Business Insider - Record numbers of South Africans are either leaving the country or lining up “Plan B” passports.
- The rich have an easy option for residency or even citizenship in Malta.
- Here is what they are paying, in rand terms, for those passports.
- For more stories go to www.businessinsider.co.za.
Rich South Africans are securing “Plan B” passports in record numbers, and many are choosing to pay millions to the government of the tiny island state of Malta in order to secure a possible future abroad.
Just how many South Africans are emigrating – or making plans to do so – is not clear, but several indicators show a sharp increase in everything from farmers leaving for Canada to middle-class skilled South Africans heading abroad.
Private schooling company Advtech says that by March this year, nearly 1,000 learners left the organisation’s schools due to emigration reasons. And according to United Kingdom visa company MoveUp, there was a 22% increase in emigration to the UK in the last two years, with 2018 serving a record breaking year for emigrations.
Emigration options for South Africans are fairly limited, though. Most countries require special skills applied towards applications for specific jobs, or for the applicants to dig deep into ancestral histories.
But when it comes to Malta, the applicants only need to provide cash, lots of it. Unlike ancestral visas, the process of obtaining Maltese residency or citizenship via investment is relatively quick, and awarded largely without prejudice after a due diligence process.
And this is the route many high-net-worth South Africans appear to be following.