1. Immigration Act 2. Meet your Directors 3. Estate Agents on Robben Eiland 4. We have moved!



Immigration Act THE Immigration Act and Regulations must be some of the most controversial items of legislation to hit this country this year. Not so much because of their contents, but because of the ham-handed way in which they were introduced, and the lack of coherent explanation on the part of the government department responsible. A lot of people appear to be very concerned - and confused - about the Act and the Regulations. In particular, there seem to be a number of estate agents who think the Act applies to them or their clients, and that it regulates the sale of property to foreign citizens. Does it? Having had the opportunity to read the Act and the Regulations, we think not. The purpose of the Act is simply to introduce a new system for allowing foreigners to enter South Africa and to stay in the country, either temporarily or permanently. The Act broadly defines a number of categories of temporary and permanent residence permits, and the Regulations flesh them out with details. Neither document says anything about buying, selling or renting property. Nor do they need to. Citizenship and residence are not requirements for owning property in South Africa. However, the new Act and Regulations will undoubtedly have an indirect effect on the property market, because it looks as though it is going to make it more difficult for some categories of foreign citizen to settle here. In particular, those who plan to retire here now have to be multi-millionaires (in rands) or to have substantial pensions in order to qualify for a "retired person permit". However, there are other categories of permit, with less onerous conditions attached to them, which they may be able to use to settle here instead. What does the estate agent need to know about the Act and the Regulations? In our view, nothing more than he or she needed to know about the old immigration laws which operated until April. Our national president is on record as saying that understanding and interpreting the complexities of the Act are far beyond the training and call of duty of the estate agency industry. It is, after all, the prospective immigrant's responsibility, and not the estate agent's, to establish whether or not he or she is qualified to settle in South Africa. Our advice to our members is therefore to refer all queries to the nearest Department of Home Affairs office. The DHA has evidently set up special telephone hot-lines to deal with immigration enquiries. Their Cape Town number is 021 462 4990. Meet your Directors Every month, we profile (in alphabetical order) two of the IEA Western Cape regional directors. Achmat Abrahams Entered the property industry in 1985, after two decades in the accounting profession. He opened his own estate agency in 1989. His firm specialises the south-eastern Cape Peninsula residential market. As an IEA regional director, Achmat is closely involved in industry and Institute transformation. Sanjeev Boyjoonauth Moved from teaching to the property industry in 1994. He opened his own firm in 1998. It currently has offices in Wynberg and Kuils River, and is planning to expand. Sanjeev is IEA Western Cape's vice-chairman for 2002-04, and is also closely involved with the transformation initiatives. Estate Agents on Robben Eiland We like to provide our members with regular outings, which enable them to take a break from their strenuous occupation and give them opportunities to interact with their professional colleagues. Our most recent event was a day trip to Robben Eiland for 120 members and associates. The weather was kind to us (had we waited twenty-four hours we would have been soaked!) the crossing was pleasant, and the tour of the island was fascinating. It is indeed an historic place, not least because of its part in this country's recent political development. As ever, the event would not have been possible without corporate sponsors. We thank Better Bond and Louw & Coetzee Attorneys for their support. WE HAVE MOVED! The IEA Western Cape's offices have moved to beautiful new premises just around the corner from the old offices. Our new address is: 10 Howard Studios, Sheldon Way, Pinelands (off Howard Drive, behind the Pinelands Library, overlooking the Howard Centre parking area) Our phone and fax numbers and e-mail addresses remain the same.