Your cheapest emigration option

With the current number of South African looking to emigrate, the most popular destinations for South Africans without a second nationality are usually Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada. This makes sense given that these are English speaking countries with similar cultures to South Africa.

Each country has its own requirements when it comes to being eligible to immigrate to that specific country. When assessing their options, most South Africans want to know what it will cost them to immigrate to a specific country.

With most countries there will be a variety of tests and verifications required such as English language testing, having their foreign degree assessed, medical examinations, criminal background checks and employment verifications. In addition to these costs, each government charges their own immigration application fees.

When looking at the true cost of emigration, there are two separate steps to look at. First is the costs of the actual immigration processes itself. This includes all costs involved with obtaining your applicable visa. The second set of costs are costs pertaining to the actual move itself.

When looking at the costs of step 1, if you were immigrating to Canada, your average costs for a family of four would be as follows:

Applicable Government / Third- Party Fee	Applicable Fees Due For a Family of Four
Application fees	+/- R26,750
Language testing	+/- R 7,640
Having foreign degrees assessed	+/- R 5,500
Criminal background check	+/- R 228
Medical examinations	+/- R 6,456
Passport transmission fees	+/- R 1,655
Total Costs	+/- R 48,229

This is cheaper when compared to Australia, where the application fees alone are R 75,140 for a family of four, which does not include English language testing, having their foreign degree assessed, medical examinations, criminal background checks and employment verifications.

When looking at the costs of step 2, if you were immigrating to Canada, your average costs for a family of four would be as follows:

Applicable Moving Expense	Cost
Moving household goods of a four bedroom home  (20 – 40-foot container)	R 100,000 – 200,000
Medical insurance for a family of four for 90 days before going onto government medical	+/- R 10,000
Airline tickets (varies depending on month of travel)	+/- R 55,000
Total Costs	R 165,000 – R 265,000

For some, it is cheaper to sell their household goods and to buy new goods in Canada.

This does not include your day to day expenses once you have arrived as these would not be additional costs associated with the actual immigration process.

Depending on which part of Canada you are moving to, your actual day to day costs may be more, less, or the same as your day to day expenses in South Africa which include things such as rent/bond payments, cell phones, internet, car payments, petrol, groceries and so forth. The most expensive cities to live in are Vancouver and Toronto due to high housing costs.

Deanne Acres-Lans is a Regulated Canadian Immigration consultant based in Johannesburg, South Africa who has helped thousands of individuals with their Canadian immigration journey. Deanne’s company Canada Abroad provides full immigration services for all visa programs. Tel +27(0)14 941 0802 email info@canadaabroad.com