Dynamic Business Sales · international buyers
A South African business, bought from anywhere.
In most sectors foreigners can buy and own South African businesses: the Reserve Bank’s rules let non-residents invest freely, provided the money comes in the approved way, and the limits are sector rules, such as commercial broadcasting and mining. Through Dynamic Business Sales the steps are the same for every buyer, wherever they are. What changes for a non-resident is exchange control, company registration, tax and, to live here and work in the business, a visa. The steps and those changes are set out below, briefly, with the official source for every rule.
Auction prices in South African rand · Office hours in SAST (UTC+2)
Key takeaways
- Non-residents may invest freely in South Africa, provided the deal is at arm’s length and a market-related price and is paid for in an approved way, such as foreign currency brought in through a South African bank (SARB Currency and Exchanges Manual, section G).
- The limits are sector rules: a foreigner may hold no more than 20% of a commercial broadcaster, and a change of control of a mining-right holder or a telecoms licensee needs the Minister’s or ICASA’s consent (Electronic Communications Act s64 and s13(1); MPRDA s11(1)).
- Foreigners can be directors and shareholders of a South African company; CIPC checks a foreign director’s passport first.
- The business visa, for a foreigner who invests in a business here and may work in it, asks for R5 million in cash from outside South Africa and at least 60% South African staff, unless the amount is reduced or waived.
- Only deals that meet the Competition Act thresholds must be notified: from 1 May 2026, R1 billion or more combined, where the business bought has R200 million or more. The Commission’s guidelines ask to be told about some smaller deals first.
- Through Dynamic, a buyer abroad follows the same steps as a local one, by email, WhatsApp and online bidding. This page is general information: on any deal you need a South African attorney, a tax adviser and your bank.
How it works
Six steps, from wherever you are.
The same process every buyer follows, local or not, with email, WhatsApp and online bidding standing in for the distance.
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01
Tell us what you are looking for
Sector, size, region and budget, by email or WhatsApp, or register as a buyer and we add you to our alert list for matching sales. What is on the market now is on businesses for sale.
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02
Sign the non-disclosure agreement
Before you receive the information pack (often called the information memorandum), and in a private sale before you learn the business’s name. It is the same agreement a local buyer signs.
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03
Show you can fund it
Proof of funds comes before the books, for every buyer. Speak to your bank early: as a non-resident, how the money comes into South Africa is part of the deal (see exchange control below).
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04
Due diligence
The financials, contracts, lease, staff and licences are opened to you for review, in what is often called a data room, with the most sensitive (customer lists, pricing, margins) last. On an auction, do your due diligence before you bid. Our due diligence guide lists what to ask for.
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05
Make an offer, or bid
By private treaty you make a written offer, commonly subject to conditions such as finance and the landlord’s or franchisor’s consent. On an auction there is a reserve and bidding is online: open an account on our online auction room, whose sign-up takes a passport number from buyers who are not South African citizens, and complete FICA verification before bidding opens.
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06
Completion and handover
The agreement, its conditions met, the money in through your bank with the exchange control paperwork, and the business handed over still trading.
What changes for a non-resident
Exchange control, visas, company law, B-BBEE, competition and tax.
Each point in brief, with the source it comes from. The full guides go further, and your attorney, tax adviser and bank have the final word on your deal.
How the money comes in, and goes out
Non-residents may invest freely in South Africa if the deal is at arm’s length and a fair, market-related price, and is paid for in an approved way: foreign currency brought in, or rand from a non-resident rand account in your name, through a South African bank (an Authorised Dealer). Unlisted shares bought this way are endorsed “non-resident”, and the proceeds of a later sale may be regarded as freely transferable. A loan between you and the South African company needs the Reserve Bank’s prior written approval. New regulations are in draft (April 2026); the current rules apply until they are final.SARB Currency and Exchanges Manual (2026), sections G(C) and G(F); National Treasury, 17 April 2026Full guide: Exchange control for foreign investors: money in, money out
The business visa
The business visa is for a foreigner who wants to establish or invest in a business here and may be employed in it. It asks for R5 million in cash from outside South Africa invested in the business, at least 60% of staff who are South African citizens or permanent residents, and a recommendation from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition; the amount can be reduced or waived for a business in the national interest. Cabinet approved a revised immigration White Paper in April 2026; the current rules apply until the law changes.Immigration Act s15; GN 560 of 2014; Immigration Regulations reg 14; SAnews, 8 April 2026Full guide: The South African business visa: for investors who will live here
Owning and running the company
Foreigners can be directors and shareholders of a South African company; CIPC checks a foreign director’s passport first, through its foreigner assurance service. Every company must keep an office in South Africa and register its address, and beneficial owners of more than 5% are filed with CIPC. A foreign company that starts conducting business here must register as an external company within 20 business days.CIPC Notice 37 of 2024; Companies Act s23(1) and s23(3); CIPC beneficial ownership guidelinesFull guide: Buying a business in South Africa as a foreigner: what the law asks of you
Black economic empowerment
Organs of state and public entities must apply the B-BBEE codes when they issue licences, buy goods and services and award incentives. If the business sells to the state or depends on a licence, check its B-BBEE level, and what a change of owners does to it, before you buy. Under the generic codes, a business with annual revenue of R10 million or less is an exempted micro-enterprise and needs only a sworn affidavit; sector codes set their own limits (tourism, which covers lodges and guest houses: under R5 million). Knowingly misrepresenting B-BBEE status, or fronting, is a criminal offence.B-BBEE Act s10; B-BBEE Commission; Tourism Sector Code (GG 39430); Amendment Act 46 of 2013, s13O and s13PFull guide: Buying a business in South Africa as a foreigner: what the law asks of you
Merger approval
Only intermediate and large mergers must be notified to the Competition Commission and approved before they are implemented. From 1 May 2026 that means a combined turnover or asset value of R1 billion or more, where the business being bought has R200 million or more. The Commission can still require a smaller deal to be notified within six months of implementation, and its guidelines ask to be told about some small mergers before they are implemented.GN 7458, Government Gazette 54640 (8 May 2026); Commission small merger guidelinesFull guide: Buying a business in South Africa as a foreigner: what the law asks of you
VAT, transfer tax and dividends
A business bought as a going concern is zero-rated for VAT only if both sides are VAT vendors: a buyer not yet registered must have applied before the agreement is concluded. Buying the shares instead carries securities transfer tax of 0.25%. Dividends paid to a non-resident carry 20% dividends tax, reduced where a tax treaty applies and the right declaration is given to the company.SARS Interpretation Note 57; SARS, Taxation in South Africa 2026, sections 7 and 17Full guide: Buying a business in South Africa as a foreigner: what the law asks of you
Employees move with the business
Unless a different arrangement is agreed in writing under section 197(6), in a going concern sale the staff move to the buyer automatically, with their service unbroken, on their existing terms or terms that are on the whole not less favourable.Labour Relations Act s197, as substituted by Act 12 of 2002Full guide: Selling a business as a going concern: VAT, staff, leases and price
Proving who you are, and the money
Banks and attorneys are accountable institutions under the Financial Intelligence Centre Act. Before they act for you, they must establish and verify your identity and, if you act for a company or another person, that person’s identity and your authority to act for them. Have your passport and the documents of any company you buy through ready.Financial Intelligence Centre Act 38 of 2001, s21(1) and Schedule 1Full guide: Buying a business in South Africa as a foreigner: what the law asks of you
Country guides
Buying from your country.
The rules above apply to every buyer abroad. Where you live adds its own layer: its tax treaty with South Africa, its own rules and tax at home, visas on its passport, and the route from its currency into rand. These guides cover that layer, one country at a time.
From China
NDRC, commerce and bank filings before the money leaves China, the tax treaty, visas on a Chinese passport, yuan into rand, and our hours in Beijing time.
Read the guideFrom India
LRS and ODI rules, what the RBI asks you to report, the 1996 tax treaty, the business visitor visa, rupees into rand, and our hours in IST.
Read the guideFrom Namibia, Lesotho or eSwatini
One currency area: South African and home exchange control, the three tax treaties, the rand peg, payments between the countries, and visas.
Read the guideFrom the UAE
The 2016 tax treaty, UAE tax on foreign dividends, free zone companies, South Africans living in the UAE, visas, and dirhams into rand.
Read the guideFrom the United Kingdom
The 2002 tax treaty, how HMRC taxes South African dividends, UK rules that follow you abroad, visa-free visits, sterling into rand, and our hours in UK time.
Read the guideFrom the United States
The 1997 tax treaty, the FBAR, Form 5471 and controlled foreign corporations, visa-free visits, dollars into rand, and our hours in US time.
Read the guideReaching us from abroad
Email or WhatsApp, in your own time.
Both reach the same team, and both work across time zones: write when it suits you, and we answer in our office hours.
- +27 84 702 3766
- Time zone
- South African Standard Time (SAST), UTC+2
- Office hours
- Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 17:00 SAST
- Currency
- Auction bids, deposits and fees in South African rand (ZAR)
- Bidding
- Online, from anywhere: open an account with your passport number
Currency
Rand amounts, in your currency.
Prices, bids, deposits and fees on our auctions are in South African rand. To get a feel for a figure, convert it here at the European Central Bank’s reference rate. It is a guide only: the rate your bank gives you on the day you pay will differ.
Buying property in South Africa as well? Our transfer duty calculator and auction cost calculator show, in rand, what a property purchase costs on top of the price.
Common questions
Buying from abroad, answered.
Can a foreigner buy a business in South Africa?
In most sectors, yes. The Reserve Bank’s exchange control manual says non-residents may invest freely in South Africa, provided the deal is at arm’s length and a market-related price and is paid for in an approved way, such as foreign currency brought in through a South African bank. Foreigners can also be directors and shareholders of a South African company. The limits are sector rules: a foreigner may hold no more than 20% of a commercial broadcaster, for example, and a change of control of a company holding a mining right needs the Minister’s written consent, and of a telecoms licensee ICASA’s. Our guide lists the sectors with their own ownership rules. On any deal, a buyer abroad needs a South African attorney, a tax adviser and their bank.
Can I bid on a South African auction from abroad?
You can register from abroad. Our auctions take bids online, and the sign-up for our online auction room takes a passport number from buyers who are not South African citizens, and phone numbers with international dialling codes. Bidding opens once your documents have been verified (FICA), as for every bidder. Bids, deposits and fees are in South African rand.
What does the South African business visa require?
An investment of R5 million in cash from outside South Africa in the business, unless it is reduced or waived for a business in the national interest; at least 60% of staff who are South African citizens or permanent residents; and, among other documents, an accountant’s certificate, a police clearance and a recommendation from the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition. It is issued for up to three years at a time. An immigration practitioner can advise on your own position.
Does the Competition Commission have to approve the purchase?
Only intermediate and large mergers must be notified and approved before they are implemented. From 1 May 2026 that means a combined turnover or asset value of R1 billion or more, where the business being bought has R200 million or more. A smaller deal generally needs no notification, but the Commission can require one within six months of implementation, and its guidelines ask to be told about some small mergers beforehand. Your attorney confirms which applies.
How do I contact Dynamic from outside South Africa?
By email at info@dynamicauctioneers.co.za or on WhatsApp at +27 84 702 3766. Our office works in South African Standard Time (SAST, UTC+2), Monday to Friday, 08:00 to 17:00. Prices on our auctions are in South African rand.
The full guides
Read the detail before you commit.
Buying a business in South Africa as a foreigner: what the law asks of you
Can a foreigner buy a South African business? Usually, yes. Share or asset deal, exchange control, B-BBEE, competition, tax, staff, visas and the steps.
Read the guide Business sales · 20 minBuying a business in South Africa: the due diligence checklist
A due diligence checklist for buying a business in South Africa: CIPC, SARS tax compliance, staff and section 197, leases, licences, B-BBEE and red flags.
Read the guide Business sales · 14 minExchange control for foreign investors: money in, money out
South African exchange control for a foreign buyer of a business: your bank, the SARB, the non-resident endorsement, dividends, sale proceeds and loans.
Read the guide Business sales · 16 minThe South African business visa: for investors who will live here
South African business visa for investors: the R5 million rule, 60% local staff, the documents, who issues each one, and the published timings.
Read the guide Business sales · 20 minBuying a lodge or guest house in South Africa: land, licences, staff and the books
Buying a lodge, game lodge or guest house in South Africa, from home or abroad: land tenure, communal land, liquor licences, staff, VAT and the books.
Read the guide Buying · 12 minRegistering and bidding online, step by step
Create a bidding account, upload FICA documents, register for an auction, pay any refundable deposit and bid online, including Auto Bid and timed lot closes.
Read the guideLooking for a business in South Africa?
Tell us the sector, size, region and budget. We add you to our alert list for matching sales, and the steps above take it from there.
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