Living overseas doesn’t automatically end your relationship with SARS. South Africa taxes on the basis of residency, not citizenship – so until you formally cease your tax residency, SARS can tax your worldwide income, including your foreign salary and offshore investments.

This article explains how the process works and exactly which documents you’ll need to prepare.

Am I Still a South African Tax Resident?

SARS applies two tests. If you meet either, you’re still a tax resident:

  • The Ordinarily Resident Test — Where is your “real home”? SARS weighs your family’s location, your property, business interests, social ties and travel patterns to determine whether you’ve genuinely made a permanent home elsewhere.
  • The Physical Presence Test — A day-counting test based on time spent in South Africa over the current and five preceding tax years. Spending 330 consecutive full days outside South Africa breaks residency under this test.

Tip: If you qualify as a tax resident in both countries, a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) may deem you exclusively resident abroad. This route is fact-specific — get professional advice.

How the Process Works

  1. Notify SARS via the RAV01 form on eFiling, capturing your cessation date, or declare it on your annual tax return.
  2. Submit supporting documents when SARS opens a verification case, including the signed Declaration of Cease to be a Tax Resident.
  3. Receive your Notice of Non-Resident Tax Status once SARS is satisfied — your formal confirmation of non-residency.
  4. Settle the exit tax. Ceasing residency triggers a deemed disposal of your worldwide assets (excluding SA immovable property) at market value, which may create a Capital Gains Tax liability.

Your Document Checklist

To complete your application, prepare the following:

✅ Proof of Emigration

  • Clear copy of your visa (if applicable), including your emigration date
  • Copy of your South African passport with all pages, showing entry and exit stamps for visits to South Africa
  • Certificate of tax residence from the foreign revenue authority in your new country. Not mandatory when submitting your application, but SARS may request it at a later stage

✅ South African Ties

  • Details of any property you still own in South Africa, including its purpose
  • Details of any business interests (investments or employment) you maintain in South Africa
  • Details of your family, including any direct family members residing in South Africa and the reason

✅ Foreign Ties

  • Employer details (if applicable)
  • Proof of your physical address in your new country of residence
  • Details of any social memberships (gym contracts, clubs) and confirmation of the location of your personal belongings

✅ Financial Information

  • Assets and liabilities schedule as at your emigration date

Please note: This list may not be exhaustive, and SARS may request additional information depending on your circumstances.

Good to Know

  • Your citizenship is unaffected. Tax emigration doesn’t touch your SA passport, citizenship or right to vote — and you can still visit home.
  • SA-source income stays taxable. Rental income and gains on South African property must still be declared to SARS.
  • Retirement funds have a waiting period. You can only withdraw your full retirement annuity or preservation fund after three uninterrupted years as a non-resident.
  • Moving money offshore requires SARS’s Approval for International Transfer (AIT) process.
  • Returning to SA? Since July 2025, you must formally notify SARS if your tax residency is reinstated.

Need Help With Your Application?

Ceasing tax residency has real financial consequences — particularly the exit tax. We specialise in assisting South Africans abroad with SARS non-residency applications, from document preparation to final approval.