Where to place your property bets
Portugal and Mauritius are top choices for SA investors
ý The weaker rand is likely to drive more interest in cheaper residency-by-investment (RBI) schemes such as those offered by some Caribbean islands. Investors are able to buy a decent property – and simultaneously obtain citizenship – in Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbuda for between $220,000 and $350,000.
Pam Golding International MD Chris Immelman says besides Grenada’s relatively affordable entry price of $220,000 per family, the tropical island also offers one of the quickest routes to citizenship at less than nine months.
“With no need to even visit Grenada during the application process, the island appeals increasingly to SA investors looking to acquire a second passport as well as a holiday home with rental income potential from a growing tourism base,” he says.
Grenada citizenship also offers visa-free travel to 143 countries, including the EU Schengen area, UK, China, Singapore and Hong Kong.
But Portugal’s Golden Visa programme and the Mauritian property development scheme (PDS) remain top choices for South Africans investing closer to home.
Immelman says Portugal has recently lowered its entry investment requirement from €500,000 to €350,000. The country has a relatively low tax rate of about
20%, no wealth or inheritance tax, and zero tax on overseas pensions.
John Dunn, emigration specialist with Sable International, says the number of South Africans looking to invest in Portugal’s Golden Visa programme has more than doubled over the past year alone. He says a big plus for those not yet ready to relocate is that they only need to physically be in Portugal
Martinhal Residences in Portugal’s capital of Lisbon
for 35 days in a five-year period.
Residency enables applicants to live, work and study in Portugal, with visa-free travel rights in the Schengen zone, while citizenship allows applicants and their immediate family to live, work and study in any EU country.
Richard Haller, director of Pam Golding Properties Mauritius, says for a minimum investment of $500,000 – assuming you retain your property acquisition – foreigners are entitled to a permanent residency permit in Mauritius. Thereafter a Commonwealth
citizen may apply for a passport after five years of continuously residing there.
Haller says Mauritius appeals to South Africans looking for a strong offshore investment which they can use as a holiday and potential retirement property while also being able to pass down the permanent residency component to their children.
“The added attractiveness of Mauritius is the proximity to SA and the fact it offers a vibrant and growing economy and a strong business environment with low corporate tax rates should the buyer be a tax resident. There is also no withholding tax on dividends,” says Haller.