3 Long Lists On What To Do Before Leaving Your Home Country, South Africa

2 May 2019 

I would read this post after you have made the decision to leave South Africa, and while you are busy with your paperwork. If you need guidance on the immigration process to Canada, check my post.

The hardest part about migrating is the decision to migrate. Its one of those adulting moments you wish you were still a child. Its tough! And packing up is no easy task either.

A question I have for you before we get into it, is why do you want to leave South Africa? Your answer needs to be more than “safety” or “politics”. You need a thorough answer you can bounce back to when you have a glimpse of doubt as to why you moved overseas, or when you have a bad day, or in an interview.

We moved to Canada for an adventure, something new, we were bored with our day to day lives (had traveled South Africa backwards) and needed a new something (not a baby or fluffy something). When we have a kak day or the snow is beyond the beautiful stage, we remind ourselves, we didn’t come here to fit into the same old routine, nor the money or rat race, we came here to Live Life.

My struggle with leaving my childhood home (Durban) for Johannesburg in 2005, was leaving behind the friends, family and the familiarity with a town. When I moved to Johannesburg, I could go to a mall and no one would know me, which was so foreign for this Durbanite. Now I walk around Toronto with wide eyes trying to spot the Saffers with their KWAY jackets.

When I traveled back to Durban (for much-needed visits with the friends and family), I was always disappointed and felt like the town was deteriorating, or was it me getting old with high expectations. Like Margate? I recall Margate being such a lush and busy place when I was young. Now (its been 15 years since I left) I feel it is a bit sad, thankfully the waffles are still great at The Waffle House, but all the friends vacated and something had changed or was just absent. Where I am getting at is, what will Johannesburg look like after our move to Toronto?  

My advice on how to move to a new town, albeit domestic or international, is you need to be adaptable, open to new experiences and socialize. Get out there and make it your own.  

#Read this if you are a Marvel fan - otherwise it will just be embarrassing (for me)#

A little bit like Groot, the fictional superhero from Guardians of the Galaxy, he re-grew a new life from a stick of his former existence. Hoping you are a Marvel fan and know what I am talking about. When you move to a new country, you’re like a teenager all over again (imagine Groot as a small tree at this instance), you need to adapt to whatever comes your way. Groot can “grow” whatever he needs from a bunch of flowers, to lethal weapons, to picking a lock – he was adaptable, no weapons needed here please. Imagine re-writing your learners or drivers license, renting with no credit record, not knowing what toilet paper to buy as there are so many options and mom is not around (not that your Saffer mom will know what a double roll is). Even Groot’s obsession with his hand-held video game, that is me on my phone researching everything about Canada, Canadians, life in Canada, how things work here, toilet paper, food, social events, job fairs, etc.

  

The point I am trying to make is, you will always have a little part of Durban on your shoulder and a huge part of Johannesburg in your heart (or visa versa depending on who is playing better at the time, the Lions or Sharks) and you should embrace your new life here, where the grass is really the same. 

The funny story about the grass being greener on the other side - they sell Canadian grass on Takealot, (it stays green all year round). Maybe its something to look at when you are trying to sell your house in winter or autumn.

Moving on to how you move on. Before you leave South Africa, I would suggest you attend to the following as we did before we left:

Months before leaving

	Obtain birth, marriage, divorce certificates in duplicate from Home Affairs for every member moving over.
	Obtain a new driver’s licence, that way it will last you 5 years if you visit again.
	Get a second passport if you haven’t got one already, you never know if you will need it.
	Start arranging bye bi- weekly braais, you will be surprised how fast the time will go.
	Start distributing and selling your movables via Facebook marketplace, OLX, Gumtree.
	Start gathering reference letters from managing agents, landlords, insurance, etc.
	Sell your immovable properties if you can and want to, took us 7 months and we couldn’t sell, we managed to find great tenants. And buy your Canadian grass.
	Resign the right way, you’ll need all the references you can get. I asked my erstwhile employer how many months notice he needed. You may need that “reason” for immigrating at this stage.
	Start cutting back on things like DSTV, DSTV insurance (which they don’t cancel together with your DSTV), domestic cleaner if possible, gym trainer, we sold one car and could get around with Uber for less than R500 a month.
	Assess your debit order situation and reduce where possible. We froze our RAs and no longer contribute to them.
	Cancel that horrid TV license if you have one, and get confirmation of this before they take a judgment against you in 5 years time. Download the form and submit / send an affidavit.
	Create a google drive, make a folder for your Canadian stuff so it is always available online. I have a folder for my education, car, household documents, food and recipes, resume building, etc. Take pictures of everything like your drivers’ licence, etc. to have available on demand. Its new and scary, but once you have it, you can’t go back.

3 or less Months before leaving

	Cancel your WIFI.
	Book your flights and accommodation.
	Ensure your tax is up to date and that your bank account linked to your SARS profile is in working order. I would suggest handing over to a tax consultant if you have a complex return. That way you know who you are dealing with when you are in your spot.
	Close all bank and shopping accounts where possible and consolidate.
	Check with your financial adviser how your policies will be affected, life, disability, unemployment, etc.
	Obtain new bank cards, mine were expiring soon and I knew FNB wouldn’t be delivering to Canada.
	Arrange any refunds for the sale of your property like rates, levies or bond.
	Start your “packed bags with me” list, from laptops, watches, rooibos for the husband (it costs $16 a Freshpak here), vitamins, jeans, bikinis, you name it. Remember it needs to be in a specific format.
	Start your “boxes to be shipped” list, and finalize what you will be shipping over, from box numbers, to detailing every item in the box. Our theory was it cost us R2 000 per box to ship, so anything we put in the box worth more than that, was a win. Same format as above.
	Start your “jewelry” list, you’ll need valuations of each item, I employed a professional jeweler to issue certificates for family gems passed down, etc. Same format as above.
	Cancel your gym membership, planet fitness is famous for not stopping debit orders, I still pay R20 a month to reverse their debit orders 11 months after cancellation.
	Book your annual checks, oral hygienist, dentist, gynae, dermatologist, optometrist and when satisfied, ask them to email you your files.
	Arrange to cancel your mobile contract if you are in your last few months and convert to prepaid. My husband had to fork out R13k with Vodacom and myself R4k with MTN. And they still kept debiting our accounts months after, we gave up fighting for a refund.
	Arrange your power of attorney with an attorney, and the banks all have their own form of power of attorney, they will not accept a power of attorney registered in the deed’s office, I’ve tried.
	We moved into a smaller fully furnished place in our last month and lived out of our suitcase, which was a reality check.
	Start two flip-files with all your important documentation which should all be on your new google drive: Flip-file 1 - Career, anything I would need for an interview (such as reference letters, qualifications, certificates, matric) and at the back I placed any information relating to CIC for when we landed for immigration purposes (such as my police clearance certificate, WES, IELTS, Medicals, CoPR). Flip-file 2 - Personal stuff, such as old pay slips, contracts of employment, graduation crap, driver’s licences, bank statements, goodbye letters and cards, confirmation of cancellation of anything, proof of funds letter, title deeds, car documents, etc. Just so you are aware, the paper size here and in the USA is slightly bigger. The bigger the sleeves, the better.

A month before leaving

	MTO letter – letter from the Ministry of Transport with (inaccurate) details of how long you have had your drivers license for and where you (didn’t) get your licence, as was the case for my husband and myself. It doesn’t matter on the detail, just get the letter with the relevant years of experience.
	Obtain valuations for your immovable property, you will need this for Canadian tax purposes when you sell one day (Fair Value at date you landed here).
	Transcripts from your varsity in a signed, stamped, sealed envelope, you never know if an opportunity comes your way to convert your qualification. Get triplicates where possible.
	Take photos of all valuables with serial numbers, etc. and place on your google drive.
	Ensure you have as little debit orders going off your account before you leave, as the banks cannot comprehend corresponding with you outside of South Africa.
	Obtain your international drivers license with AA.
	Obtain Forex (no more than $10 000 otherwise you have to declare it when you land).
	Arrange with your South African medical aid to cover you when you move to your new place, or apply for medical and / or travel insurance.
	Obtain prescription drugs for the next 6 months and bring them over.
	Inform the banks that you are travelling, so they don’t block your cards.

And that’s a wrap, for me at least.  

Happy packing and ticking off your lists - I hope this post will assist you! Feel free to add on anything I may have missed.

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