United Kingdom - Business & Investment - International Study for South Africans

As a South African family with young children, you may be tempted to emigrate in order to secure a second passport and an international education for your children. This could arise because of the economic and political volatility that exists in the country, as well as the worry that South African tertiary education standards are slipping.

This might not be the best option for you. Relocating a young family from South Africa has several consequences:

• It’s a costly exercise;
• You (and/or your partner) will have to take a backward step in your career(s) and earning potential;
• Private schooling abroad is prohibitively expensive;
• The property transaction – selling in SA and buying internationally – will leave you living in a smaller house, far from city centers; AND
• The lifestyle that you were used to in SA (the outdoors, the holidays, the hired help, etc) won’t exist anymore.

A lifestyle and education alternative

We suggest that you consider an alternative plan, that still meets your objectives of internationalising your children’s opportunities while maximising your own wealth and lifestyle:

• Remain in South Africa (and keep your amazing lifestyle);
• Educate your children at a South African school (they’re still of a high standard);
• Register your children at an international university;
• Your children obtain a degree at a respected university.
• Each country normally offers opportunities to live, study or work after graduating;
• You continue with your career(s) in SA and start to restructure your retirement earnings;
• You could then reconsider your own options when you become internationally mobile (your children are abroad and you’re no longer beholden to an employer).