HOW to earn foreign currency from South Africa in 2024

It’s a trend that’s gathering pace – earn foreign currency from South Africa through one of the many fast-mobilising global outsourcing firms. The South African covered how to earn foreign currency in South Africa earlier this year when recruitment firm Strider Digital confirmed that South Africans are some of the most in-demand hires in the world.

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Now, according to The Open Letter, the opportunity to earn foreign currency from South Africa is better than ever. Don’t forget, South Africa (and Cape Town in particular) is regularly voted one of the best places to live in the world. As explained by The Open Letter, according to the famed Big Mac index, a Big Mac costs R51.90 in SA currently. Compare that to £4.49 in the UK. That equates to R108.48 at the current exchange rate.

EARN FOREIGN CURRENCY FROM SOUTH AFRICA

Ergo, living in South Africa is roughly 50% cheaper than living in the UK. Similarly, the average UK salary is R60 000 versus less than R25 000 in South Africa. Now, imagine you could earn foreign currency from South Africa. That’s also why we have so many swallows from the Netherlands, Germany and the UK flitting down to sunny South Africa for however many months, seemingly without a care in the world.

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That’s where the Department of Home Affairs‘ recent announcement of foreign remote-worker visas (up to 6 months a year) is actually a shrewd one. This means if you could land a job in the UK (or elsewhere) doing what you do but working from South Africa, you’d earn nearly three times, but in a place that’s half as cheap. Makes sense?

HIRE A SOUTH AFRICAN

Educated and experienced South Africans in IT, finance and management are being headhunted mercilessly by international firms. In Offerzen’s State of the Software Developer Nation, 9.1% (roughly 10 000) of South African software developers work for international-based companies from home. This is up from 3.9% the year before (more than double).

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There are lots of other, less obvious, reasons why international firms love to hire South Africans. Call it the ‘Rassie effect’, but South Africans have zero sense of entitlement. In life, nobody owes us anything. We’re honest and thick-skinned. We don’t beat around the bush, and we tell it like it is, which is invaluable to an employer. Lastly, we’re a nation that’s filled with gratitude. There are so few genuine opportunities in Mzansi that when we do find one, we work our arses off to keep it.

LEGALITIES OF REMOTE WORK

As grand as it sounds to earn foreign currency from South Africa, there are some legalities that need sorting. The employer needs a local business entity that can hire, file taxes and manage employment matters from within South Africa. However, failing this, an alternative is an Employer of Record (EoR) service.

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An EoR sets up entities and manages the admin of payroll and taxes for overseas companies wanting to hire South Africans, all for a monthly fee per employee. These are a few of the global players operating in South Africa:

• Remote.
• Deel.
• Papaya.
• RemoFirst.
• HireJustNow.

Moral of the story? The world is becoming more globalised by the week, and there’s nothing in the way if you want to earn foreign currency from South Africa with a remote job.

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Do you earn foreign currency from South Africa? Do you have experience in this space? Be sure to share your thoughts with our audience in the comments section below. And don’t forget to follow us @TheSANews on X and The South African on Facebook for the latest updates.

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