In brief (TL;DR): Proprietary data from 5,000 SA expats reveals that Source of Funds rejections and the 3-Year Rule are the biggest hurdles for offshore transfers. We proactively manage these administrative technicalities to keep your capital from getting stuck in SARS backlogs.
Moving your life and wealth from South Africa to the United Kingdom is stressful enough, but according to our community of over 69,000 South African expats, dealing with the South African Revenue Service (SARS) remains the highest and most frustrating hurdle.
We recently polled 5,000 members of our expat community to find out exactly where their offshore transfers were getting stuck. Here's the breakdown of the top three SARS headaches expats are facing in 2026, and how to avoid them.
Headache 1: Source of Funds Rejections (42% of respondents)
A significant 42% of polled expats said their Approval for International Transfer (AIT) was severely delayed or rejected outright due to insufficient "Source of Funds" documentation. For more detail on how long AITs typically take and what causes delays, see our timeline guide.
SARS no longer accepts vague explanations or simple bank statements showing a lump sum deposit. If you're using your Foreign Investment Allowance (FIA) to externalise property proceeds or dividends, the audit is forensic. You'll need:
- The signed conveyancer's final account (for property sales)
- Original dividend resolutions and company financials (for dividend distributions)
- Comprehensive consecutive payslips (for accumulated salary)
- A clear paper trail showing how the funds were generated, not just where they were held
Expats who tried to submit this paperwork themselves often failed the initial audit, adding weeks to their timeline.
Headache 2: The "3-Year Rule" Confusion (29% of respondents)
Of those surveyed, 29% admitted they were entirely confused by the 3-year lock-in rule on their Retirement Annuities (RAs). Our detailed RA access guide for UK expats explains the rule step by step.
Many expats attempted to cash out their RAs before legally proving non-resident status for three consecutive years. Because they hadn't maintained their tax cessation paperwork accurately during their first three years in the UK, SARS rejected their withdrawal applications, effectively locking their pension funds in South Africa.
Headache 3: Expired AIT Approvals (18% of respondents)
Surprisingly, 18% of expats successfully navigated the audit to secure their AIT, only to let it expire before making the transfer.
SARS AIT approvals are only valid for 12 months. Many expats secured theirs but waited for the Rand/Pound exchange rate to "improve". By the time they decided to move the funds, the approval had lapsed, forcing them to restart the entire compliance process from scratch.
A word from Peter: "Our group data confirms what we see in the office every day: administrative technicalities, not actual tax debt, are what delay most cross-border transfers. We handle the AIT process for our clients precisely so they don't become another negative statistic in a SARS backlog. We track the timelines, manage the document collation, and execute the trade before the approvals expire."
The Solution: Proactive Compliance
The data is clear. Attempting to navigate SARS compliance without a dedicated treasury partner leads to delays, rejections, and expired clearances.
Your next move
Don't become a statistic. Contact WBForex to make sure your SARS clearances are handled correctly the first time.
