Travel back to SA

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m4dh4tt3r

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Hi All,

Its been a while since I have been around and was hoping some of the more knowledgeable members might have some answers or advice.

So I left SA for the UK close to 3 years ago, never intended on coming back. never applied for dual citizenship, although I should still have my SA passport(possibly, I would need to double check). When I left I had loans with a bank(not a major amount, R40 000 but not a small amount either) and an insurance company trying to claim money from a car crash. I was pretty screwed back then and landed up borrowing my parents R20k for lawyer fees that they had and a bunch of other things... I made a mistake and left for the UK thinking I would start over and never return but recently I have learnt that my grandma has only 3 months left, and she is a really really important person to me. I dont know if I could go through the rest of life easily not atleast getting to spend one more day with her.

My question is, if I had to come back for a holiday for a month, would I face issues at the airport getting stopped because of these previous loans? How can I find out if anything of the sort would happen because as much as not seeing her would be devastating, not being able to come back to the UK to my son would be even worse.

What do you suggest I do, Ofcourse the right thing to do would be to pay up those loans. It certainly is on my to do list but I am not in a financial position to correct the wrongs just yet. infact finding the money just to come back to SA for that short term holiday is already very difficult. Any suggestions or advice is very welcome. thank you.
 
Wow...

If you use your SA passport:
Unless you have a criminal record they won't stop you, even if you do have a criminal record I highly doubt the Home Affairs systems at OR Tambo are connected to the criminal database.

If you use your brit passport:
Come in as a tourist and no one will be any the wiser. Just leave before your 90 days expire.
 
Have no money to pay off debt.

Have money for holiday.

Choose one.
 
Randhir said:
Have no money to pay off debt.

Have money for holiday.

Choose one.
Click to expand...

Pay off your debt, or go visit a dying family member. I know which one I would pick.

At OP, just fly in with your British passport on a tourist visa. Even if you fly in using your SA passport, they won't stop you at the airport because you have debt.
 
Your credit record is probably gone to ****. Do you still have a SA Account?

You wouldn't be stopped from entering SA - leaving on the other hand is another issue, though unless SARS is out to get you you should be ok.

You are earning pounds - how can you not afford to pay off the loan?!
 
Last edited:
You are probably blacklisted. If you took a loan, did you not have to provide collateral?

Also read up on prescribed debt:

If, in the past three years, you have not: made any payment towards settling a debt, acknowledged owing the money in any way or agreed to pay it, or been summonsed in respect of it, it has prescribed, and you can raise this as a defence when asked to pay such a debt.
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yea I know circumstances are pretty screwed up, alot of mistakes I made and dont expect much empathy but I am working on changing my life, unfortunately it always takes so much time, I work hard each day and still feel like all im doing is paying bills each month with nothing to show for it. I finally have some opportunites ahead of me in the next year that will start really getting me out of this rut but unfortunately my grandma doesnt have years left, so this is the cards im dealt right now.

@ScottulusMaximus thank you, I will certainly look into that, maybe that could very well work for what I need.
@Randhir I fully get it, but I dont really have money for it, i am however trying to make a plan to see my gran one more time, its not about being on a holiday, I more than anyone feel if I dont have the money for something then dont do it. I learnt that mistake the day I left for the UK and now I have 0 debt this side other than normal monthly bills, but its my gran, ill have to try do what I can at the very least, if i cant do it then I cant do it, but thank you for your response, its helpful either way.
 
gregmcc said:
Your credit record is probably gone to ****. Do you still have a SA Account?

You wouldn't be stopped from entering SA - leaving on the other hand is another issue, though unless SARS is out to get you you should be ok.

You are earning pounds - how can you not afford to pay off the loan?!
Click to expand...

yea my credit record in SA has probably gone to ****. I havent checked if any of my accounts are active or not in SA, literally just got on a plane and left one day.

Its the entering part im not worried about haha, its the leaving part that im **** scared of, being told I cant leave would be the worst thing ever.

I know im now earning pounds, but recently the ex-wife left, child care is nearly the cost of my salary, the ex wife doesnt work and is taking so much of my money, left me with an expensive house to rent and im tied to this contract for a while. again, this is going far down a story which i dont expect sympathy, I just want to see my gran and then go back to the UK to try carry on working through this maze called life.
 
m4dh4tt3r said:
yea my credit record in SA has probably gone to ****. I havent checked if any of my accounts are active or not in SA, literally just got on a plane and left one day.

Its the entering part im not worried about haha, its the leaving part that im **** scared of, being told I cant leave would be the worst thing ever.

I know im now earning pounds, but recently the ex-wife left, child care is nearly the cost of my salary, the ex wife doesnt work and is taking so much of my money, left me with an expensive house to rent and im tied to this contract for a while. again, this is going far down a story which i dont expect sympathy, I just want to see my gran and then go back to the UK to try carry on working through this maze called life.
Click to expand...

Wow, financially speaking, it doesn't seem to have gotten better for you.
 
Ninja'd said:
Wow, financially speaking, it doesn't seem to have gotten better for you.
Click to expand...

agreed, Id visit, make my peace, and sneak through on a UK passport.
nobody will know anything--and saying you dont have dual citizenship I think will help,

as you not a citizen either way...
unless somebody snitches, you should be ok.....
 
Unless you have had a summons served on you, your debts will have prescribed anyway, or are close to it. I wouldn't give the financial angle one moments concern

There are sometimes advantages to living in a corrupt country

But don't arrive s***ting yourself. This may raise the concern of a more wide-awake HA official
 
You could try this --> If you have a UK passport, enter SA using it...If not, apply for an emergency SA passport from the UK and use it. Doubt you'll get nabbed unless you're a criminal or on their watch list for doing something really dumb. Besides, there's this one criminal we all know who is R246mil in debt, he enters and leaves the country without issues - so don't worry.
 
risami said:
You could try this --> If you have a UK passport, enter SA using it...If not, apply for an emergency SA passport from the UK and use it. Doubt you'll get nabbed unless you're a criminal or on their watch list for doing something really dumb. Besides, there's this one criminal we all know who is R246mil in debt, he enters and leaves the country without issues - so don't worry.
Click to expand...

He did say he was sorry :P
 
chrisc4290 said:
Unless you have had a summons served on you, your debts will have prescribed anyway, or are close to it. I wouldn't give the financial angle one moments concern

There are sometimes advantages to living in a corrupt country

But don't arrive s***ting yourself. This may raise the concern of a more wide-awake HA official
Click to expand...

Don't forget they can get a judgement before the debt prescribes and then it's a different ball game
 
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