information about all our business planning and setup services, call our Cape Town office on +27 (0) 21 424 2460 or contact our Johannesburg team on +27 (0) 11 234 4275. Alternatively, request a free call back and one of our consultants will contact you.

There are various types of commercial insurance in South Africa to help business owners insure their businesses against risk. These range from basic retail insurance to liability and indemnity products. To get the best cover, a risk assessment must be done and it is advised to use the services of a qualified, independent and registered professional. Some of the critical insurance products recommended in South Africa include:

Property Insurance

Property insurance protects the premises of a business and its content against loss or damage. Property insurance can also be used to insure the property of others in your control at the time of the loss.

Workers’ Compensation

This insurance provides a wage replacement and medical benefits to employees who suffer an accident on the business premises.

Business Interruption

Business interruption insurance protects the cash flow and profit of a company during times when it is not able to operate due to incidents such as theft or ineffective equipment.

Liability Insurance

This type of insurance protects the business when it is sued for negligence of the business or its employees. This could be, for instance, when a customer suffer an injury while on the business premises or when someone is impacted by your employees or goods in transit.

Commercial Vehicle Insurance

Commercial Vehicle insurance covers all vehicles belonging to the business, but only when used for business purposes.

To find out more about commercial insurance in South Africa, contact us

InsideSA’s in-house team will be able to provide more information on commercial insurance in South Africa and advise on which products would be best for your business. To speak to someone in the Cape Town team, dial +27 (0) 21 424 2460. To consult with a Johannesburg team member, call +27 (0) 11 234 4275 instead. Alternatively, request a call back and one of our consultants will contact you.

Just like in any other country around the world, it is advisable to secure household insurance in South Africa. It is only with adequate insurance in place that your home and its contents are protected against all major eventualities. The last thing you want shortly after arriving in South Africa, is a huge loss due to inadequate insurance or not having insurance at all.

Getting the right advice matters

Most insurance in South Africa is arranged via a registered broker, who should be authorised by the Financial Services Board to be able to provide appropriate advice and recommendations.  Receiving the right advice is crucial, as bad or poorly researched advice could lead to under insurance, claims not being paid out, premium levels being too high and events not being covered.

InsideSA’s brokers are not only registered but also independent and able to thoroughly research all available options to ensure you get the best cover at an affordable premium. Perhaps most important to you is that our brokers have years of experience in dealing with foreigners immigrating to South Africa. This experience enables them to remove hassles associated with situations unique to immigrants, such as opening bank accounts from which to pay premiums.

Let InsideSA help you obtain household insurance in South Africa

Our track record speaks for itself – 99% of our clients remain with us for years on end and our main source of business is recommendations. Let us help you too. Our brokers can offer valuable hints and tips, eliminating poor choices and finding the best household insurance in South Africa for your needs.

To speak to one of our Cape Town team members, please call +27 (0) 424 2460. If you wish to speak to someone in Johannesburg instead, call +27 (0) 11 234 4275. Alternatively, request a call back and one of our brokers will contact you.

InsideSA pride ourselves on being able to offer more than just visa and permit services to our clients. Our team also offer a range of other immigration services to make a move to South Africa seamless.

Banking

InsideSA clients can open bank accounts without stepping foot into a bank and have access to their money in 24 hours.

Money transfers

The very best exchange rates, safe and secure trading and advice on South African foreign exchange controls are just some of the advantages of using our money transfer service.

Buying property

Our property buying service is independent and impartial. Clients are guided through the entire buying process, from start to finish.

Medical insurance

An experienced broker makes sense of South African medical insurance for our clients and help them pick the best medical aid for their family’s needs.

Household insurance

InsideSA’s independent brokers can help you find the best cover for your household contents, at the best premium.

Business setup and planning

Setting up a business in a foreign country is no mean feat. Let our immigration experts help you set up and plan your South African business, from drawing up a business plan to finding commercial property.

Commercial insurance

InsideSA’s team can advise on South African commercial insurance types and help you decide which options are necessary for your business.

For more on our other immigration services, contact us

To find out more about how InsideSA can help you, call us today to speak to one of our experienced consultants about our other immigration services as discussed above. You can call us in Cape Town on +27  (0) 21 424 2460 or get hold of us in Johannesburg on +27 (0) 11 234 4275. Alternatively, request a free call back and one of our consultants will contact you instead.

Opening a bank account in South Africa as a foreigner can be tiresome, frustrating and time consuming. The normal course of events is to gather all required documentation and queue at the bank, where a number of issues could arise. These could range from confusion regarding the residency status to a lack of credit history.

InsideSA clients are not subjected to any of this. InsideSA has set up special arrangements with a number of South Africa’s most prominent banks. This allows us to set up bank accounts for our clients in our boardroom, which means there is no need to step into a bank.

Our dynamic Cash Account

Our Cash Account is a fantastic alternative for foreigners to a money market account available from the banks. It is fully managed and service-driven, with competitive interest rates and offers personal banking facilities. Other reasons to consider a Cash Account are:

• Your Cash Account can be opened from abroad.
• Transfer foreign currency into the account whenever it suits you.
• Money can be transferred directly from the Cash Account to third party accounts.
• Debit orders can be set up on the account, so that expenses such as insurance or medical aid can get paid out of the account automatically.
• Your money is available within 24 hours.
• Each Cash Account comes with a dedicated account manager. All instructions for payments, debit orders and so forth go directly to the manager for processing.

For more information on banking in South Africa, contact us

To find out more about the banking services InsideSA’s team offers, call us in Johannesburg on +27 (0) 11 234 4275 or in Cape Town on +27 (0) 21 424 2460. Alternatively, request a free call back or complete a quick and easy online assessment for us to contact you. Our immigration consultants have assisted thousands of foreigners moving to South Africa with their banking needs and can do the same for you.

In South Africa the word “medical insurance” is referred to as “medical aid”. Medical aid is a huge necessity in South Africa, especially for prospective immigrants. Medical aid is not something you should attempt to go without.

Medical aid in South Africa

The truth is that private medical care in South Africa differs substantially from that of state care. In South Africa state hospitals do not have the same resources that private care does. For example it is not uncommon for people in state care to wait months on end to see a specialist, where as in private care this can happen in a very short period of time once an appointment is booked.

Hospital treatment is very expensive and if you do not have medical aid in South Africa, you run the risk of landing in a state hospital or alternatively landing up with extremely expensive medical bills which can land in the hundreds of thousands of rands. Either option is anything less than ideal and therefore private medical aid is going to be within your best interest.

In addition to medical aid in South Africa, it is important to obtain gap cover. Gap cover is offered at a small premium. In South Africa specialists and certain doctors can charge up to 300 % of GDP rates, when the typical medical aid only covers 100 % of GDP rates. Therefore a gap cover bridges the gap between what your medical aid covers and what doctor’s and specialists charge.

There are a number of private medical aid providers in South Africa. Each provider offers different premiums, benefits and options. It is essential to understand the full significance of selecting a specific provider as well as the different coverage options which they provide you with.

What is the best plan of action to get medical insurance?

The general process which is used in South Africa for obtaining advice on South African medical insurance is via a medical broker. The medical broker which you select should be registered as well as not tied to one particular company, they should rather be independent.

For more information on South African medical aid schemes, feel free to take a look here.

Should you wish to further understand the requirements for medical aid admission in South Africa please take a look here.

If you need to transfer money in and out of South Africa, it is highly recommended that you make use of a reputable service which assists individuals and companies, with the transferring of money in and out of the country.

Transferring money in and out of South Africa

The truth is that transferring money in and out of South Africa is not as simple and straightforward as it is in other countries. One of the many reasons for this “lack of simplicity” is the exchange control regulations which are issued by the South African Reserve Bank.

Special care needs to be taken when transferring money in and out of the country. In South Africa there are two primary options which exist for the transferring of money.

The first option is the use of banks. This is the most common method used throughout South Africa. Banks are used as a very effective, efficient and convenient method of transferring various funds.

It needs to be noted that making use of banks, especially for exchange and transfer purposes can include some serious drawbacks. These drawbacks include and are not limited to: high administration fees, noncompetitive exchange rates and a lack of expertise and guidance especially when it comes to transferring money out of South Africa.

The second option is specialised money transfer companies. Reputable and experienced money transfer companies will be able to advise you accordingly with regard to all your options with transferring money in and out of South Africa. They will also be able to highlight the best route for you to go based on your individual needs and requirements.

Some of the advantages of making use of a specialist when transferring funds

• Specialists have the expertise and knowledge of all foreign exchange control regulations. It is crucial to make use of a company who fully knows, understands and has experience with all the foreign exchange control regulations.
• They have a higher level of expertise as it is their specialisation.
• Higher amounts of savings can be achieved and prospective risks can be avoided. Many foreign exchange dealers purchase foreign currencies in bulk and therefore they are able to offer better rates. They work directly with the market and have the desired experience in this regard.
• There are no administration fees. Unfortunately in South Africa banks can charge quite fees for administration purposes. They also are allowed to charge high fees for foreign transactions. By making use of a specialised money transfer company, you will be eliminating all of these costs.

To learn more about currency transfers into South Africa, feel to read this: Curreny Transfer To South Africa.

The selection of a new property is always a daunting task, even more so when in a foreign country. InsideSA is pleased to offer its property sourcing service, for buying property in South Africa.

As in most countries, it is worth noting that South African estate agents act in the interest of the seller. This is where InsideSA is different – we do not stock property or act on behalf of sellers, only buyers, lessees and investors can make use of our services. This means our service is independent and impartial.

InsideSA acts as your professional advisor, guiding you through the house purchase process from start to finish, making buying property in South Africa as simple as possible.

Our service is a four-step process:

Step 1:

InsideSA conduct an in-depth needs analysis, which includes things such as:

• Advice and help on deciding a budget and method of financing.
• The physical requirements of the property, for instance the number of bedrooms or style of accommodation.
• Location – where in South Africa, what amenities need to be close by, and so forth.

Step 2:

InsideSA help you refine your search by providing feedback on what you may expect for your money, local amenities and actual examples of properties currently on the market that match your criteria.

Step 3:

A member of the InsideSA team will arrange a tour of the neighbourhood you have selected, sharing useful information on schools, doctors and other amenities in the area at the same time.

Step 4:

InsideSA will arrange viewings on appropriate properties and, when you make your final decision, assist with formulating the offer and advise on the legalities of the house buying process.

Finding out more about buying property in South Africa

To further discuss the InsideSA service offering and to find out more about buying property in South Africa, please feel free to give the team a call. You can reach us in Cape Town on +27 (0) 21 424 2460 or in Johannesburg on +27 (0) 11 234 4275. It will be our pleasure to help you find your dream home.